After a successful run on Broadway, sibling musical team Fred Astaire and Jane Powell (as Tom and Ellen Bowen) are invited to play London during "the wedding season." This means participating in the 1947 "Royal Wedding" of Princess Elizabeth and her cousin Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (presently known as Elizabeth II and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh). Romance is in the London air as Ms. Powell meets playboy Peter Lawford (as John "Johnny" Brindale) and Mr. Astaire meets showgirl Sarah Churchill (as Anne Ashmond). Sarah is the daughter of Winston Churchill (who, with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin, was one of the "Big Three" winners of World War II). Churchill's daughter and the actual UK wedding are thematic, but less than overwhelming...
It's a surprise to find so many of MGM's "That's Entertainment!" (1974) showstoppers were from average musicals. However, the soundtrack is grand and includes three of Astaire's best numbers. Without the Astaire highlights, "Royal Wedding" is sub-par stuff. The romances are dull and Powell, while lovely, seems too way young to be Astaire's sister. As reported here and in other sites' trivia, June Allyson was pregnant with Dick Powell Jr., and Judy Garland was bitten by the buzz bug; so, the role went to Jane Powell...
First, watch as Astaire dances with a hat-rack in "Sunday Jumps". This marvelous routine made headlines in 1997 when digitally altered to feature Astaire dancing with a "Dirt Devil" vacuum cleaner. Friends of the deceased star, and many TV viewers, were appalled. Happily, the commercial was removed. Next, watch for Astaire and Powell sing the interminably titled, but delightful, "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?" This song also returned Astaire to the record best-seller lists. Finally, Astaire and MGM's crew get him dancing on the ceiling in "You're All the World to Me". As anyone with a laptop knows, it's not a difficult special effect; but it's really Astaire, not a spinning room, that makes it magical.
***** Royal Wedding (3/8/51) Stanley Donen ~ Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill
It's a surprise to find so many of MGM's "That's Entertainment!" (1974) showstoppers were from average musicals. However, the soundtrack is grand and includes three of Astaire's best numbers. Without the Astaire highlights, "Royal Wedding" is sub-par stuff. The romances are dull and Powell, while lovely, seems too way young to be Astaire's sister. As reported here and in other sites' trivia, June Allyson was pregnant with Dick Powell Jr., and Judy Garland was bitten by the buzz bug; so, the role went to Jane Powell...
First, watch as Astaire dances with a hat-rack in "Sunday Jumps". This marvelous routine made headlines in 1997 when digitally altered to feature Astaire dancing with a "Dirt Devil" vacuum cleaner. Friends of the deceased star, and many TV viewers, were appalled. Happily, the commercial was removed. Next, watch for Astaire and Powell sing the interminably titled, but delightful, "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?" This song also returned Astaire to the record best-seller lists. Finally, Astaire and MGM's crew get him dancing on the ceiling in "You're All the World to Me". As anyone with a laptop knows, it's not a difficult special effect; but it's really Astaire, not a spinning room, that makes it magical.
***** Royal Wedding (3/8/51) Stanley Donen ~ Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill