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clarulitas · 1 day

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Fred Astaire BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 (1940) dir. Norman Taurog

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musicalfilm · 2 years

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eleanor powell & fred astaire in broadway melody of 1940 (1940)

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cinematicfinatic · 4 months

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#eleanor powell #fred astaire #broadway melody of 1940 #classic movies #classic hollywood #vintage

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arbitrarygreay · 7 months

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Writing level: the noticeable quality difference (which can't be helped by the actors) is a key part of the characterization and plotting.

Which isn't to say that George isn't still a top tier dancer! The gap is waaaay smaller than, say, the Sinatra/Kelly team-ups. George, after all, did pair with Eleanor (and Buddy) as the actual leading man in 1938.

This is still true to the characterization and plotting in this movie, as King is able to execute to the satisfaction of anyone who hasn't seen Johnny yet.

#broadway melody of 1940 #fred astaire #george murphy #tap dance #category: musicals #fuckyeah dancing #'so here's the thing: you have to dance with fred astaire. good news is; the plot is that he is a better dancer than you'

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mthguy · 7 months

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One of the greatest tap dance numbers ever! Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell tap their way to stardom to "Begin the Beguine" in Broadway Melody of 1940.

#fred astaire #eleanor powell #begin the beguine #Youtube #mgm musicals #broadway melody of 1940

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byneddiedingo · 5 months

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Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire in Broadway Melody of 1940 (Norman Taurog, 1940)

Cast: Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy, Frank Morgan, Ian Hunter, Florence Rice, Lynne Carver, Ann Morriss, Trixie Firschke. Screenplay: Leon Gordon, George Oppenheimer, Jack McGowan, Dore Schary. Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg, Oliver T. Marsh. Art direction: Cedric Gibbons. Film editing: Blanche Sewell. Music: George Bassman, George Stoll; songs by Cole Porter.

"Glorious Technicolor," as a song in Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957) dubs it, was the hallmark of MGM's musicals, starting with The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939). The fourth and final iteration of MGM's series that started with the Oscar-winning (but now laughably antique) The Broadway Melody (Harry Beaumont, 1929) and continued with Broadway Melody of 1936 (Roy Del Ruth, 1935) and Broadway Melody of 1938 (Del Ruth, 1937) was supposed to be in color, but uncertainty about the European market where war was breaking out caused the studio to cut back on the budget. But who needs Technicolor when you have talent like Cole Porter, Fred Astaire, and Eleanor Powell, especially in the big shiny black set for the finale, with Astaire and Powell dancing to "Begin the Beguine"? We probably won't see the likes of that again ever. For that matter, who needs a plot? Most movie musical screenplays were just threads to string the gems on, and the one for Broadway Melody of 1940 is no exception. Astaire and George Murphy play a down-and-out dance team, one of whom gets a chance at the big time, performing with Powell in a new Broadway show. The problem is that there's a mixup about which one is owed the big break. Astaire's character is the one picked by the talent-scouting producer (Frank Morgan), but through the kind of mishap that mis-happens only in the movies, the co-producer (Ian Hunter) thinks that Murphy's character is the one he's chosen. Both guys fall in love with Powell's character, of course, and everything has to be sorted out. Norman Taurog had a good hand with this sort of comedy, thankfully, and Morgan's befuddlement, which also involves an ermine cape that he lends his dates, is moderately amusing. The only flaw is that the movie follows the tradition of its predecessors in inserting vaudeville-style specialty acts between the musical numbers, so we endure extended routines by a juggler and a comic soprano before Astaire, Powell, and Murphy can sing and dance again. This was the only teaming of Astaire and Powell, and each was reportedly intimidated by the other. Powell's dance style was more athletic and acrobatic than Astaire's, and it's demonstrated spectacularly in her solo number "All Ashore," but any fears that their styles might not mesh were put to rest by their duets to "I Concentrate on You" and "Begin the Beguine." Murphy gets shown up by both, and he looks ridiculous dancing on tippy-toes in the "Between You and Me" duet with Powell, which may be why he quit hoofing and went into politics.

#Broadway Melody of 1940 #Norman Taurog #Eleanor Parker #Fred Astaire

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taisantanna · 7 months

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#fred astaire #broadway melody of 1940 #eleanor powell #golden age #black and white #black and white movie #hollywood #dance

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blondecrazydame · 1 year

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Frank Morgan and Florence Rice in Broadway Melody of 1940

#Frank Morgan #Florence Rice #my edit #Broadway Melody of 1940 #1940s #musical #old hollywood #underrated #actors #vintage #photography #black and white

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directorsnarrative · 3 months

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Broadway Melody of 1940 • Director Norman Taurog

#megans watching #broadway melody of 1940 #Norman Taurog

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fran-kubelik · 4 months

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Trixie Firschke, the "First Lady of Juggling" in Broadway Melody of 1940

#trixie firschke #broadway melody of 1940 #musicals #1940s #video #⭐

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bargainsleuthbooks · 5 months

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Eleanor Powell: Born to Dance (Screen Classics) by Paula Broussard & Lisa Royere #ARCReview #BookReview #NetGalley #UniversityPressofKentucky #Biography #Musicals #Hollywood #Broadway

I love musicals, and one of my favorite dancers who seems lost to history is #EleanorPowell. A new #Biography finally gives her her due. #BorntoDance #universitypress #ARC Review #NetGalley #BookReview #MGMMusicals #FredAstaire #BargainSleuth

When considering the best dancers in Hollywood’s history, some obvious names come to mind—Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Bill Robinson. Yet often overlooked is one of the most gifted and creative dancers of all time, Eleanor Powell. Powell’s effervescent style, unmatched technical prowess in tap, and free-flowing musicality led MGM to build top-rate musicals around her unique talents, including…

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clarulitas · 2 months

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Fred Astaire swoons over Eleanor Powell in Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) dir. Norman Taurog

#listen i am a simple woman just give me fred astaire swooning over a pretty girl and i'm fine #fred astaire #eleanor powell #broadway melody of 1940 #1940s #1940 #film #old hollywood #movie musicals #classic musicals #musicals #my gifs #my edits #(remade these bc the old ones looked awful)#Filmgifs #Moviegifs

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roses-in-hollywood · 2 years

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Eleanor Powell in Born to Dance, 1936. She’s so underrated wtf 😭😭😭😭

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hotvintagepoll · 2 months

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Propaganda

Eleanor Powell (Born to Dance, Broadway Melody of 1940)— shes in here right

Ruan Lingyu (The Goddess, New Women, Love and Duty)—Ruan Lingyu had an eight year movie career, starting at 16 and ending with her suicide at only 24. Despite this, she made some of the most widely acclaimed films of early Chinese cinema and the BBC called her "China's Greta Garbo." In "Love and Duty," she plays her character as a teen, a young mother, and an older woman beaten down by life AND her teen daughter in an early application of split-screen technology. Lingyu is absolutely unrecognizable as the older woman, yet emotionally the transition is seamless because she does such a good job. Lingyu had a hard life and killed herself after ination [sic] of media scorn and private problems. Her funeral was three days long, the procession was allegedly four miles long, and three women killed themselves during her funeral. The New York Times called it "the most spectacular funeral of the century." I'm adding this to show what kind of hold she had over the public at the time, much like Rudolph Valentino's raucous funeral. I would rather she had lived.

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Ruan Lingyu:

silent era chinese actress who had a subtlety in her acting ability that was way ahead of her time. huge star but her career and life was sadly cut short by damaging publicity

Widely considered one of the best actresses of Chinese silent film

icon of chinese silent cinema known for her luminous beauty, her exceptional acting talent, and her tragic life story

Ruan Lingyu is a movie queen of China’s pre-war era, she mysteriously poisoned herself at age 24, leaving behind a note with the words "gossip is a fearful thing". Her funeral procession was reportedly 3 miles long, with three women committing suicide during the event. The New York Times called it "the most spectacular funeral of the century". It's hard not to believe how iconic and influencial she was after watching her movies, her acting was so nuanced and magnetic, i personally have never seen anything like it before.

Eleanor Powell:

[editor's note: this is unusual, but I feel so terrifically bad about the lack of propaganda for Eleanor Powell, who was known as one of the best dancers on the lot at MGM in the 30s and 40s, that I am making a rare exception to my "I don't post propaganda" rule to include one dance number of hers. It feels unjust to post a dancer and not even let you see them dance.]

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#ruan lingyu #eleanor powell #hotvintagepoll #fuck that old woman #ladies 1 #tw suicide #Youtube

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arbitrarygreay · 7 months

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Oh shit, an actual HD quality upload of this went up only recently!

The hilarious thing about this in context of the film narrative is that Clare and King apparently would have done a (presumably lesser) version of this routine the previous night, but not good enough to distract the critics from the earlier ballet number.

EDIT: Ah, cripe, it cuts the beginning of the segment, too good to be true! Here are some alternative links that aren't quite as good quality, but do feature the opening: Pitch and tempo shifted to avoid banhammers? Best quality, but the aspect ratio is stretched Probably the best quality otherwise

#broadway melody of 1940 #fred astaire #eleanor powell #'You know; you can wait around and hope; but I'll tell you; you'll never see the likes of this again.'#tap dance #fuckyeah dancing #category: musicals

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davidhudson · 5 months

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Eleanor Powell, November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982.

With Fred Astaire in Norman Taurog’s Broadway Melody of 1940.

#eleanor powell #fred astaire #cinema #film #movies #hollywood

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