Fred Astaire: Five Lively Numbers
Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 10:00AM | 2 Comments 
Clever choreography, attention to detail, authoritative footwork and sincere emotion are hallmarks of Fred Astaire's dance routines on film. A few of them rank as art: Fred dancing on the ceiling, with a hat rack, with Ginger at RKO. A great many others are simply fun to watch. Here are a handful of the latter—playful routines united by bouncy tunes, boundless energy and high spirits.
"Sluefoot" from Daddy Long Legs (1955) Astaire shows up at a college dance and, with Leslie Caron, shows everyone how it's done.
"Stiff Upper Lip" from A Damsel in Distress (1937) George Burns and Gracie Allen join Astaire in a George and Ira Gershwin number set in a funhouse.
"Bouncin' the Blues" from The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) Fred and Ginger reunite in this MGM musical, which chronicles the ups and downs of a husband and wife musical comedy team.
"Slap That Bass" from Shall We Dance (1937) A pristine, Art Deco engine room (!) is the setting for an Astaire solo dance that gradually builds up steam and ends in a spinning flourish. Song by George and Ira Gershwin.
"Coffee Time" from Yolanda and the Thief (1945) It’s almost unheard of that a floor—in this case a wavy, black-and-white striped op-art beauty on which Astaire and Lucille Bremer hold court—threatens to upstage those who perform on it. I suspect that Ruby Keeler and Nijinsky could rise from the dead, perform a muzurka on that zebra squiggle and my eyes would still be looking footward. (So, no doubt, would Ruby Keeler's.) Not to be outdone, though, Astaire and Bremer deliver a jaunty, hand-clapping routine set to a pip song by Harry Warren and Arthur Freed.
Reader Comments (2)
Excellent stuff! I, for one, welcome our new Cinema Gumbo overlords.
Thanks for culling outstanding numbers from a couple of Astaire's less-memorable movies.