Royal Wedding (USA, 1951)

Fred Astaire dancing is always a great thing to see, even when he is in his fifties ! In this film he plays Tom Bowen, a performer in a dance act with his sister, played by Jane Powel. As Astaire began his career with his sister Adele in real life.

Plot wise, it is standard musical storytelling and as for the music, well let’s just say we don’t hum any of the songs when it’s over. That said, it is not a bad film, on the contrary ! It is an excellent Fred Astaire picture and it contains two of the most popular scenes of the musical genre.

First, there is the unbelievable dancing scene with the hatrack… Simply marvelous. A long time ago, I saw the MGM documentary That’s Entertainment and saw a part of the hatrack scene. That was when I understood, even at a young age knowing nothing of musicals, that this Fred Astaire was something special. No wonder his partners always look so graceful : in his hands even a hatrack can dance ! It must be seen to even remotely have an idea of how good it actually is.

Second, Fred dances on the walls and ceiling of his hotel room. No, Lionel Ritchie did not create that concept, far from it. Doing it in the fifties was very innovative and probably a technical nightmare.

There you have it, these two scenes alone made the DVD purchase worth it.

May not be his best musical, but needs to be seen by lovers of the genre.