The Swing of Things: Swing Time Step by Step (Video 2005)

Director:

Eric Clawson

Writers:

Eric Clawson, Karen Hillhouse,

Stars:

Larry Billman

Cast

Credited cast:
Larry Billman	...	Himself

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

special effects | song lyrics | racism | white actor in blackface | dance lesson | 

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Genres:

Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 2005 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summerland Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

14 min

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

Watch this: Dance like Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers . . .

. . . or maybe not. But this "making of" is far more technical than the one essentially the same crew and cast of talking heads did for TOP HAT. Perhaps that's because there is not as much to SWING TIME as TOP HAT, other than discussing the repetitive dance motif, and apologizing after-the-fact for Fred Astaire's character "Lucky" appearing in "black-face" as a "tribute" to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in his "Bojangles of Harlem" dance number. Besides SWING TIME, this short features clips from the Astaire & Rogers films TOP HAT and FOLLOW THE FLEET. There is also archival interview footage from their choreographer, Hermes Pan. Beyond that, perhaps the most memorable observations are in regard to the use of "special effects" in Astaire's dance performances.