Review of Royal Wedding

Royal Wedding (1951)
7/10
Fred Astaire's dance on the ceiling is still the highlight of Royal Wedding
25 June 2012
Just rewatched this public domain M-G-M musical on Netflix Streaming. How disappointing I was to see a close to wretched print there instead of a restored one that I read was available on the Warner DVD. Still, I once again enjoyed seeing Fred Astaire dance on the ceiling in his declaring his love for Sarah Churchill. I loved seeing him dance with a hat rack. And I was overjoyed to see his dances with Jane Powell whether on a ship during a storm making for some hilarious encounters with inanimate objects, pretending to be a king and maid, employing some Latin rhythms in a Haiti sequence, or doing a roaring '20s number to "How Can You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life". And while I've always known Fred to also be a pretty good singer, Powell isn't so bad either though her operatic voice isn't something I'm a big fan of. Keenan Wynn also provides some amusement as both their manager Irving Klinger and his English brother Edgar especially when a split screen is made when they call each other. The romantic subplots involving Astaire/Churchill and Powell/Peter Lawford didn't involve me too much so I'm glad they don't dominate too much of the story. And how awesome to see the footage of the wedding of then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip on this, her Diamond Jubilee year as Queen of England. So on that note, Royal Wedding gets a high recommendation from me. Update-4/5/21: I just watched on Warner Bros. DVD a much better-looking print.
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed