Gillian Beattie
- Dec 11, 2017
- 3 min read

Dance Blog, Dec 2017: Nostalgic Inspiration

I have indulged myself in this blog and want to share with you a little piece of nostalgia. My children don't take-me-on anymore with dance or film inspirations, so I am excited to share this one with fellow dance lovers.

My first clip I feel encompasses naturalism, style, grace, amazing tap .... all on skates! Produced and delivered to perfection, enjoy this clip of Gene Kelly, tap dancing on roller skates from the movie It's Always Fair Weather (1955). Although not Gene Kelly's most successful or well known films, its worth a watch. CLIP 1

Full film is great if you get a chance to watch it.

PLOT - This information is from Wikipedia.

Three ex-G.I.s, Ted Riley (Kelly), Doug Hallerton (Dailey) and Angie Valentine (Kidd) have served in World War II together and become best friends. At the beginning of the film, set in October 1945, they dance through the street celebrating their upcoming release from the service ("The Binge") and meet at their favorite New York bar. They vow eternal friendship, and before going their separate ways, promise to reunite exactly ten years later at the same spot.

In the years after the war, the three men have taken entirely different paths ("10-Year Montage"). Riley, who had wanted to become an idealistic lawyer, has become a fight promoter and gambler, associating with shady underworld characters. Hallerton, who had planned to become a painter, has gone into a high-stress job in advertising, and his marriage is crumbling. Valentine, who had planned to become a gourmet chef, is now running a hamburger stand in Schenectady, New York that he calls "The Cordon Bleu", and has a wife and children.

The three men keep their promise to meet at the bar ten years later, and quickly realize that they now have nothing in common and dislike each other. Hallerton and Riley view Valentine as a "hick", while Riley and Valentine think Hallerton is a "snob", and Hallerton and Valentine think Riley is a "punk". Sitting together in an expensive restaurant as Hallerton's guest, munching celery, they silently express their regrets in "I Shouldn't Have Come", sung to the tune of "The Blue Danube".

At the restaurant, they encounter some people from Hallerton's advertising agency, including Jackie Leighton (Charisse), an attractive and brainy advertising person. Jackie gets the idea of reuniting the three men later that evening on a TV show hosted by Madeline Bradville (Gray). She and Riley gradually become involved, though at first Jackie seems motivated by wanting to get Riley on her show. She joins Riley at Stillman's gym, where Jackie demonstrates a deep knowledge of boxing while cavorting with beefy boxers ("Baby You Knock Me Out").

Riley gets into trouble with gangsters because he refuses to fix a fight. As he seeks to evade gangsters from a roller skating ring, he skates out on the streets of Manhattan, where he realizes that Jackie's affection for him has built up his self-esteem, and he dances exuberantly on roller skates ("I Like Myself"). Hallerton, meanwhile, has misgivings about the corporate life ("Situation-Wise").

The three men are reluctantly coaxed into the TV reunion, with the gangsters tracking Riley to the studio. They jointly fight and defeat the gangsters, which brings them back together. At the end they are friends again, but go their separate ways without making plans for another reunion ("The Time for Parting").

FAB FACT!

MGM were churning out musicals; sometimes 10 a year! This list is from 1929 through to 1996. No film studio does work like this anymore.

How many have you seen?