Easter Parade (1948)

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Frances Goodrich (story) &
Albert Hackett (story) ...

Release Date:

8 July 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Romance

Tagline:

The Happiest Musical Ever Made is Irving Berlin's Easter Parade

Plot:

Don Hewes and Nadine Hale are a dancing team, but she decides to start a career on her own. So he takes the next dancer he meets...

Plot Keywords:

Fashion Show | 1910s | Restaurant | Dance | Vaudeville

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Judy Garland	...	Hannah Brown
Fred Astaire	...	Don Hewes
Peter Lawford	...	Jonathan Harrow III
Ann Miller	...	Nadine Hale
Jules Munshin	...	François
Clinton Sundberg	...	Mike the Bartender
Richard Beavers	...	Singer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
June Gale
Hector and His Pals	...	Themselves
Sara Shane	...	Showgirl (as Elaine Sterling)

Also Known As:

Irving Berlin's Easter Parade (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #12947) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Judy Garland's husband, Vincente Minnelli, was originally slated to direct, but her psychiatrist advised them not to work together.

Goofs:

Continuity: Nadine's necklace during the first restaurant scene.

Quotes:

Don Hewes: A girl dancer has to be exotic; she has to be - a peach.
Hannah Brown: I suppose I'm a lemon!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Some of the Best (1949)

Soundtrack:

Call Me Up Some Rainy Afternoon

One Of The Best Musicals Of The Classic Era

I don't know why I haven't checked this out on DVD yet. I imagine it looks spectacular, because even the VHS looked super. I'm talking about the Technicolor. Man, those Technicolor films in the '40s were beautiful, as this certainly is.

For entertainment, you get Fred Astaire dancing, Judy Garland singing, Ann Miller dancing, and Peter Lawford singing. I didn't think Lawford could sing, but he's not bad here. The other talent must have elevated his.

Astaire consistently amazed audiences with his innovative dance routines and smooth style. He does a number here in a toy store that is really something! Miller also gives us a good tap number and Garland's songs are all winners.

This movie is more vehicle for those above-mentioned stars than it is in telling some profound the story. The story is not much, but who cares? It's the dancing, singing, the incredible costumes, overall color, nice people and just plain feel-good musical atmosphere that makes this a popular film, even to this day.