There's an incredible backstory behind Easter Parade. Fred Astaire had announced his retirement from movies, and Gene Kelly was attached to the new Judy Garland musical set at Eastertime. Then, Gene experienced every dancer's nightmare and broke his leg. He called Fred up and asked if he'd take his place. And now we have Easter Parade!Now that you know Gene Kelly was supposed to play the lead, it's understandable that he was supposed to sing the seductive "It Only Happens When I Dance with You" to Ann Miller. How would Fred Astaire handle it? He's not usually marketed as having much sex appeal. Well, move over Gene Kelly; Fred's just fine. In fact, although there are plenty of great numbers in Easter Parade, that one's my favorite because of the different tone Fred takes with himself.There are quite a few famous songs from this movie, most notably the performance Fred and Judy give dressed like bums: "A Couple of Swells". Peter Lawford plays the other man in both love triangles-although who would ever pick him over Fred Astaire?-and he gets to sing the cute "A Fella with an Umbrella" when he meets Judy Garland. "Steppin' Out with My Baby" is another performance on the stage-Fred's character is a performer looking for a new partner-that utilizes groundbreaking camerawork that's still fantastic to watch. Fred dances in slow motion while the chorus girls behind him move in regular time, and the layered look is jaw-droppingly innovative for 1948.I've praised several of Irving Berlin's songs from the movie, but they're not all fantastic. "I was born in Michigan, and I wish and wish again. . ." is a lyric from one of the silly songs Judy has to sing. So, while there will be a few scenes that will make you cringe and leave the room for more popcorn, most of the movie is pretty fun to watch. I own a copy, and we watch it every few years on Easter when we want a break from our usual Ben-Hur. I always like Fred Astaire's movies, so it has to be really stinky for me to not recommend it. I mean, who else but Fred can walk into a toy store and turn the toys into a dance number? Watch his dance "Drum Crazy" in Easter Parade and ask him through the television why he bothered trying to retire.

"Easter Parade" was another of those "rich and famous" musicals that MGM was known for. It was filmed in glorious Technicolor and the songs were written by the legendary Irving Berlin. Although he was given second billing, star Fred Astaire dominates the film. Judy Garland received top billing but takes a back seat to Astaire here.It's 1912 at the time of the Ziegfeld Follies with the story of Broadway dancer Don Hewes (Astaire), his split with his partner Nadine Hale (Ann Miller) and his discovery of unknown dancer Hannah Brown (Garland) to replace her. Into the mix comes Hewes' rich friend Jonathon Harrow III (Peter Lawford). You see Hewes is using the unsuspecting Hannah to make Nadine jealous and show her that he can team with any dancer. An eternal quadrangle develops between the four principles.Irving Berlin penned a number of classic tunes for this one including the title tune, I Love a Piano, Shaking' the Blues away, Steppin' Out With My Baby, Girl on a Magazine Cover among others.Fred Astaire gets two solo numbers, one in a toy store and a production number (Steppin' Out With My Baby) without Garland. She gets to sing a few forgettable numbers as well as the entertaining "Couple of Swells" in tramp costume with Astaire. Ann Miller, complete with those incomparable legs, has two spectacular numbers, "Shakin' the Blues Away" and "The Girl on the Magazine Cover".Judy Garland had by this time started her descent. No longer did she have Vincent Minnelli to make her look beautiful and she was having affairs with several prominent personalities. Fred Astaire literally carried her throughout this film. She would make only two more MGM films before being terminated by the studio.Also in the cast in his first film is Jules Munchin as Francois the waiter and Clinton Sundberg as Mike the barber. Also of note, is Richard Beavers the unbilled singer in the "Girl on the Magazine Cover" number. He had a great voice but never really made it in movies. And. it was a good thing that Peter Lawford didn't pursue a career as a singer as his "crooning" of "A Fella With An Umbrella" will attest.

Tom Hewes (Fred Astaire) has his dancing partner Nadine (Ann Miller) leave him during a tour to sign up for a show. He hires a waitress named Hannah (Judy Garland) to take her place. Naturally he has to teach her to dance. Naturally they hate each other. Naturally they fall in love. There's even Peter Lawford in this singing a tune(and quite good at it too).It's in bright Technicolor, all the stars are full of energy and giving there all...but this is just good and nothing more than that. The plot is old hat (even for a musical) and the songs (there are 17 of them!) are tuneful but not at all memorable. All the great singing and dancing can only carry the movie so far. By the end I was bored silly by the story and just waiting for it to end. So it's a GOOD musical but not even close to being a great one.

This is, overall, a very disappointing, mediocre movie, with a very bad script. Every now and then, however, there is a remarkable number that stands out like a brilliant diamond in a sea of dross.For me, the brightest of those diamonds is "Then I'll walk down the avenue," a strangely beautiful song performed superlatively by Garland and Astaire - in that order. If the rest of the movie were at that level, this would be one of the great movies of all times.Ann Miller also gets some remarkable dance numbers. For whatever reason, her personality does not light up the screen, unlike Judy Garland, but she was certainly one very fine dancer.The "François salad" number is also wonderful in its own way, and emphasizes the extent to which this movie is not one organic whole, but rather a series of independent solo turns, some of which work, most of which don't.And the last number, "Easter Parade," is a great song, even if the movie doesn't do anything special with it. What a shame. That could have been a crowning glory that effaced much of the forgettable footage that came before.An uneven movie, in short, but one with scenes that are never to be forgotten.