THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY

Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon

THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY (1962). Director: Richard Quine. 

Newly arrived in London, Bill Gridley (Jack Lemmon) of the U.S. Embassy, looks for a flat to rent and winds up in the beautiful townhouse of Carly Hardwicke (Kim Novak). His boss, Ambruster (Fred Astaire) thinks the name of his employee's new landlady sounds familiar, and he is horrified when someone in the research department reminds him of just who Mrs. Hardwicke really is. It seems that her husband vanished without a trace several months ago, and now everyone is convinced that the "notorious" woman murdered the missing man! Before Ambruster can order Bill to find new quarters, Inspector Oliphant (Lionel Jeffries) importunes him to stay where he is and find out whatever he can about the supposed black widow. 

Jack Lemmon and Fred Astaire

The first half of The Notorious Landlady is delightful, full of suspense, and bolstered by fine performances from the entire cast. Astaire makes his character more likable than he might have been had he been played by another actor. There are also good turns from Estelle Winwood [The Magic Sword], Maxwell Reed [Daughter of Darkness], Henry Daniell [Siren of Atlantis], and Phillipa Bevans. The second half of the film, after certain revelations have been made, goes a bit awry, with perhaps too much running around and the hasty unveiling of tricky plot points, but it recovers at the end with an amusing and exciting chase sequence backed up by the strains of Gilbert and Sullivan. Good show!

Verdict: The picture and the cast have a lot of charm! ***

THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE (1939). Director: H. C. Potter.

Encouraged to stop doing low comedy routines for Lew Fields (the real-life vaudevillian who plays himself, albeit years older), Vernon Castle (Fred Astaire) starts a dancing act with his new wife, Irene (Ginger Rogers). After a false start in Europe, they become a sensation dancing at the Cafe de Paris, and rapidly make their way back to New York City. They introduce many new dances, including the Foxtrot, sell various products under their names, while Irene unveils the new bob hair cut for women and influences clothing fashions as well. Then Vernon becomes a military flier in World War One. Training pilots back in the states, Vernon has a date with destiny ... Vernon and Irene is such a delightful and upbeat picture that the tragic ending almost seems out of place, were it not for the fact that it's part of history.  But for most of its length, this is a joyous film with top performances from the leads (as well as from Fields, Walter Brennan [Nobody Lives Forever] as their pal, Walter, and tart Edna May Oliver as the Castles' manager)  and some excellent singing and dancing. A particular highlight is the ballroom dancing the Castles do for their audition in Paris. A clever bit shows the couple going on tour in the United States by picturing a big map with dancing figures superimposed all over it. Still a top team, Astaire and Rogers did not make another film, The Barkleys of Broadway, for ten years.  In real life, Walter was actually African-American, and the lady manager was happily gay. Vernon Castle was only thirty when he died while Astaire was ten years older when he made this picture.

Verdict: Very entertaining musical biopic. ***. 

THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY

Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant, Fred Astaire

THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY (1949). Director: Charles Walters.

Josh and Dinah Barkley (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) have been a top team on Broadway for several years, but all is not rosy in their lives backstage. Secretly Dinah is a bit tired of her husband's Svengali-like attitude and his criticisms, as well as the feeling he has that he "made" her. When a very handsome playwright named Jacques Barredout (Jacques Francois) insists that Dinah has great and untapped dramatic talent, she decides to try her hand at playing Sarah Bernhardt in his new play. Will she fall on her face, and how will Josh feel if she does? Barkleys presents Astaire and Rogers in absolute top form, and this is one of their most winning movies. As their friend and collaborator, Oscar Levant [The Cobweb] offers one of his better performances, although the device of pairing him off with one beautiful woman after another becomes tiresome. Levant was an oddity -- he couldn't sing or dance, and certainly wasn't good-looking -- but his sardonic delivery often works, and he is allowed to play the piano on excerpts from two pieces, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1." If Barkleys falls down in one respect it's that the new songs by Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin aren't up to the standard set by Ira and George Gershwin -- the only melodic bright spot is Gershwin's old tune "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Astaire's smooth elegant dancing is much on display, especially in a number when he trips the light fantastic with dozens of pairs of animated dancing shoes. The supporting cast includes Billie Burke [Three Husbands], who is wasted as a talkative patroness of the arts; Hans Conreid [Juke Box Rhythm] as an avant garde artist who draws Dinah as if she were a pancake (!); and George Zucco, who appears on stage during the Sarah Bernhardt sequence. Clinton Sundberg and Gale Robbins also appear, with Robbins playing Dinah's excitable Southern understudy; she's swell. Jacques Francois is now little-known except for this picture, but he amassed 150 credits, mostly in French productions, and he makes a good impression in this.

I believe this was the last time Astaire and Rogers were teamed in a movie, There was actually a ten year gap between Barkleys and their previous film, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle. Lest one wonder if the real Rogers felt like Dinah does in this movie, we must remember that Rogers had already proven her dramatic acting chops in several previous films -- and she won the Best Actress Oscar for Kitty Foyle in 1941 -- so this was not a case of art imitating life.

Verdict: Delightful musical with the inimitable team of Rogers and Astaire. ***. 

FUNNY FACE

Sexless glamour: Audrey Hepburn (with Fred Astaire)

FUNNY FACE (1957). Director: Stanley Donen.

Fashion magazine editor Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson of Manhattan Merry-Go-Round) and photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) invade a Greenwich Village bookstore with a dumb model (hoping all the books will make her look intellectual) and a camera crew, overwhelming the bright if pretentious clerk, Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn). Later they get the idea of turning Jo into a high-fashion model where she will be the cornerstone of a campaign in Paris and help introduce designer Paul Duval's (Robert Flemying of The Horrible Dr. Hichcock) new line. Jo has always wanted to see Paris and meet her idol, Professor Emile Flostre (Michel Auclair), the founder of "empathacolism," who preaches empathy but would rather make time with Jo. Almost grudgingly, Dick and Jo fall in love while the others hope that she and the new collection will be a hit. Hepburn, who exudes her famous "sexless glamour" throughout the movie (even before she's made over), had starred in several films by this time, and she gives a superior performance, radiating charm, but her singing is for the birds and she was wisely dubbed by the time My Fair Lady came around. Astaire is Astaire, making everything seem effortless. One can only assume that Eve Arden wasn't available to essay the role of Maggie, because the casting of Kay Thompson -- even though the woman could sing and dance -- is perplexing. Thompson is by no means terrible, but she completely lacks the light tough, and hasn't an ounce of charm; indeed she's rather off-putting. Admittedly, you won't find many close ups in most wide screen productions of the era, but the camera wisely stays as far away from Thompson's face as it can. The songs consist of some Ira and George Gershwin classics and new tunes by producer Roger Edens and collaborators."Bonjour Paris" has Astaire, Hepburn and Thompson extolling the virtues of the great city. Hepburn and Thompson clown around for "How to Be Lovely;" and Astaire warbles the title tune, "He Loves and She Loves" and "S'Wonderful." Ray June's cinematography is first-rate and makes the most of Parisian locations, especially a pastoral forest where Hepburn and Astaire have a dance -- the film's highlight. Funny Face is good to look at and generally well-performed, but for some reason it just doesn't emerge as a real classic, and the script is trite and dated. The score is very jazzy, and at one point Astaire and Thompson (who reportedly did not enjoy working with Astaire) team up for a beatnik number that frankly, doesn't add much to the picture.

Verdict: Attractive fluff. **3/4.

THE BELLE OF NEW YORK

Marjorie Main and Fred Astaire

THE BELLE OF NEW YORK (1952). Director: Charles Walters.

In Olde New York footloose Charlie Hill (Fred Astaire of Royal Wedding) is about to walk out of yet another wedding that his wealthy aunt (Marjorie Main) will have to pay for -- or rather, pay the bride off for -- but he may have finally found the right gal in pretty Angela (Vera-Ellen of White Christmas). Angela works for the Daughters of Right, a Salvation Army-type charity and faith organization that was founded by the late Phineas Hill, Charlie's uncle. When Mrs. Hill learns that her nephew and Angela have fallen in love, she doesn't know whether to be delighted or appalled, but true love will not be denied -- or run smoothly. The Belle of New York got its start as a 19th century operetta and was tossed around as a possible production for years until former dancer and choreographer Charles Walters got the assignment to direct it and practically disavowed the picture in later years. The movie may be a trifle, but it's a charming and entertaining trifle decked out in gorgeous TechniColor and with excellent performances. The film posits the theory that falling in love is like dancing on air, which Astaire does in a nice sequence set in and above Washington Square. Astaire is especially given a chance to shine in his "Dancing Man" number where he combines his trademark elegance with his major terpsichorean skill. Leading lady Vera-Ellen, even considering that she's playing an upright, "moral" type (the film has some similarities to Guys and Dolls), often looks as if she's afraid her makeup is going to crack, but she's more than competent; her singing voice is dubbed. Marjorie Main is her usual delightful self as the grumpy but forgiving aunt, and Alice Pearce nearly steals the picture as Angela's friend, Elsie. (There's a touching moment when Elsie stands in for Angela at the wedding rehearsal and a sad, hopeful look slowly comes across her sweet homely face.) The reasonably pleasant songs by Warren and Mercer seem to be the type that might need to grow on you, although "Naughty But Nice" is well-performed by Vera-Ellen and then comically reprised by Pearce. Gale Robbins, Clinton Sundberg, and Keenan Wynn are very adept in supporting roles, and even Percy Helton has a bit as one of Angela's legion of admirers, giving her flowers at the opening. 

Verdict: Call it piffle if you will, but there's a lot of talent and charm on display. ***.

ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

Kelly, Astaire and Garland

ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1945). Director: Vincente Minellli.

9 years after he starred as The Great Ziegfeld, William Powell reprised his role of Flo Ziegfeld -- sort of. In the opening moments of Ziegfeld Follies, the great impresario is seen in Hollywood's idea of heaven pontificating on the Follies, and wondering what they would look like if the Follies still existed today. Voila! First puppetoons are used to depict the original Follies; then suddenly there's a stage and we see a series of acts with contemporary stars such as Lena Horne, Lucille Ball, Kathryn Grayson, Virginia O\Brian, and many others. After about half an hour the movie is almost stopped dead by a long and mostly unfunny skit with Keenan Wynn trying to make a phone call. A later sketch with Victor Moore as a man arrested for expectorating on the subway and Edward Arnold as his lawyer is much better, as is another sketch with Fanny Brice (who was actually in the original Follies) and Hume Cronyn as a couple who have a winning sweepstakes ticket and William Frawley as their landlord. A bit with Red Skelton playing a TV announcer who gets drunk reminds one of the later "Vitavegamin" routine on I Love Lucy. James Melton and Marion Bell sing a duet from La traviata, but are not that impressive. Fred Astaire [Royal Wedding] does two dance numbers with Lucille Bremer [Till the Clouds Roll By], but the highlight of the picture is his dance with Gene Kelly -- the only time the two danced together in the movies. The other highlight is Judy Garland playing an affected star in a production number with several handsome male dancers. Garland also appeared in Ziegfeld Girl.

Verdict: Although this has no story, it still manages to be entertaining. ***.

THE FILMS OF GENE KELLY

THE FILMS OF GENE KELLY: Song and Dance Man. Tony Thomas. Introduction by Fred Astaire. Citadel Press; 1974.

This heavily illustrated tome is an excellent introduction to and authoritative dissection of the career of the man who was best known as a dancer, but who also made his mark with dramatic performances and as a film director of note. Kelly had a different style than that of his "rival," Astaire, one that might be described as more athletic, but both men were tops in their profession. Thomas delves into Kelly's musicals, such as Anchors Aweigh, Brigadoon, and Living in a Big Way; his "straight" performances in non-musicals such as The Black Hand, Christmas Holiday, and Inherit the Wind (in which he was excellent); and his hit-or-miss directorial assignments such as Gigot with Jackie Gleason, A Guide for the Married Man, and Hello Dolly with Barbra Streisand. Along the way we get Kelly's impressions of each film as well as behind-the-scenes details, and lots and lots of photographs. Although I was never an especially big admirer of Kelly's, this book made me look at him differently. Kelly originally made his mark starring in Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey on Broadway -- much better casting than Frank Sinatra in the film version -- and it could be argued that he was one of those lucky people who got better-looking as they got older. Also included are Kelly's interesting remarks about gay dancers.

Verdict: Top-notch, informative, and intelligent look at the career of a great hoofer. ***1/2.

ROYAL WEDDING

Fred Astaire and Jane Powell

ROYAL WEDDING (1951). Director: Stanley Donen.

"She's quiet, but deep. At least I hope she's deep or she's wasting a lot of her time being quiet." -- James Ashmond on his daughter, Anne.

Tom and Ellen Bowen (Fred Astaire and Jane Powell) are a brother and sister team of entertainers who take their latest show, "Every Night at Seven," to London just in time for the Royal Wedding. Although Ellen has been a bit of a playgirl, and Tom isn't marriage-minded, they both find themselves falling in love: Ellen with Lord Brindale (Peter Lawford); and Tom with pub owner's daughter and dancer, Anne (Sarah Churchill). But will respective marriages break up the act? Royal Wedding is a bit of MGM fluff but well turned out, with very good performances, some nice singing and dancing, and several highlights. For me it's Jane singing the beautiful romantic ballad "Too Late Now," although Astaire's dancing on his room's walls and ceiling is a close second. Then there's Astaire and Powell's rendition of the comical "How Could You Believe Me (When I Said I Love You)?" The songs are by Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane, and another memorable tune is "My Love," warbled beautifully by Powell. Sarah Churchill [He Found a Star] received a lot of bashing for her acting in this, but I think she's charmingly effective, and despite the somewhat mannish features that I've noted, quite lovely -- she was the daughter of Winston Churchill. Albert Sharpe scores in the role of Anne's father, James Ashmond, and Keenan Wynn is fine in dual roles of twin brothers, one for each side of the Atlantic. "I Left My Hat in Haiti" is a snappy production number.

NOTE: Beware which DVD firm you buy, rent or borrow this movie from. Westlake Entertainment offers one of the worst video transfers I've ever seen, with washed-out colors, whole scenes that seem cast in shadows, and so on. You expect this for cheap old B movies and TV shows, but a glossy MGM musical? Fortunately, there are other DVDs of this movie.

Verdict: Dancing on the ceiling indeed! *** out of 4.

CAREFREE

CAREFREE (1938). Director: Mark Sandrich.

Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy) is in love with Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers) but she keeps postponing the wedding, so he thinks his buddy Tony Flagg (Fred Astaire), who is a psychiatrist, may be able to find out why she's dragging her feet. Unfortunately Amanda hears Tony making a condescending remark about another female patient, and takes an instant dislike to him. But it isn't long before she's changing her attitude, creating complications. This is a slight but amusing musical trifle bolstered by winning performances, some pleasant Irving Berlin tunes ("Change Partners"), and the great dancing of Rogers and Astaire. One big number, "Do the Yam," in which virtually the entire cast joins in, is a sheer delight. Astaire's skill and joy in dancing is a wonder to behold. Jack Carson, Luella Gear, and especially Clarence Kolb ("Mr. Honeywell" of My Little Margie fame) as Judge Joe add to the fun.

Verdict: Great fun and light as a feather. ***.

THREE LITTLE WORDS

THREE LITTLE WORDS (1950). Director: Richard Thorpe.

A perfectly pleasant and completely undistinguished biopic about the not terribly distinguished song writing team of Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) and Harry Ruby (Red Skelton). The casting pretty much insures that there won't be a heck of a lot of drama in this movie, and there certainly isn't, although the two men spend a lot of time bickering and having misunderstandings [although the humor is not of the laugh-out-loud variety]. Vera-Ellen is Kalmar's spouse and a warmer-than-usual Arlene Dahl is Ruby's better half, Eileen. Gloria DeHaven, Keenan Wynn, Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter have smaller roles (walk-ons in the case of the last two). Gale Robbins is sexsational as Terry, the singer that Ruby initially falls for. Astaire's fans will enjoy his smooth and fancy foot work. As for the songs, well ... they're pleasant enough, tuneful, but Kalmar and Ruby were not exactly Rodgers and Hammerstein or Rodgers and Hart. They spend the whole movie trying to make a song out of a tune Ruby keeps playing and when they finally do at the climax it's only the utterly mediocre title number!

Verdict: If you don't expect much ... **1/2.