Easter Parade Tribute Poem

“Easter Parade,” MGM’s glorious 1948 musical starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, is sheer entertainment from beginning to end. It’s one of the films I enjoy watching over and over again. Humor, star power, fabulous music, incredible dance routines, and a clever show-biz plot combine to make this offering a favorite for fans of movie musicals. Below is my tribute poem for this memorable motion picture from days of yore. 

Top of their game, Fred and Judy

sing and dance in perfect movie.

“Easter Parade” charms and delights

Lots of fun and other highlights.

Fred picks Judy for new duo,

teaching her what she ought to know

to replace Ann Miller. Oh yikes!

That’s not what Judy thought or likes.

But they work hard on their new act.

Dazzling viewers, and that’s a fact.

What will the great Ann Miller say?

Will she get in poor Judy’s way?

Terrific tunes engulf the screen.

Top performances in each scene.

“Easter Parade” evokes such joy.

It’s like a stunning shiny toy!

Hooray for Fred Astaire

HOORAY FOR FRED ASTAIRE!

Born on this date was Fred Astaire.

Tapping his feet or jumping in air,

he always looks so debonair.

Dancing with Rita or Ginger,

Cyd Charisse or any dancer,

Fred makes elegance THE answer.

Watching him whirl across the screen

keeps us charmed in every scene.

And thanks to films, he still is seen!

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

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.