The Belle of New York
Encyclopedia
The Belle of New York is a 1952 Hollywood musical comedy film set in New York circa 1900 and stars Fred Astaire
, Vera-Ellen
, Alice Pearce
, Marjorie Main
and Keenan Wynn
, with music by Harry Warren
and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
. The film was directed by Charles Walters
.
This whimsical (even by Astaire's standards) musical failed at the box office and impressed few critics at the time, mainly due to the nature of the plot which empowers lovers to float free of the influence of gravity - a conceit reprised in the 1999 film Simply Irresistible
. Astaire was reluctant to take the project - he was originally supposed to play the role in 1946 but had avoided it through retirement. Clearly stung by its failure, Astaire later claimed that the dance routines - of which there are more than usual - are of a particularly high standard - a rare verdict from such a notoriously self-critical artist. Vera-Ellen is generally viewed as one of Astaire's most technically proficient dance partners, and this was a factor in his readiness to expand the dance content of the film beyond its traditional proportions.
band in song. He falls in love at first sight and when she scoffs at him, telling him that if he were in love his feet would leave the ground, he promptly floats high into the air. He pursues her, even vowing to do an honest day's work for the first time in his life. After various attempts to convince her, Angela's feeling finally cause her feet to leave the ground. After a couple of misunderstandings are resolved, they float into the air together, to a chorus of well-wishers below.
in real life) facilitated this concept. This also marks choreographer Robert Alton
's last collaboration with Astaire.
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen was an American actress and dancer, principally celebrated for her filmed dance partnerships with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye and Donald O'Connor.-Early life:...
, Alice Pearce
Alice Pearce
Alicia “Alice” Pearce was an American actress. Brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town , Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films, before being cast as Gladys Kravitz in Bewitched in 1964...
, Marjorie Main
Marjorie Main
Marjorie Main was an American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
and Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
, with music by Harry Warren
Harry Warren
Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
. The film was directed by Charles Walters
Charles Walters
Charles Walters was a Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies in from the 1940s to the 1960s....
.
This whimsical (even by Astaire's standards) musical failed at the box office and impressed few critics at the time, mainly due to the nature of the plot which empowers lovers to float free of the influence of gravity - a conceit reprised in the 1999 film Simply Irresistible
Simply Irresistible
Simply Irresistible is a 1999 American romantic comedy film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery. It was directed by Mark Tarlov and was written by Judith Roberts. Simply Irresistible is notable as the last movie reviewed by film critic Gene Siskel...
. Astaire was reluctant to take the project - he was originally supposed to play the role in 1946 but had avoided it through retirement. Clearly stung by its failure, Astaire later claimed that the dance routines - of which there are more than usual - are of a particularly high standard - a rare verdict from such a notoriously self-critical artist. Vera-Ellen is generally viewed as one of Astaire's most technically proficient dance partners, and this was a factor in his readiness to expand the dance content of the film beyond its traditional proportions.
Plot
Set in turn-of-the-century New York, wealthy playboy Charles Hill (Fred Astaire) is causing difficulties for his guardian, Aunt Lettie (Marjorie Main) and lawyer, Max (Keenan Wynn). Prone to fall in love then ditching his showgirl brides-to-be at the altar, the compensation bills are mounting. After the most recent episode, he hears Angela (Vera-Ellen) leading a Salvation ArmySalvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
band in song. He falls in love at first sight and when she scoffs at him, telling him that if he were in love his feet would leave the ground, he promptly floats high into the air. He pursues her, even vowing to do an honest day's work for the first time in his life. After various attempts to convince her, Angela's feeling finally cause her feet to leave the ground. After a couple of misunderstandings are resolved, they float into the air together, to a chorus of well-wishers below.
Musical numbers
The choreography makes play with ideas of lightness, of floating on air and on ice, and the use of platforms, with Astaire consciously avoiding his usual love of noise-making in his solos. Vera-Ellen's lithe and waif-like figure (she suffered from anorexia nervosaAnorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
in real life) facilitated this concept. This also marks choreographer Robert Alton
Robert Alton
Robert Alton was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s...
's last collaboration with Astaire.
- When I'm Out With The Belle of New York: The film's signature waltz is delivered by a male chorus outside Vera-Ellen's window.
- Who Wants To Kiss The Bridegroom: Astaire sings and dances with seven lovely women in sequence, finishing the routine on a table.
- Let A Little Love Come In: Sung by Alice Pierce and then by Vera-Ellen (dubbed here by Anita EllisAnita Kert EllisAnita Kert Ellis is a Canadian-born American singer and actress. Born to Orthodox Jewish parents, Harry and Lillian Pearson Kert, her younger brother was actor/singer Larry Kert ....
).
- Seeing's Believing: Astaire fantasy song-and-dance solo performed atop a mock-up of Washington Square Arch, making considerable use of process photography. Astaire's verdict was: "After much experimentation and testing, it neither came off photographically nor story-wise."
- Baby Doll: Partnered romantic duet, with gentle comic overtones, sung by Astaire and danced by Astaire and Vera-Ellen with much emphasis on twirling motifs and platform work.
- Oops: Comic dance duet, sung by Astaire, takes place in and around a moving horse-drawn streetcar which introduces the platform ingredient into a linear side-by-side style of choreography incorporating gags and tap routines which echo aspects of the I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket Astaire-Rogers number from Follow the FleetFollow the FleetFollow the Fleet is a 1936 Hollywood musical comedy film with a nautical theme and stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable also appear, in small supporting roles...
.
- A Bride's Wedding Day Song (Currier And Ives): After some unfortunately cloying opening scenes, and an attractive swirling routine on an ice-skating rink, Astaire and Vera-Ellen launch into a duet which in terms of virtuosity is equalled only by the famous Waltz In Swing Time Astaire-Rogers dance from Swing TimeSwing TimeSwing Time is a 1936 RKO musical comedy film set mainly in New York City and stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Eric Blore and Georges Metaxa, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields...
, with which this routine has some elements in common, being also a syncopated waltz with tap components, this time to a speeded-up version of The Belle Of New York. The apparent ease with which Vera-Ellen copes with the myriad complexities of this routine has sealed her reputation as one of Astaire's most accomplished dance partners. Lastly, this dance is noteworthy for being Astaire's last full tap duet with a leading lady on film, as Ellen was the last of his dance partners who could tap.
- Naughty But Nice: A solo song (dubbed by Ellis) and dance routine by Vera-Ellen which attempts to be erotic.
- I Wanna Be A Dancin' Man: Astaire's second solo routine is a song and sand-danceSanding (dance)Sanding is a type of dancing where the dance floor is covered in sand. Willie "The Lion" Smith said of sanding, "You could really hear and feel the rhythm when the dancers shuffled around in a nice pair of patent-leather shoes"....
(only his second sand-dance on film, the other being the No Strings number in Top HatTop HatTop Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
), and one which - by running separate takes side by side in split screen - has been used in That's Entertainment, Part III to illustrate the extreme precision of Astaire's dance technique. The number - whose lyrics are a tribute to Astaire by his friend Mercer - is a humorous study in nonchalance, with Astaire's choreography deliberately offsetting Mercer's tribute.