Easter Parade (1948)

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

First, a personal note: While I had watched this previously on an independent TV station in Jacksonville, FL, during the '90s, I had a little child visitor at the time who wanted to play some games while the movie was running so I obliged him and missed some of the movie as a result. I had recently watched this on one DVD bought by my father years ago but that pixilated during Ann Miller's number "Shakin' the Blues Away" so I managed to see the rest from another one I borrowed from the library a few days ago. Okay, so when Fred Astaire retired after completing Irving Berlin's Blue Skies in 1946, he was going to keep busy raising horses and building his dance studios around the country. But only two years later, he seemed to want to come back and got an opportunity quicker than expected when Gene Kelly injured his ankle in an off-screen game and told Fred he'd be doing him a favor in agreeing to replace him. So Fred did and in doing so was not only reunited with the songs of Berlin but also got to team with Judy Garland for what turned to be the only time in their careers. Also, Ann Miller-after years of being in Columbia B-features-also got to appear in an M-G-M movie for her first time in her life! So with those three cast, it's no wonder this was such an enjoyable picture to watch, musical-wise! The plot, well, it's another in the dance man-loses-one-partner-gains-another-one done many times before. What matters is how great many of the numbers are like Asaire's "Drum Crazy" with the way he uses his feet on those things! Or Miller's number I mentioned earlier. And how about Fred and Judy's hilarious comic number "We're a Couple of Swells" with their being dressed as bums pretending to be rich aristocrats! Also, Astaire's "Steppin' Out with my Baby" with his slow-motion sequence was another highlight! Had Garland's "Mr. Monotony" also been kept in (Great outtake was eventually publicly shown in That's Entertainment, Part III) it would have been even better! Oh, and Peter Lawford wasn't bad with "A Fella with an Umbrella", either. So on that note, I highly recommend Easter Parade. P.S. In once again making note of people associated with my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life-with other things, here, it's screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett who wrote that and this one.

It's an annual tradition that TCM plays MGM's EASTER PARADE every year on Easter Sunday. It's one of those traditions you can dread, or else look forward to. I choose to see it as something I look forward to.Watching, or should I say re-watching, EASTER PARADE today brought me a newfound appreciation of the MGM musical. Everything gels together nicely in this production. Judy's vocals are as strong as they would ever be, and Fred's dancing is his usual stupendous best, especially in the Steppin' Out with My Baby number. But I was really impressed with Ann Miller, who gets the thankless other woman role but truly shines in a dance number she performs an hour into the picture. Some of the other supporting players have moments to show off their talents, too. Peter Lawford, whom one does not ordinarily associate with singing, performs admirably in the A Fella with an Umbrella sequence with Judy. And that did remind me Lawford had made a musical with June Allyson a year earlier called GOOD NEWS. Though I figured Lawford was cast more for his looks. In a way, as a potential romantic interest for Judy, he seems to have youth, genetics and charm working in his favor as a rival to Astaire.Of course, the real star here is Irving Berlin's music, which is abetted handsomely by the studio's glossy production values and Charles Walters' assured direction. It's films like these that remind us why the golden age of Hollywood was so special.

What a classic film. We have a tradition of watching Easter films over the long weekend in Australia and this is always a top pick! Fun, bubbly movie featuring two great talents. Enjoyable little musical, even if the musical numbers aren't the most memorable. The movie makes a huge mistake though; near the end it gives the (supposedly) 2nd string Ann Miller the better musical numbers, and give Garland and Astaire only one musical number together, "A couple of swells." A terrible number to portray Astaire and Garland's couple dance chemistry. And Garland's character falls totally in love with Astaire though their dancing. There's no questioning their individual talent, and together Garland and Astaire are a great all-time dance couple. Ann Miller surprisingly gets the best dance numbers, and the music is very memorable. Easter Parade is probably the best of the musicals I've watched; but I think I can watch anything with either Astaire or Garland in it. Their personalities are able to elevate the material that's given to them, in Easter Parade and also pretty much in every movie of theirs that I've seen.

Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) and Nadine Hale (Ann Miller) are a dancing team. But she signs a contract to do her own show. Then Don claims that he can pick any girl from the restaurant dancing troop to replace Nadine. Hannah Brown (Judy Garland) just happens to be that any girl. He teaches the young dancer who has trouble differentiating left and right. They eventually become a good dancing team. Don's friend Jonathan Harrow III (Peter Lawford) falls for the lovely Hannah, but it's too late. She's already fallen for her dance partner.Fred Astaire is a bit too old for Judy Garland. Gene Kelly would have been a better fit. Judy Garland is hilarious and charming. How she attracts men is as funny as heck. This is the teaming up of Astaire and Garland with the great Irving Berlin. The big three is enough to recommend this for all musical lovers. It is chalk full of songs and dances. The dance I love the most is the one where he's dancing in slow motion while the back ground is happening in normal speed. It's a fun effect.