Fred Astaire: This “Old Man” Can Dance
Perhaps it’s because I first saw Fred Astaire in The Towering Inferno (when he was 75), the legendary screen hoofer always strikes me as an old man even when playing a young man, even in his celebrated 1930s musical comedies when he was not yet 40.
And perhaps that perception makes his dancing seem all the more remarkable. How could an old man move the way he does!?!? How could anyone for that matter have such a range of motion. Last night, I watched Easter Parade for the first time. And while I had seen clips of a good number of the scenes over the years, I had never previously seen the flick in its entirety.
While dated and with a predictable plot, the flick is a delight to watch, if primarily for Astaire’s dance numbers. Judy Garland merely supports him as his persona and performance dominate as soon as he starts singing a song and/or moving his feet.
It’s interesting how our initial impressions of people often color the way we see them. I’ll never be able to appreciate Fred Astaire quite as someone who first saw him on the silver screen in the 1930s when he and Ginger Rogers helped define the Hollywood musical comedy. But, even if I do see him as an old man who can dance, I’ll forever delight in his performances and marvel at his moves.
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“Follow the Fleet” is my favorite Astaire/Rogers movie simply because the dance at the end to “Let’s Face the Music and Dance.” The dress Ginger was wearing was very heavy, almost like a maile. Early in the dance Fred is literally slapped silly by her sleeve. He does the complete dance almost unconscious. I never get tired of watching that dance.
I wish I could put together a DVD just of Astaire/Rogers dance routines. I could be entertained for hours.
Comment by windybon — April 12, 2009 @ 5:30 pm - April 12, 2009
It could have been worse; the first work you had seen him in might have been as Starbuck’s father in the original Battlestar Galactica…
Heh.
Comment by Casey — April 13, 2009 @ 2:28 am - April 13, 2009
BTW, Mr. Astaire could act, too. On The Beach — it’s mushy left-wing nuke prop, but The Man gives a performance that puts the more “serious” actors in the cast to shame.
Comment by Julie the Jarhead — April 13, 2009 @ 7:03 am - April 13, 2009