Where Music & Dance Fall Face First Into The Internet

Monday, August 16, 2010

Lovely To Look At (1952)

"Lovely To Look At" is really just a fresh take on the Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers movie "Roberta". It's a bit hard to replace a song & dance team like Fred & Ginger, but using Marge & Gower Champion was a darn good choice. The movie actually stars Howard Keel & Kathryn Grayson, with Red Skilton & Ann Miller having large supporting roles. Zsa Zsa Gabor has a small role, as does Kurt Kasznar, but neither role or performance adds much to the movie. This movie nearly put me to sleep a couple times. The only high points were usually Red's gags, and the dance routines featuring the Champion's. If you want to watch this movie...do so with your thumb on the fast forward button.

Unfortunately I couldn't find many clips from the movie online, so I'll also share some clips from "Roberta".

I'll Be Hard To Handle
In "Lovely To Look At" Ann Miller handles this number herself. It's not one of my favorite numbers from Ann, but it's not bad. I couldn't find the clip on YouTube, so here's Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers dancing in "Roberta".


I Won't Dance
This dance number was my favorite moment of the movie...but again...I couldn't find the clip. So instead of Marge & Gower Champion you get Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers from "Roberta".

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Well...at least I was able to find one decent clip from the film. Enjoy this Marge & Gower Champion routine.

Fun Fact: "The lavish fashion-show sequence, directed by the uncredited Vincente Minnelli, showcased the gowns of Adrian, the influential designer associated with MGM's golden age of Garbo, Shearer, Harlow and Crawford. Adrian's work on the entire feature concluded his 28-year film career." - IMDB

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