Easter Parade on TCM Today

One of my favorite movie musicals will be shown on Turner Classic Movies today, and I can hardly wait to see Easter Parade again for the umpeenth time. Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Ann Miller and Peter Lawford were never better! Great Irving Berlin tunes and an amusing show biz story add to the fun.

Highlights include:

Judy and Fred dressed as tramps performing "A Couple of Swells"

Ann Miller singing and dancing to "Shaking the Blues Away"

Peter Lawford warbling "A Fella with an Umbrella"

Put all this together and you have an oldie-but-goodie musical treat, for sure!

Here's a link for more information:

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2332/Easter-Parade/videos.html

Thinking about Judy Garland

My pick for the most remarkable personality in the history of motion pictures is Judy Garland. She could do it all -- sing, dance, act in comedies or in dramas -- better than anyone else before or since. Each time I watch one of Garland's many films. I'm amazed at her raw talent.

Nobody haunts my movie memories quite like Judy singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" in The Wizard of Oz. No one makes me laugh more joyously than Judy dressed like a tramp and cavorting with fellow bum Fred Astaire to the tune of “We’re a Couple of Swells” in Easter Parade. And nothing gets my dander up more than remembering Judy’s loss of the Oscar she should have received for her heart-wrenching performance in A Song Is Born.

Today is Judy Garland's birthday, which explains why I'm thinking about her and all the pleasure she gave her many fans. Thanks to Turner Classic Movies for running some of Judy's wonderful movies today. I can hardly wait to see Summer Stock and The Pirate again!

A Couple of Swells

One of my favorite musical numbers from the movies is performed by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in Easter Parade (1948). If you haven’t seen that wonderful flick, just imagine the sophisticated Astaire and lovely Garland dressed in ultra-shabby tuxedoes and top hats singing Irving Berlin lyrics that go something like this:

We’re a couple of swells.
We stop at the best hotels.
But we prefer the country
Far away from the city smells.

Wall Street bankers are we
with plenty of currency.
We’d open up the vault,
but we forgot where we left the key.

And so forth.

Both talented performers look like they are having so much fun doing this amusing routine! And I never tire of watching them. In fact the entire movie is worth seeing over and over again. Happily, it’s available on DVD – and “A Couple of Swells” can also be viewed on YouTube.