Vera-Ellen

  • Three Little Words (1950)

    Three Little Words (1950)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, July 2020) The mini wave of composer biopics meets Fred Astaire in Three Little Words, which goes back to the Tinpan Alley era to present a biography of songwriting team Kalmar and Ruby. Astaire (as Kalmar) stars with Red Skelton (as Ruby) and the always-beautiful Vera-Ellen as Kalmar’s wife in what’s probably one of the healthiest on-screen romantic relationships in Astaire’s filmography. (There’s no creeping insistence in this specific romance, although the 22-year age gap remains significant.) Also notable is that Astaire does a lot more singing than dancing here—this is a biopic that’s not quite built to accommodate his usual dance performances. There’s some built-in drama (which wasn’t always the case in other composer biographies), as the two partners argue. While Three Little Words is adapted from real historical figures (ones that Astaire even knew personally), it’s difficult to see anyone but Astaire and Skelton rather than their characters. But that’s fine—both actors have a much better chemistry than you could expect from their specific comic styles, and it helps that Skelton keeps his wilder comic instincts under control here. As composer biopics go, historians tell us that Three Little Words is considered one of the most accurate depictions of their subject—although with plenty of Hollywood enhancements. But while not a bad jukebox musical in itself, it’s a bit of a disappointing entry in the Astaire filmography: it’s an early example of him trying to stretch beyond his dancing abilities (something that would become more frequent as he aged) and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it means that Three Little Words should be assessed more along the lines of a composer biopic (where it is, in fact, funnier and more charming than most) than an Astair musical (which it is not).

  • The Belle of New York (1952)

    The Belle of New York (1952)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, April 2020) If you run down the list of Fred Astaire musicals, The Belle of New York runs the distinction of being one of the least distinctive ones. Here, Astaire plays the playboy who falls for the holier-than-thou Vera-Ellen against a stylish backdrop of turn-of-the-century Manhattan and a fantastic illustration of love as making characters weightless. Despite the whimsical conceit, the film itself is slightly too staid to be wholly enjoyable. This doesn’t mean it’s a failure, though—compared to a few other lower-end Astaire musicals, The Belle of New York certainly has its attractions. It’s not churlish to note that it benefits from being shot in colour, and that Vera-Ellen, despite her age difference, is a better-than-average dance partner for Astaire (her “Naughty but Nice” solo dressing room number is nothing short of whew!) The film also demonstrates Astaire’s career-long intent to dance at the edge of special effects technology—here, a lot of green-screen work may not have aged particularly well (part of his face disappears in one shot), but still has quite a bit of charm. Then there’s also character actress Alice Pearce being very funny (and rather cute) in a comic relief role that even includes a brief song. Despite those elements taking The Belle of New York at least to the mid-tier, there is a sense that the film is spinning its wheels. The songs are hardly memorable, and don’t quite bolster the numerous dance numbers. From a plot perspective, the film hews a bit too close to the least admirable aspects of Astaire’s persistent-suitor screen persona, even if it does play a bit with deconstructing that archetype. I still liked it, but Astaire completists are definitely advised to keep The Belle of New York for later in their explorations of his filmography.

  • White Christmas (1954)

    White Christmas (1954)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, April 2018) While I liked watching White Christmas, parts of the film don’t resonate given a different social context. I live in Canada. I’ve never been part of the military. There wasn’t a World War less than a decade ago. So when much of the film’s plot hinges on WW2 veterans making extraordinary sacrifices to save an inn managed by their former commanding officer, there’s a basic difference in worldview that takes a while to understand. Fortunately, much of the rest of the film works much better. Bing Crosby is a likable performer, Danny Kaye makes for a capable foil, and then there’s Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen to round off the main cast. The romantic repartee isn’t too bad, with the songs and dance number filling in the rest of the movie. It’s all quite amiable, especially once the film’s second half moves into the “let’s put on a show!” mode that allows full-scale musical numbers to be “rehearsed.”  Fortunately, White Christmas does still work quite well as a Christmas movie, no matter where and when we come from.