Saturday, July 28, 2018

Silk Stockings (1957), 8-

A musical remake of Ninotchka: After three bumbling Soviet agents fail in their mission to retrieve a straying Soviet composer from Paris, the beautiful, ultra-serious Ninotchka is sent to ... 
1h 57min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 18 July 1957 | Color, WS
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Stars: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Janis Paige, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, Jules Munshin.
Eugene Loring ... all other dances choreographed by
Hermes Pan ... all dances in which Fred Astaire appears choreographed by
Angela Blue ... assistant choreographer (uncredited)


In the Tap! Appendix (actually from Jazz Dance by Stearns, 1994) for Fred Astaire.

Penultimate dance film for FA, the ultimate being Finian's Rainbow ('68).

Songs performed (35 chapters with menu), all by Cole Porter:
  • ch4. Too Bad (We Can't Go Back to Moscow), Sung and Danced by Fred Astaire, Jules Munshin, Joseph Buloff (dubbed by Bill Lee), Peter Lorre (dubbed), Barrie Chase, Tybee Afra, Betty Uitti and dancers 
  • ch9. Paris Loves Lovers, Sung by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse (dubbed by Carol Richards) 
  • ch11. Stereophonic Sound, Sung and Danced by Fred Astaire and Janis Paige 
  • ch13. It's a Chemical Reaction that's all, Sung by Cyd Charisse (dubbed by Carol Richards) 
  • ch14. All of You, Sung by Fred Astaire, Danced by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse 
  • ch19. Satin and Silk, Sung by Janis Paige 
  • ch20. silk stockings dance by CC
  • ch22. Without Love, Sung by Cyd Charisse (dubbed by Carol Richards) 
  • ch24. Fated to Be Mated, Sung by Fred Astaire, Danced by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse 
  • ch25. All of You, reprise Danced by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse 
  • ch26. Josephine, Sung by Janis Paige 
  • ch28. Siberia, Sung by Jules Munshin, Peter Lorre (dubbed) and Joseph Buloff (dubbed by Bill Lee) 
  • ch30. Red Blues, Sung and Danced by Cyd Charisse, Peter Lorre, Joseph Buloff, Jules Munshin and Wim Sonneveld 
  • ch32. The Ritz Roll and Rock, Sung and Danced by Fred Astaire and chorus 
A fun film, with lots of good dancing and plenty of visual pleasures. The casting is great, with JP finally used to good effect (she had to leave H'wood, and star on B'way, before getting this.) Also noteworthy: PL "dancing", especially in the first number (ch4). My favorite number might be Red Blues, where CC again dances with a male chorus, using her ballet skills in jazzy movement.

MGM, dir. Mamoulian; 8-
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