Tag Archives: Fred Astaire

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Song of the Day #6,246: ‘The Babbitt and the Bromide’ – Gene Kelly & Fred Astaire

Yesterday I listed the notable actresses who appeared in Vincente Minnelli’s films, so today is reserved for the actors.

Fred Astaire and Kirk Douglas appeared in three Minnelli films apiece, but his most frequent collaborator was Gene Kelly, who starred in four. Douglas received Best Actor nominations for two Minnelli films (1952’s The Bad and the Beautiful and 1956’s Lust for Life) but went home empty-handed both times. You’d think a biopic about the life of Vincent Van Gogh would have made for an easy Oscar win.

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Song of the Day #6,239: ‘Girl Hunt Ballet’ – Fred Astaire & Cyd Charisse

Fourteen of Vincente Minnelli’s 33 feature films were musicals, including two Best Picture winners and a bunch that are a lot better than those.

An American in Paris (1951) was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, and won all but two. Best Director nominee Minnelli was one of the misses. And 1958’s Gigi swept its nine nominations, taking the top prize and earning Minnelli his only directing Oscar.

While those are his best-known and most awarded musicals, I rank them relatively low on my personal list. In both cases, the films are beautifully designed and staged but the scripts are lacking.

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Song of the Day #4,444: ‘Dancing in the Dark’ – Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse

Continuing my personal ranking of the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute…

#10. The Band Wagon – 1953
(#17 on the AFI list)

This is the second Fred Astaire film on the list, this time pairing him with the long, lean and gorgeous Cyd Charisse in her first leading role.

The Band Wagon is about a fading musical star (Astaire) who gets a chance at a comeback through a Broadway musical. He is paired with a rising star ballerina (Charisse) and the two get off to a rocky start before, naturally, falling in love.

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Song of the Day #4,442: ‘Cheek to Cheek’ – Fred Astaire

Continuing my personal ranking of the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute…

#13. 42nd Street – 1933
(#13 on the AFI list)

The oldest film on the list, and one of three I have slotted in the same position as AFI. I wrote about this one back in June.

#12. Top Hat – 1935
(#15 on the AFI list)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers each appear in two movies on this list, but this is the only one that features the iconic duo together.

Astaire and Rogers starred in ten movies as a pair, and 1935’s Top Hat — their fourth collaboration — was the most successful.

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Song of the Day #3,523: ‘ The Way You Look Tonight’ – Fred Astaire

The rest of my Best Original Song picks are songs that feature prominently within the films’ action. That’s my favorite kind of movie song, as opposed to something slapped over the end credits.

I wanted to dedicate a day to classic songs that went on to transcend the movies for which they were written. Some of these, like today’s SOTD, I didn’t even realize were originally written for a movie.

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