Customer Reviews

Royal Wedding / The Belle of New York

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Leonard Maltin gives three stars to Royal Wedding, but only two and one half to The Belle of New York, which he calls "uninspired". Royal Wedding exists in more than forty versions on DVD, including budget versions and in sets. My reason for choosing this new edition is that first, it's in print, while many of the other aren't, and second this is a film that deserves to be seen in a quality version without the skips, stops, color bleeds and edits on some of the budget releases.

After the lackluster opening number, I was ready to turn off Royal Wedding, but as if rising to the challenge, it quickly picked up steam, first with the incredible choreography of Astaire in the gym, next with Powell's wonderful singing, and finally with the excellent Lerner/ Lane musical numbers. Like all Hollywood musical in a musicals, there are long, lavish showstopping stretches of singing and dancing. This film, however, also dazzles with its vivid British sets and lavish scenery and a perfect cast topped by Peter Lawford's effortless portrayl of Powell's flame and husband-to-be, a debonaire English Lord. The unforgettable number is Astaire dancing on the walls and ceiling. Dazzling not merely for technical wizardry (it's probably a rotating room), but for the dynamic performance done, the more amazingly, on a nearly propless stage. I think this piece may also be in one of the That's Entertainment films. If The Belle of New York doesn't quite hit that high mark, it nevertheless provides a chance to see more of Astaire in action, and another little known classic film.

This disc is welcome news for Astaire fans. It resurrects two films which which have many pleasant moments and contain three outstanding musical numbers. Belle of New York, the movie which spends more time with Astaire dancing than any of his other movies, has been long unavailable except for an out-of-print VHS tape. Royal Wedding has been all too available in uniformly execrable public domain releases.

BELLE OF NEW YORK:
This was one of Astaire's few critical and box office losers. The flaws, in hindsight, are obvious. The New York playboy Astaire plays is charming but an emotional light-weight. He finds love eventually and he never loses his charm. Still, he's a shallow guy. The Salvation Army-type lass he falls in love with is played by Vera-Ellen, who was always perky and a supremely proficient dancer. Still, there's something chilly, to my mind, about her dancing. She can do any step Astaire does, but does it with little spontaneity. The smile on her face while she dances never changes. The comedy relief doesn't seem very amusing. The story serves merely as a quick bridge between extended musical numbers. I don't mind this at all, but it does make the story seem like an afterthought.

But the good things are fine. The 1880's Currier and Ives look is warm and charming. The Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer songs are easy to listen to. Most of all, there is Astaire and his dancing. The film features, I think I got this right, eight musical sequences, most of them major productions. Astaire is in all but one. The highlights for me are:

--"Baby Doll," a sweet. wooing number sung by Astaire to Vera-Ellen and then danced in a relaxed and easy-going style by the two.
Baby Doll, you beautiful Baby Doll,
Let's go home and tell your mother
That you found a baby brother.
I'm takin' you off the shelf
And showin' you off myself;
Can't you see it now?
I'm takin' you walkin'
Holding your parasol;
Ah, honey, there's no use talkin'
You're a beautiful Baby Doll.

--"Seeing's Believing" has Astaire singing and dancing around and on the Washington Square Arch. The idea is that love has him floating. The routine uses camera tricks and false backgrounds to create the illusion he's on the top of the arch teetering and tapping. Not for viewers who suffer acrophobia, but this extended Astaire routine is a lot of fun.

--"I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man," is a classic. It's just Astaire, a stage and some sand on the floor. Everything works in this number, including the Warren-Mercer song.
I wanna be a dancin' man while I can,
Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time,
If I never leave a dime.
Never be a millionaire, I don't care,
I'll be rich as old King Midas might have been,
Least until the tide comes in.

The Belle of New York is a proficient movie, and you don't have to spend much time waiting for the next dance number to arrive.

ROYAL WEEDING:
Fred Astaire and Jane Powell play the Broadway headliners Tom and Ellen Bowen. They are brother and sister; he's a workaholic, always wanting to rehearse; she's a vivacious flirt. They wind up in London at the height of the excitement over the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and each finds true love. The story-line might be slight but it's not treated too seriously. Most importantly, it gives us a series of clever musical numbers, including a classic Astaire dance and a classic love song sung by Powell. Among the highlights:

--"Sunday Jumps." On the ship to Britain Astaire rehearses in the gym. Astaire was so good he could make a clothes rack look like a talented dancer. And he does. He uses the clothes rack, pull weights, a punching bag, parallel bars and weight pins. His work with the clothes rack is complicated, precise and as smooth as cream.

--"How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life" is a raucous, low-comedy number sung and danced by Astaire and Powell.

--"Too Late Now." In my view, this is one of the best love songs to have been written for a movie. Lerner's lyrics are very good, but it's Lane's melody that gives it feeling and distinction.
Too late now to forget your smile,
The way we cling when we dance awhile.
Too late now to forget and go on to someone new.

Too late now to forget your voice,
The way one word makes my heart rejoice.
Too late now to imagine myself away from you.

All the things we've done together
I relive when we're apart.
All the tender fun together,
Stays on in my heart.

How could I ever close the door
And be the same as I was before.
Darling, no, no, I can't anymore.
It's too late now.

--"You're All the World to Me." This is an immensely clever tour de force by Astaire, danced to an outstanding rhythm melody by Lane. Astaire dances on the walls and ceiling as well as the floor of his hotel suite. How he and director Stanley Donen pulled this off mystified people for years until it was learned the set for the entire room and the camera were fixed to a giant, slowly turning wheel. It's a classic number.

Royal Wedding works as well as it does because it's genuinely cheerful, it has Astaire and because Burton Lane, with Lerner writing the words, came up with some stylish music.

On balance, this DVD is a great disc for Astaire fans.

"Royal Wedding" is among the top five or so of the great Technicolor musicals of the late 1940s and 1950s. For fans of the genre, it is not to be missed, and finally a decent-looking studio release is available. "The Belle of New York", on the other hand, is a different story.

How do these misfires happen? You have the number-one musical-producing studio and number-one musical star of all time, a worthy partner, a supporting cast of terrific character actors, a pair of great songwriters, top pros writing and directing, and yet the result of their collaboration is this lifeless waste of an hour and a half. "The Belle of New York" is Astaire's second-to-worst movie, better only than the dreadful "Yolanda and the Thief". The plot is uninteresting, and Fred's character is perhaps, this time, just a bit too much of a wastrel to be sympathetic. The special effect of the couple floating and dancing in the air is too silly to watch without a little embarrassment, and the comedy gags don't work. One protracted dance number bringing to life the paintings of Courier and Ives (the Thomas Kinkades of the 19th century) goes on so long you almost forget what the movie was about. "Belle" is a genuine flop, without one memorable musical number, and no redeeming attribute other than Vera-Ellen's legs, which are finally shown off near the end.

Buy this DVD package. You'll only watch "Belle" once, but you'll watch "Royal Wedding" over and over.

This version of "Royal Wedding" and "The Belle of New York" has a good quality of picture and sound and is worth buying. Both movies are enjoyable, but "Royal Wedding" is by far a better made film. You will watch "Royal Wedding" more than the other one. I would recommend this version.

This release by MGM of two early /50s films starring THE legendary man of dance Fred Astaire,offers up his two successively made projects;one good the other not so good.However both are in brilliant technicolour and quite pleasing to the eye.
Royal Wedding(released in Mar/51)stars Fred as Tom Bowen and Jane Powell as his sister Ellen.They are a popular sister and brother act with the sister being kind of a male magnet.When the two get a chance to take their show to the London stage,they jump at it.While in London Ellen succumbs to a little too much male extra circular actvitiy with an English Lord Brindale(Peter Lawford);much to the chagrin of her brother.However the love bug eventually strikes Tom too and he falls hard for one Miss Ashmond(Sarah Churchill).Their act is a smash on the London stage while the course of true love doesn't necessarily run smooth for either.When the day of the real Royal Wedding of the now Queen of England comes around Tom and Ellen,who are by now pretty much set to marry their love interests,decide it would be foolish to break up the act for marriage.They vow to remain single but when the royal couple leave the church they break down and both go running after their respective mates.The film ends with a pull-back shot of the now married foursome leaving the church.
Those that know anything about Astaire will immediately see how this film is loosely based on his own career with his first and best partner,his sister Adele.Adele fell for an Englsih Lord that inevitably broke up the act in the early /30s.Royal Wedding I would give about 3 1/2 stars;a good picture but certainly not one of Astaires best.However there are more than enough moments in this film for him to shine,and shine he does.In the "Sunday Jumps" number he is impatiently waiting for his sister to show up for rehearsal.He plays around with a few steps,looks at his watch and looks out the door,grabbing a hat rack by his right hand.As he turns back in he is still holding the hat rack and suddenly he is using it as his dance partner.The room he is in is supposed to be a gym room so he uses many other props that he finds but the hat rack is certainly the most used,inventive and entertaining of them all.The other number which has become legend in itself is the "You're all the world to me" routine.He is nuts over Miss Ashmond and while sitting looking at her picture decides to get up and dance.He dances to and fro and just when you think there's nothing more he can do he starts climbing the walls.This wonderful routine takes him in a visual circle up one wall,onto the ceiling and down the other wall and back briefly to each.The number has always managed to retain that "wow" factor,even today.Powell and Astaire also manage to pull off a pretty good routine together in an against-type number called "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You,when You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life" .Watch for Albert Sharpe as Miss Ashmond's father,better known in later years as Darby O'Gill from the movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People".Technically the movie has been transferred beautifully and it has never looked as gorgeous as it does now.Special features include a special from TCM's Private Screenings with Stanley Donen,a featurette,an actual outtake from the movie(rare),a couple of period cartoons,the trailer and a promotional interview on radio with Astaire and Powell.
Belle of New York(released Feb/52) is a pretentious and uninteresting movie that,if it didn't have Astaire in it,wouldn't be worth the film it was shot on.The film opens with a shot of an entire street filled with male admirers singing "When I'm out with the Belle of New York" to Angela(Vera Ellen).She is a member of the "Daughters of Right",a Salvation Army type group of women led by Lettie(Marjorie Main).In comes playboy extraordinare Charles Hill(Astaire) who is supposedly on his last night of bachelorhood asking a bevy of his old girlfriends(musically)who will give him his last kiss.He leaves his intended bride standing at the altar and next day while on a buggy ride with a new female friend through the park he spots Angela and the rest of the "Daughters" out spreading the "word" to the homeless and downtrodden.Charles leaves the buggy and his girl and becomes immediately smitten with Angela.She is a tough nut to crack but over time he manages to get into her good books and the two become an item.Trouble is Charles' Aunt is Lettie,the very same Lettie who leads the "Daughters",of which Angela is a part of and she doesn't approve of the two at first.Lettie eventually relents and gives her blessing.Comes their wedding day and Charles gets two sheets to the wind and stands up Angela at the church.She is heartbroken and returns to the "Daughters" to work but a sorry Charles still pursues her.In the end he gets his girl as the two go off into the sunset dancing on air.And the latter is what is possibly the biggest let down to the movie.Everytime we see Charles or Angela in a deep love thought they start to actually float in the air.Astaire has a number dancing on the top of the monument in Washington Square but it just does not come off.It is far too fantastical and is very much out of place.When Charles first confronts Angela about his feelings he is in the air talking to her.She looks up and tells him he's not supposed to be there and that he is silly.He floats back down.Silly it is,which ever way you look at it.The plot,what it is,is also another of the films own worst enemies.From the get go Angela is the local "babe",admired by seemingly every man in NYC.Vera Ellen's persona and looks go against that sentiment right away so we have a conflict throughout and since everything hinges on the audience believing it,that aspect never is pulled off with success.Also working against the grain is Vera Ellen herself.In my opinion she is one of Astaires worst partners as far as chemistry goes;the worst being Joan Fontaine in "Damsel in Distress"(1937).And her work with Astaire in "The Brides Wedding Day Song" with various Currier and Ives backdrops,is pedestrian at best;the entire number is somewhat of a let down anyways.Astaires best moment comes in a kind of biographical number called"I wanna be a Dancin Man".It's a beautiful island in a sea of mediocrity.Besides Astaire the only other presence worth noting here is Marjorie Main.She is in fine form as gruff Aunt Lettie and was always a delight to see and a solid supporting actor.This film was a box office failure in its initial run and I would give it no more than 2 1/2 stars today.
Technically the film has been wonderfully restored picture wise;both it and Royal Wedding are on a par that way.However sound wise there is a problem.During the first hour of the film the musical numbers sound like someone is playing with the pitch controls as the sound is quite erratic.For those who remember what a record is,it is like putting the needle down and watching it go from side to side(not run true).That is the type of sound you hear here and it is certainly distracting to say the least,and all the more strange they would release the film like that.Special features include a Pete Short specialty film(always a delight),a Tex Avery Cartoon,the trailer and another rare piece of footage,the alternate version of "I wanna be a Dancin' Man" routine.You see Astaire with and without overdubbing;a fantastic piece of footage.
Royal Wedding easily wins top spot in this double Astaire release,but while"Belles" is just simply a poor film "Royal" comes in not much better than above average;so there is no reason for fireworks with either film."Belles" suffers from a contrite and forced story line to which there is no believability in or sympathy from the audience.Vera Ellen is a poor partner for Astaire but Fred at least has one good solo spot."Royal" has a much better cast but the story can get bogged down and flat sometimes which drags it.Sarah Churchill is certainly "different" as an Astaire love interest and as a result I find that aspect quite disinteresting.But there are two Astaire solo spots here that make this film worth getting,his famous dancing on the ceiling and his turn with a coat rack;pure magic.I think the fans of Astaire will find their own moments of pleasure in both these films,but to those beyond that,as musicals,they lack a broader appeal.

Recently I was able to get multiple classic movies for relatively little on Amazon. , The Royal Wedding and Belle of New York, joined other movies, and once, again, the reworking of the old movies for magic on the musical stage. Great actors, dancers and stories that entertain and captivate, are always abundant in Royal Wedding and Belle of New York.

This is the best copy of Royal Wedding that I have ever seen. Usually they are grainy and muted, but this is clear, vibrant and looks like it was shot yesterday! Likewise with Belle of New York. Considering I had never seen Belle before, either on TV or on video, this is a pretty exciting release. The special effects are a little on the cheesy side by today's standard, but considering the time it was pretty darn convincing! AND the only time I've seen Fred Astaire do soft-shoe! Highly recommend.

After reading reviews of various editions of *Royal Wedding* and poor transfers to DVD, I was a little worried this version would be mediocre, too. But, I was wrong. It's great! Colors and audio are bright and distortion-free. Naturally, Astaire and Powell are wonderful. *Belle* is excellent, too, but not as interesting as *Royal*.

Royal Wedding is definitly a great film, with some top class dances and routines by Fred Astaire. I would'nt be so enthousiastic about the belle of New York, which lacks of dances. But Fred's charm operates, and makes this film worth watching, altough it's not his very best.

Two of my favorite Fred Astaire - Vera Ellen is terrific in Belle of New York. Have had them on VHS, just updating my collection.
Judy Francis