Easter Parade (1948)

A nightclub performer hires a naive chorus girl to become his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make any partner a star.

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Sidney Sheldon (screenplay), Frances Goodrich (screenplay)

Stars:

Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Judy Garland	...	Hannah Brown
Fred Astaire	...	Don Hewes
Peter Lawford	...	Jonathan Harrow III
Ann Miller	...	Nadine Hale
Jules Munshin	...	Headwaiter François
Clinton Sundberg	...	Mike the Bartender
Richard Beavers	...	Singer ("The Girl on the Magazine Cover")

Storyline

Don Hewes and Nadine Hale are a dancing team, but she decides to start a career on her own. So he takes the next dancer he meets, Hannah Brown, as a new partner. After a while this new team is so successful, that Florenz Ziegfeld is interested in them, but due to the fact that Nadine Hale dances also in the Ziegfeld Follies Don says no. In spite of the fact that he is in love with Hannah, he keeps the relation to her strictly business. So Hannah is of the opinion that he is still in love with Nadine, and her suspicion grows when he dances with Nadine in a Night Club Floor Show.

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Plot Keywords:

dance | dancing | easter | performer | dancer | 

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Taglines:

Full of melody! Full of young love!

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Genres:

Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

8 July 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Irving Berlin's Easter Parade

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,503,654 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,033,920

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,650,540

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real "Ziegfeld Follies" of 1912 starred Jenny Dolly, Rosie Dolly, Bert Williams, Lillian Lorraine, and Leon Errol.

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Goofs

Robert Patrick says in his book, "Film Moi": "The most beautiful goof in movies comes in the 'Steppin' Out with My Baby' number. Fred Astaire at one point goes into slow motion. The chorus behind him continues at normal speed, but that's not the goof. Judy Garland, in the wings watching this miracle, just beams with admiration - as well she should."

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Quotes

Hannah Brown: Was I too terrible?
Don Hewes: No. No.
Hannah Brown: I've never really danced before.
Don Hewes: You're going to be fine.
Hannah Brown: Mr. Hewes, Mr. Hewes... You know you don't have to go on with this.
Don Hewes: Now look...
Hannah Brown: No, I mean it. You're the most wonderful dancer I've ever seen. You could get anyone to dance with you. You could get the very best.
Don Hewes: I don't want the very best. I want you.

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Alternate Versions

Judy Garland sings "Mr. Monotony" in a sequence cut from the film. An excerpt from the number was included in That's Entertainment Part III (1994). The 2004 DVD box set release of all three That's Entertainment films includes a bonus DVD that includes the complete performance of this number.

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Connections

Featured in Precious Images (1986)

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Soundtracks

I Want to Go Back to Michigan
(uncredited)
Written by Irving Berlin
Sung by Judy Garland

User Reviews

One Of The Best Musicals Of The Classic Era

I don't know why I haven't checked this out on DVD yet. I imagine it looks spectacular, because even the VHS looked super. I'm talking about the Technicolor. Man, those Technicolor films in the '40s were beautiful, as this certainly is.

For entertainment, you get Fred Astaire dancing, Judy Garland singing, Ann Miller dancing, and Peter Lawford singing. I didn't think Lawford could sing, but he's not bad here. The other talent must have elevated his.

Astaire consistently amazed audiences with his innovative dance routines and smooth style. He does a number here in a toy store that is really something! Miller also gives us a good tap number and Garland's songs are all winners.

This movie is more vehicle for those above-mentioned stars than it is in telling some profound the story. The story is not much, but who cares? It's the dancing, singing, the incredible costumes, overall color, nice people and just plain feel-good musical atmosphere that makes this a popular film, even to this day.