Text 11049, 81 rader
Skriven 2008-07-25 14:23:12 av hap newsom (1:124/311)
     Kommentar till en text av BURTON FORD
Ärende: RE: dogging it 615
==========================
Hye Burt!
-> 
-> hn-> I'm a fan of Gene Kelly, Anne's a fan of Fred Astaire.
-> hn-> I like Singin in the Rain, she likes Flying down to Rio!
-> hn-> Actually I like "Fred" movies too...I'm a big fan of 
-> hn-> Edward Everett Horton
-> 
-> As I said to Michael, Singing in the Rain is one of the few movies I own.
-> I am also a fan of Kelly, and I am stunned by his Title dance number.
-> 
Anne has most of the Fred Movies, I don't own Singing
in the Rain, but I might pick it up on DVD one of these days.

-> But I am also floored by Donald O'Connor "Make Em Laugh" dance.  
-> That's the running up the wall one, where he ran danced straight 
-> up a wall and did back flips off of it, very high up. I read 
-> somewhere that he in the hospital for exhaustion for several days 
-> after doing the sequence.  I believe it... it looks like he 
-> nearly kills himself in the dance.
-> 
I tried that when I was a kid, and it is scary to do
without spotters there to make sure you make the
full rotation! I like Donald O Connor as well..or used
to; he did some dinner theater out here when he 
was at the tailend of his career (and his life), and 
he was drunk during a performance and ranted
at the audience for about 5 minutes before the
stage crew could get him off stage, needless to
say the local news really  jumped on him and 
he lived up to his bad boy reputation and had
a couple more tizzies on stage before the rest
of the engagement was cancelled. It was sad 
really, he was so drunk most of the time that
he wasn't really sure where he was or what
was going on, but he lashed out at everyone 
in a very vicious way...he lost a lot of fans 
in Tacoma for that.

-> I just saw my other favorite, Fred Astaire, on TV in some 
-> forgettable movie with Rosalind Russell.   It was made in a bit 
-> of a down side of his career I think; his dancing was a bit 
-> lackadaisical.  One dance number did remind me of what great legs 
-> Russell had.  [g]
-> 
All of his partners had great legs! With the 
possible exception of Judy Garland who's 
gams weren't nearly as spectacular as her
voice.

-> The difference in the way they had the camera watch them always 
-> fascinated me; Astaire doing the whole dance sequence in one 
-> non-stop take with nary a fluff; Kelly using the camera as much 
-> as his feet, in many different camera takes to emphasize  parts 
-> of the routine.
-> 
Fred would do the dance in one shot... but sometimes
it took dozens of takes to get it right. I agree with 
you, Kelly had an uncanny understanding of the 
camera's eye, and used it with remarkable effect.
Which may have been why he was such a superb
director as well as a dancer. Anne says Fred is 
graceful and Kelly is athletic...and I guess for the
most part I agree with that assesment.

-> And I always get a kick out of the marvelously cracked screeching 
-> Judy Hollidayish voice the silent screen star uses... can't remember 
-> her name but she did a marvelous bit with that voice.
-> 
I love that bit as well! Of course like you, it's one
of my favorites so I love all of it! In particular I 
like the song "Good Morning", with a young Debbie
Reynolds.

-> By golly, I haven't watched that tape in a couple years.  Gotta Watch!
-> Gotta watch! Goooootta Watch!    Maybe tonight.
-> 
And let me guess, it was goooooooood!
chat with you soon!
hap 
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