LET'S DANCE (1950)
Fred Astaire and Betty Hutton made a surprisingly effective musical duo in a forgotten 1950 gem called Let's Dance, a sparkling musical comedy that actually offers a little more substance than an average MGM musical but also provides the kind of musical interludes we expect from a Fred Astaire musical.
Betty Hutton plays Kitty McNeil, a former USO performer who broke up with partner Don Elwood (Astaire) six years ago, got married and had a child, but her husband dies and she is now trapped in a comfortable but miserable existence with her husband's family, a group of stuffy Bostonians who Kitty can't stand, so she packs up her son, Richie one night and moves back to New York in hopes of resuming her musical career.
Not long after arriving in New York, Kitty gets a job as a cigarette girl in Larry Channock's Supper Club, where the entire staff has adopted Richie and takes great care of him and she is also reunited with Don, who does what he can to help when lawyers working for Richie's great grandmother, Serena (Lucille Watson) show up at the supper club to inform Kitty that Serena is suing for custody of Richie.
The pleasant surprise about this movie and maybe the reason it was one of Astaire's lesser known movies is it is more of a musical comedy than a musical. This is really a comedy that is accentuated by some musical numbers, where the story really takes precedence as opposed to a lot of musicals of the period that were just musical numbers with dialogue inserted around them. In this case, we have a real story rich with entertaining characters and classic musical comedy misunderstandings that neatly wrap themselves up in a little over 90 minutes.
Betty Hutton was a very particular kind of talent who a lot of directors had trouble reining in. She is best known for playing Annie Oakley in the film version of Annie Get Your Gun, but the actress definitely had a limited appeal that made her somewhat exhausting to watch at times, but director Norman Z. MacLeod, who directed a lot of the Marx Brothers and Danny Kaye's best films, seemed to have an understanding on how to handle this actress because she is quite charming in this performance as a young mother who puts nothing ahead of the welfare of her child and she actually makes a more than competent partner for Astaire, whether or not she was that strong a dancer or choreographer Hermes Pan adapted the routines to fit her skillset, it's hard to say, but her dancing with Astaire in this movie works.
The film features a handful of nice songs written by Frank Loesser (Guys & Dolls) including "Oh them dudes", a rowdy western style number set in a saloon and a delicious patter song called "Can't Stop Thinking (About Him)" that accentuates the story which MacLeod and screenwriter Dane Lussler always keep center stage. And for those who expect an Astaire staple, a dance solo with an inanimate object for a partner, don't worry, our boy does a great duet with a piano here. The film also features a pretty solid supporting cast for a musical comedy including Ruth Warrick, Barton MacLane, Sheppard Struddick, Roland Young, and little Gregory Moffet is adorable as Richie. If you like you musical comedy with a little meat on its bones, belly up.
Fred Astaire and Betty Hutton made a surprisingly effective musical duo in a forgotten 1950 gem called Let's Dance, a sparkling musical comedy that actually offers a little more substance than an average MGM musical but also provides the kind of musical interludes we expect from a Fred Astaire musical.
Betty Hutton plays Kitty McNeil, a former USO performer who broke up with partner Don Elwood (Astaire) six years ago, got married and had a child, but her husband dies and she is now trapped in a comfortable but miserable existence with her husband's family, a group of stuffy Bostonians who Kitty can't stand, so she packs up her son, Richie one night and moves back to New York in hopes of resuming her musical career.
Not long after arriving in New York, Kitty gets a job as a cigarette girl in Larry Channock's Supper Club, where the entire staff has adopted Richie and takes great care of him and she is also reunited with Don, who does what he can to help when lawyers working for Richie's great grandmother, Serena (Lucille Watson) show up at the supper club to inform Kitty that Serena is suing for custody of Richie.
The pleasant surprise about this movie and maybe the reason it was one of Astaire's lesser known movies is it is more of a musical comedy than a musical. This is really a comedy that is accentuated by some musical numbers, where the story really takes precedence as opposed to a lot of musicals of the period that were just musical numbers with dialogue inserted around them. In this case, we have a real story rich with entertaining characters and classic musical comedy misunderstandings that neatly wrap themselves up in a little over 90 minutes.
Betty Hutton was a very particular kind of talent who a lot of directors had trouble reining in. She is best known for playing Annie Oakley in the film version of Annie Get Your Gun, but the actress definitely had a limited appeal that made her somewhat exhausting to watch at times, but director Norman Z. MacLeod, who directed a lot of the Marx Brothers and Danny Kaye's best films, seemed to have an understanding on how to handle this actress because she is quite charming in this performance as a young mother who puts nothing ahead of the welfare of her child and she actually makes a more than competent partner for Astaire, whether or not she was that strong a dancer or choreographer Hermes Pan adapted the routines to fit her skillset, it's hard to say, but her dancing with Astaire in this movie works.
The film features a handful of nice songs written by Frank Loesser (Guys & Dolls) including "Oh them dudes", a rowdy western style number set in a saloon and a delicious patter song called "Can't Stop Thinking (About Him)" that accentuates the story which MacLeod and screenwriter Dane Lussler always keep center stage. And for those who expect an Astaire staple, a dance solo with an inanimate object for a partner, don't worry, our boy does a great duet with a piano here. The film also features a pretty solid supporting cast for a musical comedy including Ruth Warrick, Barton MacLane, Sheppard Struddick, Roland Young, and little Gregory Moffet is adorable as Richie. If you like you musical comedy with a little meat on its bones, belly up.
Last edited by Gideon58; 10-24-16 at 10:50 AM.