Sunday, March 25, 2018

Yolanda and the Thief (1945), 6- Color

Johnny Riggs, a con man on the lam, finds himself in a Latin-American country named Patria. There, he overhears a convent-bred rich girl praying to her guardian angel for help in managing ... 
1h 48min | Fantasy, Musical, Romance | 20 November 1945 | Color
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Stars: Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, Leon Ames.
Eugene Loring ... dances staged by

bootleg, blurry print.

In the Tap! Appendix for Fred Astaire. I don't think he actually taps in this film. Watch for that next time.

I don't remember watching this before, but I previously rated it 6 (14Feb2010), and concur today. I actually dislike some of the dancing, but that's consistent with my dislike of LB's style, and FA tailors his partner dances to his partner's strengths. But it's also lack of energy in the music, lack of purpose to the dances, and lack of complimentary camera movement with the dancing. OK, let's just call it dull choreography. (Maybe my opinion would be better with a better print, but I don't think so.)

Performances (13 chapters, 10 min each):

  • ch1. This Is a Day for Love, Sung by Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) and the girls in the convent 
  • ch4. Angel, Sung by Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) to herself 
  • ch5. FA dream (nightmare) sequence dance, includes Will You Marry Me?, Sung by Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) 
  • ch7. Yolanda, Performed by Fred Astaire with harp and Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) 
  • ch10. Coffee Time, Sung by Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin)
I previously thought that fantasy (guardian angel, dream sequence) was an excellent pairing with musicals, but this film proves that even that opportunity can be squandered. 

MGM, dir. Minnelli; 6-

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