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DVD The Barkleys of Broadway
The MGM reunion of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, 10 years after their last RKO picture, happened by accident. The Barkleys of Broadway was meant to pair Astaire with Judy Garland as a follow-up to their 1948 hit Easter Parade. Garland, however, had to drop out due to health problems and was replaced by Ginger, who had gone on to a successful career in nonmusical drama and comedy. As it turned out, the plot probably suited Ginger better than it did Garland. Josh and Dinah Barkley are a veteran song-and-dance couple whose routine bickering turns into a complete breakup when Dinah decides she hasn't received enough credit for her talent and leaves Josh to take a straight dramatic role as Sarah Bernhardt. Fred and Ginger are as charming and comfortable together as a veteran couple should be, but this film is not a return to the RKO days--its elements are trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation. In fact, Harry Warren, who provided the music for Ira Gershwin's lyrics, was upset that the film's big ballroom number recycled George and Ira Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away from Me," which Fred and Ginger had introduced (but did not dance to) in 1937's Shall We Dance. Frankly, though, "They Can't Take That Away" not only works well thematically, but is one of the greatest songs ever written for the screen, while Warren's score is merely adequate and unmemorable. All in all, The Barkleys of Broadway is a warm, welcome, and not completely satisfying reunion. Watch it, then watch Swing Time again. --David Horiuchi
Though entertaining there is a tinge of melancholia to this final screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Though essentially a musical comedy about a stage couple whose long association has created tension between them you sense the words spoken by the two actors has a ring of truth in their real life partnership. That said, there are enough musical and dance routines to lighten the air. Aside from the impressive piano stylings of Oscar Levant there is also the breathtaking "Shoes With Wings" sequence with Astaire. Though not the most entertaining of the Astaire-Rogers pairings it is a curio that should not be missed if one wants to understand the career trajectory of this legendary team.
Fred and Ginger in Technicolor (DVD Review)
After a ten-year absence, Fred and Ginger (F&G) are dancing as a pair one last time in their only Technicolor movie. It's not your typical F&G movie. Their acting has matured so much so that you forget that they dance, too. It has a little more drama and a little less comedy. Instead of boy meeting and chasing girl, their characters are already married, which provides a different relationship on screen. Also, Ezra Miller (Oscar Levant) is superb in his piano playing.
The featurette "Reunited at MGM: Astaire and Rogers Together Again" explains how F&G pair up for this film by accident, their continuous chemistry, and Fred's perfection. It includes interviews with Ava Astaire McKenzie (daughter), archivists, and biographers with a mix of F&G photographs and film clips. Broadway choreographers and performers also appreciate how F&G have inspired them. (Run time 13:53)
The vintage short "Annie Was a Wonder" is a narrated docudrama about the Scandinavian working immigrant girl. It's a heart-warming, almost tear-jerker of a time gone by. (1938, B&W, Run time 10:51)
The MGM 1949 cartoon "Wags to Riches" stars Droopy the dog, who inherits his owner's estate but has to contend with a rival dog trying to get rid of him. (Run time 7:11)
Theatrical Trailer (Run time 2:30)
Charming, not a dud at all ...
Some think BARKLEYS a poor footnote to the great Astaire/Rogers films of the 1930s, but seeing it for the first time I was agreeably surprised.
The stars, fifteen years after their initial teaming at RKO, haven't lost their chemistry and seem as pleased to be together again as we are to see them that way. It's nice to see A&R in color, for once.
The dances are really outstanding. After a decade's break from musicals, Rogers jumps right back in without missing a beat. And Astaire's dancing here is more athletic and energetic than in the earlier EASTER PARADE.
The female lead was originally intended for Judy Garland, who would have done it well (she did everything well), but it seems even better suited to Rogers. The role fits her like a glove.
On the downside, there's the heaviness of the MGM house style, that makes one long for the RKO light touch, and Oscar Levant -- who is more annoying than amusing and bangs on various pianos with a vengeance (what did those keys ever do to him?) Levant has a formidible technique but he always seems to be punishing the piano for some grievous offence. Lighten up, Oscar!
I think people say this film improves with subsequent viewings because the first time you're bothered by the virtues of the old RKO films it doesn't possess ... once you get over that, you can appreciate it for its own considerable strengths. It's a fun and fitting close to one of the screen's greatest partnerships.
If you only had one Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers film to watch, this classic musical from 1936 would be your best bet. It was the dance duo's sixth film together, and director George Stevens handled the material with as much flair behind the camera as Fred and Ginger displayed in front of it. This time out, Fred plays a gambling hoofer who's engaged to marry a young socialite (Betty Furness), but when he's late for the wedding his prospective father-in-law sends him away, demanding that he earn $25,000 before he can earn his daughter's hand in marriage. When Fred meets Ginger in a local dance studio (where he pretends to be a klutz so she can be his instructor), he's instantly smitten and the $25,000 deal becomes a moot point. Featuring six songs by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields (including... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Ginger Rogers Director(s): George Stevens DVD Release Date: Released the 16 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The Band Wagon (1953) marked the culmination of a series of near-autobiographical pictures Fred Astaire made for MGM following his return from premature retirement in the late '40s. Astaire plays Tony Hunter, a fading film star (his big hit: Flying Down to Panama) who decides to return to his former glory, the Broadway stage. (In 1931, Astaire had starred on Broadway with sister Adele in The Band Wagon, a revue that lent some of its songs to this film.) His playwright-songwriter friends (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant) hook him up with Broadway's hottest director, Jeffrey Cordova (a nicely hammy Jack Buchanan), who proves that the "new" theater traditions can be an awkward fit with the old. Hunter also finds himself at odds with his prima ballerina leading lady (Cyd... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Cyd Charisse Director(s): Vincente Minnelli DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) is devastated when his longtime dancing partner, Nadine Hale (Ann Miller), breaks up the team to set out on her own. Determined to prove that he can succeed without her, Astaire vows that he can pick any random chorus girl and make her a star. Fortunately for him, the chorus girl he picks happens to be one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century, Judy Garland (playing Hannah Brown). Easter Parade turned out to be the first and only collaboration between the two screen legends. Garland made the 1948 film despite ongoing health problems then had to pull out of a planned follow-up, The Barkleys of Broadway (Ginger Rogers replaced her); Astaire had retired following Blue Skies in 1946 but was brought in for this film as an emergency... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Judy Garland - Fred Astaire Director(s): Charles Walters DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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