Thanks for the tip Luann.  I wonder why they have some and not others.
All the early RKO Astaire movies are now owned by Warner Bros.  So if
they got a license to Divorcee, why not others?  I wonder if there is
any way to suggest to them what to license and put in their store???
Hmmm....

H.

--- In astaire@yahoogroups.com, "Rita Marlowe Schmidlap"
<bullgirl45@...> wrote:
>
> About a year ago I checked the iTunes store and found only one Astaire
> movie available for purchase - Funny Face. The irony of watching this
> widescreen classic on the business-card sized screen of my new iPhone
> appealed to me so I downloaded it.
>
> And yes, I am aware that free software available online will allow you
> to convert DVD and other video formats to the iTunes format. Sometimes
> it's nice to pay for these things so that we can encourage their
> release into new formats. But I digress.
>
> Just now I was poking around again and found that there are several
> more FA movies available. If you search for Astaire, it will show you
> FDTR, Gay Divorcee, and Funny Face. Holiday Inn is also available,
> though it doesn't come up in an "Astaire" search. Whether or not you
> want to buy them, you can view the trailers for free in fairly high
> quality video - certainly better than that of YouTube or the TCM site.
>
> There are a lot of goofy mistakes here - my favorite being the album
> art on something called "Fred Astaire: the Musical Prodigy" which has
> a lovely picture of Bing Crosby on the cover.
>
> Luann
>

--- In astaire@yahoogroups.com, "chrisbamberger" <cnb@...> wrote:
>
> When Ted finishes stealing (dancing beautifully with) Jim's girl, they
> are all standing near the same large tissue valentine that Ted and
> Linda just burst through--only it is still intact.

Hi, Chris!
I noticed this the other day and I THINK (I haven't checked it since
reading your post).. so it's definitely only 'I THINK' ... there are
two tissue hearts - at different positions on the floor.  Apologies if
I'm wrong ... and why on earth haven't I checked it before writing
this?!

I've always been anti-colorizing on principal, but I must admit, I
enjoyed seeing HI in colour - and I was impressed by the explanatory
doco which described the process.  So long as we still have the option
to view the films in black and white if we want to, of course!

As ever, love and best wishes,
Terry (P) UK

You're right, Terry, that there are two: one on the left as you view
Bing singing to Marjorie (on the side of the room they enter just
before that) and one on the right, near the cloak room (side of the
room Fred enters). Given the positions of Marjorie and Fred at the end
of the dance (in front of the heart through which they broke, but with
Fred's back to Bing), that is the valentine we are seeing miraculously
intact just after Danny says, "Young lady, do you realize that we've
been looking for you for weeks?" But I noticed upon re-checking that,
when Bing says a few lines later, "Now, hold everything--this is MY
inn!" we do see the tissue heart in tatters.

Another interesting thing about this number is that the room looks so
different from what you might call Bing's point of view, compared to
the way it looks from the point of view of someone standing in the
doorway that Bing and Marj entered (when we begin to see the room in
semi-darkness, with the snow falling romantically outside the inn's
front windows). In reality, spatially, you would see Bing and the band
at the edge of the frame on the right as F&M perform that second part
of the dance, but we don't--Jim has disappeared symbolically because
Ted has taken over.

Love to you and Sue, too!


Quoting Terry Pearson <terrypearson@...>:

> --- In astaire@yahoogroups.com, "chrisbamberger" <cnb@...> wrote:
>>
>> When Ted finishes stealing (dancing beautifully with) Jim's girl, they
>> are all standing near the same large tissue valentine that Ted and
>> Linda just burst through--only it is still intact.
>
> Hi, Chris!
> I noticed this the other day and I THINK (I haven't checked it since
> reading your post).. so it's definitely only 'I THINK' ... there are
> two tissue hearts - at different positions on the floor.  Apologies if
> I'm wrong ... and why on earth haven't I checked it before writing
> this?!
>
> I've always been anti-colorizing on principal, but I must admit, I
> enjoyed seeing HI in colour - and I was impressed by the explanatory
> doco which described the process.  So long as we still have the option
> to view the films in black and white if we want to, of course!
>
> As ever, love and best wishes,
> Terry (P) UK

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-01-06-olga-sanjuan_N.htm

"He's not so good in a crowd.
But when you get him alone.
You'd be surprised"

Always found her quite dishy in "Blue Skies". Another one gone...

Bernd

She was not mentioned as a dance partner of Fred's when we got into discussions
about his partners. But she clearly danced with him in Blue Skies. Sad to hear
of her death.

Patty




________________________________
From: tmwctd <tmwctd@...>
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 10:15:41 PM
Subject: [astaire] Olga San Juan has passed away...


http://www.usatoday .com/life/ people/2009- 01-06-olga- sanjuan_N. htm

"He's not so good in a crowd.
But when you get him alone.
You'd be surprised"

Always found her quite dishy in "Blue Skies". Another one gone...

Bernd






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

so,for those of you who have the newest HI dvd, do you recommend us
buying it for the colorized version? i've already double-dipped this
title on dvd and am not sure i'd want to buy it a third time unless
the colorized version is SPECTACULAR.... also, is there any way
someone could upload a clip of the colorized version on youtube so we
could all see it?

I don't know how to do that (wish I did!), but you can view the song
"White Christmas" on the Bing Crosby website:

http://www.bingcrosby.com/main.html


And although the quality is not as high, someone also has put it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8jHyLiOplE



Quoting marccw05 <marccw05@...>:

> so,for those of you who have the newest HI dvd, do you recommend us
> buying it for the colorized version? i've already double-dipped this
> title on dvd and am not sure i'd want to buy it a third time unless
> the colorized version is SPECTACULAR.... also, is there any way
> someone could upload a clip of the colorized version on youtube so we
> could all see it?
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Post message: astaire@yahoogroups.com
> Subscribe: send a blank email to astaire-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> Unsubscribe: send a blank email to astaire-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> For problems, email: astaire-owner@...! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Sorry everyone was not able to view the Bing Crosby Ecard I made for their
website this year.   I sent it to the Astairegroups, but it didn't go through.
When I sent it individually, in the correct format, it was able to be seen.
It was a montage of Bing accompanied by him singing "White Christmas" from
his 1970s Christmas shows, with a bit of snow thrown in over the end credits.

It was the first Ecard for the website and was quite a hit.

Maureen


**************
New year...new news.  Be the first to know what is
making headlines. (http://www.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000026)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

My print edition of the New York Times had an obituary. The photograph
was of OSJ with Fred in the "Heat Wave" number. Oddly, I can't find it
on the NYT website right now.

I didn't realize she was married to Edmund O'Brien (a household
favorite for his turn in The Girl Can't Help It.)

Luann

--- In astaire@yahoogroups.com, "tmwctd" <tmwctd@...> wrote:
>
> http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-01-06-olga-sanjuan_N.htm
>
> "He's not so good in a crowd.
> But when you get him alone.
> You'd be surprised"
>
> Always found her quite dishy in "Blue Skies". Another one gone...
>
> Bernd
>

Boy, did she dance with him in "Heat Wave"!  Her seductiveness
combined with his single minded pursuit of her (with NO love involved)
was quite "hot" and very different for an FA partnered dance.
Definitely NOT romantic but predatory instead.  FA acted literally
like an animal (some type of feline) stalking her like a bright-plumed
bird. There was no innocence expressed in this dance, on either side
(except perhaps in FA's "Boogie" tap interlude in the middle).

So sad to see her go.
H.

--- In astaire@yahoogroups.com, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@...> wrote:
>
> She was not mentioned as a dance partner of Fred's when we got into
discussions about his partners. But she clearly danced with him in
Blue Skies. Sad to hear of her death.
>
> Patty
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: tmwctd <tmwctd@...>
> To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 10:15:41 PM
> Subject: [astaire] Olga San Juan has passed away...
>
>
> http://www.usatoday .com/life/ people/2009- 01-06-olga- sanjuan_N. htm
>
> "He's not so good in a crowd.
> But when you get him alone.
> You'd be surprised"
>
> Always found her quite dishy in "Blue Skies". Another one gone...
>
> Bernd
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

This is Mike Clark's USA Today review of the Holiday Inn Collector's
Set DVD, and I happen to agree with it...


No disagreement.  Paramount should have filmed the Bing Crosby-Fred
Astaire Yuletide perennial, which introduced Irving Berlin's White
Christmas, in color.  But on a heavily hyped new disc this three-DVD
set includes, along with the standard black-and-white version and Inn's
soundtrack CD, the colorization process makes the Berlin musical look
as if it were shot in cost-cutting Cinecolor.  Given all that's there,
this is a nice set.  But we can be specific: To see what vibrant
Technicolor for Bing Crosby musicals from the 40's really looked like,
check out Universal's twofer of The Emperor Waltz and A Connecticut
Yankee in King Arthur's Court or the Crosby-Astaire-Berlin Blue Skies,
which is paired with Bing's 1941 black-and-white Birth of the Blues.

(And the 'soundtrack' CD he mentions really contains only Decca
recordings Fred and Bing made of some of the Berlin songs in 1942...Jim)





  so,for those of you who have the newest HI dvd, do you recommend us
> buying it for the colorized version? i've already double-dipped this
> title on dvd and am not sure i'd want to buy it a third time unless
> the colorized version is SPECTACULAR.... also, is there any way
> someone could upload a clip of the colorized version on youtube so we
> could all see it?
>

It is one of my favorite dances of Fred's. I guess Irving Berlin titled that
song for one reason and Fred picked up on it.

Patty



________________________________
From: axelrodh <axelrodh@...>
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 4:23:29 PM
Subject: [astaire] Re: Olga San Juan has passed away...


Boy, did she dance with him in "Heat Wave"! Her seductiveness
combined with his single minded pursuit of her (with NO love involved)
was quite "hot" and very different for an FA partnered dance.
Definitely NOT romantic but predatory instead. FA acted literally
like an animal (some type of feline) stalking her like a bright-plumed
bird. There was no innocence expressed in this dance, on either side
(except perhaps in FA's "Boogie" tap interlude in the middle).

So sad to see her go.
H.

--- In astaire@yahoogroups .com, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ ...> wrote:
>
> She was not mentioned as a dance partner of Fred's when we got into
discussions about his partners. But she clearly danced with him in
Blue Skies. Sad to hear of her death.
>
> Patty
>
>
>
>
> ____________ _________ _________ __
> From: tmwctd <tmwctd@...>
> To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
> Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 10:15:41 PM
> Subject: [astaire] Olga San Juan has passed away...
>
>
> http://www.usatoday .com/life/ people/2009- 01-06-olga- sanjuan_N. htm
>
> "He's not so good in a crowd.
> But when you get him alone.
> You'd be surprised"
>
> Always found her quite dishy in "Blue Skies". Another one gone...
>
> Bernd
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thank you for all the useful information re: "Holiday Inn" colour
version.
  Although I do have USA DVDs, I think that I might miss this one
out ....why ? If Mr.Astaire is so heavily made-up (as someone
mentioned), it would upset me watching it. I think he is very drawn and
thin enough as it is in  this film (but still gorgeous ).Better stay
with the b/.w version.
  What really got me hopping mad was the amount of make-up in "Barclays
of Broadway" and I still cannot understsand the reason why !

  Thanks again,
  Julie

I have ALWAYS been fascinated with the set of Holiday Inn.  This
goes back years and years.   I am even more intrigued by it than the
set of White Christmas which is a close second.   I have also
noticed that when Marj and Fred burst thru the tissue heart, a
technician must shut off the back light which has silhouetted them
just previously.  You can see the glare for just a second as they
burst thru and then it fades.  NOW MY FAITH in Paramount has been
restored!  I have run and rerun Holiday Inn's "Be Careful" number on
my Laser disk player which has a sort of joystick for stopping and
backing up.  There are indeed two tissue hearts and when you see the
intact heart it is in fact the heart that was NOT jumped thru.   If
you look at Bing just before the cut to that shot he is facing to
the inside of the building and the camera in the next shot is
positioned behind his head.  This is also evident by looking at the
background.  Instead of the coat check lady and Inn entrance you see
a sort of reverse dormer interior roof line.  When they next show
the tattered heart the camera is repositioned looking toward the
entrance, correctly depicting the broken heart.  The mystique
continues, heck they did not even need weather stripping in those
beautiful entrance doors to wonderland.   And on top of that Marj's
dress in semi-transparent and those shoes are very sexy, while the
dreamy look on her face is angelic.   When we see the Inn as only a
set at the ending it sort of ruins it all a bit.  Plunks you back to
earth with a thud.
I think Terry perhaps remembered the answer to the tissue heart
confusion.   I am so glad that this group has taken so much space to
discussing this great old film this year!
Rich

speaking for myself . i had a version of holiday inn in black and  white  and
bought the new colorized version. i am glad i did. it   is spectacular !  i
see so much more in the movie than i did in b and w . a  cd is also included
with the songs of holiday inn  ( different versions by  bing crosby and fred
astaire . there is a separate dvd for the black and  white  version  3 discs in
all. money well spent  !

Jay Sandrich, Mark's son, told me that one of the most vivid memories of his
childhood was visiting the set of Holiday Inn and seeing snow for the first
time.  (He didn't mind that it was fake.)

Mike

P.S.  Now he has a place in Aspen.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Wow, he was good on skates, and so was Charles Chaplin!
A coinsidence of some sort that the two film guys who did the
most noteworthy turns on skates were next door neighbors
from 1934 (or 1935) to 1952. (I apologize if there were
other skaters---I'm pretty narrowly focused---film hero-wise.)

Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?
Photos at a local roller rink or in Griffith Park, for instance.
What might the training strategy have been? Were the skates pres-
erved? Did FA and GR ONLY practice on a converted soundstage?

Desperately seeking Mike Russell on this!!

Judith

I believe Fred was an excellent skater before making that movie.

Patty




________________________________
From: judithleew <judithleew@...>
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:55:39 PM
Subject: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates



Wow, he was good on skates, and so was Charles Chaplin!
A coinsidence of some sort that the two film guys who did the
most noteworthy turns on skates were next door neighbors
from 1934 (or 1935) to 1952. (I apologize if there were
other skaters---I' m pretty narrowly focused---film hero-wise.)

Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?
Photos at a local roller rink or in Griffith Park, for instance.
What might the training strategy have been? Were the skates pres-
erved? Did FA and GR ONLY practice on a converted soundstage?

Desperately seeking Mike Russell on this!!

Judith






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 
How do you know this, Patty?
 
Judith

--- On Wed, 1/7/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@...> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@...>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 10:31 PM






I believe Fred was an excellent skater before making that movie.

Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judithleew <judithleew@yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:55:39 PM
Subject: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

Wow, he was good on skates, and so was Charles Chaplin!
A coinsidence of some sort that the two film guys who did the
most noteworthy turns on skates were next door neighbors
from 1934 (or 1935) to 1952. (I apologize if there were
other skaters---I' m pretty narrowly focused---film hero-wise.)

Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?
Photos at a local roller rink or in Griffith Park, for instance.
What might the training strategy have been? Were the skates pres-
erved? Did FA and GR ONLY practice on a converted soundstage?

Desperately seeking Mike Russell on this!!

Judith

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I read (in his autobio?) that he was given skates in his teens or early 20s and
used to skate up and down the sidewalks of NY. His mother used to get upset for
fear of him falling and hurting himself and hence not able to perform. When you
watch Fred and Ginger skating Fred is always upright and Ginger looks a little
bent over at times, a little unsure.
Patty



________________________________
From: judith williams <judithleew@...>
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 8, 2009 12:33:47 PM
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates


 
How do you know this, Patty?
 
Judith

--- On Wed, 1/7/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@yahoo. com> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@yahoo. com>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 10:31 PM

I believe Fred was an excellent skater before making that movie.

Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judithleew <judithleew@ yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:55:39 PM
Subject: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

Wow, he was good on skates, and so was Charles Chaplin!
A coinsidence of some sort that the two film guys who did the
most noteworthy turns on skates were next door neighbors
from 1934 (or 1935) to 1952. (I apologize if there were
other skaters---I' m pretty narrowly focused---film hero-wise.)

Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?
Photos at a local roller rink or in Griffith Park, for instance.
What might the training strategy have been? Were the skates pres-
erved? Did FA and GR ONLY practice on a converted soundstage?

Desperately seeking Mike Russell on this!!

Judith

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 
But I think that he would need to refine his technique in order to use his skill
to perform to
the choreography that we see in SWD.  I wonder where he practiced in order to
use his
body, maximally, on skates. 
 
Judith   

--- On Thu, 1/8/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@...> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@...>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 9:41 AM






I read (in his autobio?) that he was given skates in his teens or early 20s and
used to skate up and down the sidewalks of NY. His mother used to get upset for
fear of him falling and hurting himself and hence not able to perform. When you
watch Fred and Ginger skating Fred is always upright and Ginger looks a little
bent over at times, a little unsure.
Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judith williams <judithleew@yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Thursday, January 8, 2009 12:33:47 PM
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

 
How do you know this, Patty?
 
Judith

--- On Wed, 1/7/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ yahoo. com> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ yahoo. com>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 10:31 PM

I believe Fred was an excellent skater before making that movie.

Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judithleew <judithleew@ yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:55:39 PM
Subject: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

Wow, he was good on skates, and so was Charles Chaplin!
A coinsidence of some sort that the two film guys who did the
most noteworthy turns on skates were next door neighbors
from 1934 (or 1935) to 1952. (I apologize if there were
other skaters---I' m pretty narrowly focused---film hero-wise.)

Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?
Photos at a local roller rink or in Griffith Park, for instance.
What might the training strategy have been? Were the skates pres-
erved? Did FA and GR ONLY practice on a converted soundstage?

Desperately seeking Mike Russell on this!!

Judith

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Unless, being the dancer that he was, he tried dance moves on skates. And being
the perfectionist he was, did them over and over and over and.........
Patty




________________________________
From: judith williams <judithleew@...>
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 8, 2009 12:50:12 PM
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates


 
But I think that he would need to refine his technique in order to use his skill
to perform to
the choreography that we see in SWD.  I wonder where he practiced in order to
use his
body, maximally, on skates. 
 
Judith   

--- On Thu, 1/8/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@yahoo. com> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@yahoo. com>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 9:41 AM

I read (in his autobio?) that he was given skates in his teens or early 20s and
used to skate up and down the sidewalks of NY. His mother used to get upset for
fear of him falling and hurting himself and hence not able to perform. When you
watch Fred and Ginger skating Fred is always upright and Ginger looks a little
bent over at times, a little unsure.
Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judith williams <judithleew@ yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Thursday, January 8, 2009 12:33:47 PM
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

 
How do you know this, Patty?
 
Judith

--- On Wed, 1/7/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ yahoo. com> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ yahoo. com>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 10:31 PM

I believe Fred was an excellent skater before making that movie.

Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judithleew <judithleew@ yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:55:39 PM
Subject: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

Wow, he was good on skates, and so was Charles Chaplin!
A coinsidence of some sort that the two film guys who did the
most noteworthy turns on skates were next door neighbors
from 1934 (or 1935) to 1952. (I apologize if there were
other skaters---I' m pretty narrowly focused---film hero-wise.)

Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?
Photos at a local roller rink or in Griffith Park, for instance.
What might the training strategy have been? Were the skates pres-
erved? Did FA and GR ONLY practice on a converted soundstage?

Desperately seeking Mike Russell on this!!

Judith

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 
That's part of it. But maybe there's an interesting story about WHERE he
practiced or
under what circumstances.  There are Ideally suited surfaces for roller
skating---for
instance the surfaces that competitive skaters require.  Surely
Fred-the-Perfectionist  had certain reasonable demands about his practice area
for skating.
 
Judith

--- On Thu, 1/8/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@...> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@...>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 10:01 AM






Unless, being the dancer that he was, he tried dance moves on skates. And being
the perfectionist he was, did them over and over and over and.........
Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judith williams <judithleew@yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Thursday, January 8, 2009 12:50:12 PM
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

 
But I think that he would need to refine his technique in order to use his skill
to perform to
the choreography that we see in SWD.  I wonder where he practiced in order to
use his
body, maximally, on skates. 
 
Judith   

--- On Thu, 1/8/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ yahoo. com> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ yahoo. com>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 9:41 AM

I read (in his autobio?) that he was given skates in his teens or early 20s and
used to skate up and down the sidewalks of NY. His mother used to get upset for
fear of him falling and hurting himself and hence not able to perform. When you
watch Fred and Ginger skating Fred is always upright and Ginger looks a little
bent over at times, a little unsure.
Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judith williams <judithleew@ yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Thursday, January 8, 2009 12:33:47 PM
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

 
How do you know this, Patty?
 
Judith

--- On Wed, 1/7/09, Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ yahoo. com> wrote:

From: Patty Barnhill <moose18588@ yahoo. com>
Subject: Re: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 10:31 PM

I believe Fred was an excellent skater before making that movie.

Patty

____________ _________ _________ __
From: judithleew <judithleew@ yahoo. com>
To: astaire@yahoogroups .com
Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:55:39 PM
Subject: [astaire] Fred on Roller Skates

Wow, he was good on skates, and so was Charles Chaplin!
A coinsidence of some sort that the two film guys who did the
most noteworthy turns on skates were next door neighbors
from 1934 (or 1935) to 1952. (I apologize if there were
other skaters---I' m pretty narrowly focused---film hero-wise.)

Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?
Photos at a local roller rink or in Griffith Park, for instance.
What might the training strategy have been? Were the skates pres-
erved? Did FA and GR ONLY practice on a converted soundstage?

Desperately seeking Mike Russell on this!!

Judith

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Since we got on the topic of noticing peculiar details. There is
another one that has got me wondering.  In RICH, right before the
"Wedding Cake Walk" dance, Robert and Sheila are standing in the
wings.  He's got on the costume that he will wear in the number and in
the background you can see some women from the chorus in their frilly
"wedding" dresses.  Shiela is tying the bow on a long dress, and gives
an impression that she is also reading her costume for the dance.
However, in the dance she is wearing a different dress.

Any explanations?  Is she going to do a different number right before
"Wedding" in this dress and then change?  Is this a dress from a
previous number-but then why is she tying it on?  Or was it simply
that the final dress was not ready (or a change was made) at the time
of the shooting of this scene. Mystery....?

H.

i've always thought that that was a dressing gown/robe rita was
putting on after coming off stage.... i'll tell you one thing though,
that LOOK on fred's face when rita walks away...priceless!!! that's
the face of a man ON THE PROWL!!

one of my many pleasures with watching the astaire/hayworth combo is
the way astaire EYES hayworth, in both films.... he seems to be really
taken with her, and i'm not quite sure that it's ALL acting!!



--- In astaire@yahoogroups.com, "axelrodh" <axelrodh@...> wrote:
>
> Since we got on the topic of noticing peculiar details. There is
> another one that has got me wondering.  In RICH, right before the
> "Wedding Cake Walk" dance, Robert and Sheila are standing in the
> wings.  He's got on the costume that he will wear in the number and in
> the background you can see some women from the chorus in their frilly
> "wedding" dresses.  Shiela is tying the bow on a long dress, and gives
> an impression that she is also reading her costume for the dance.
> However, in the dance she is wearing a different dress.
>
> Any explanations?  Is she going to do a different number right before
> "Wedding" in this dress and then change?  Is this a dress from a
> previous number-but then why is she tying it on?  Or was it simply
> that the final dress was not ready (or a change was made) at the time
> of the shooting of this scene. Mystery....?
>
> H.
>

one of my many pleasures with watching the astaire/hayworth combo is
the way astaire EYES hayworth, in both films.... he seems to be really
taken with her, and i'm not quite sure that it's ALL acting!!


I agree with you on this point. Though on the face of it, you wouldn't think
Astaire would go well together with Hayworth, there is a very relaxed, natural,
believable chemistry between them. Much is said about the chemistry between him
and Rogers--and I won't dispute that--but what he has with Rita is less "artsy,"
if you will, less styled and more, well, natural. That may perhaps?be because
the styles of many of the movies in the 1940s are more "real" and less stylized
than those from the 1930s (fewer huge, art-deco hotel rooms, for example), or it
may be that Astaire is older and playing a slightly different character than
before, I don't know. So, though I of course love the Astaire-Rogers movies, I
have always preferred his pairing with Hayworth.


Patricia?



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According to Billman, p.98: "For the roller skating dance sequence to
"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," it was printed that Astaire and
Rogers rehearsed with Hermes Pan for 100 hours." but he doesn't
provide a reference to the publication.

Thomas's bio has the story of how Fred acquired his roller-skating
prowess in the late twenties (p.70):

quote

When Jock Whitney presented him with a pair of new-style, big-wheel
roller skates, Fred was eager to try them out. He realized the press
might discover him rolling along the Manhattan streets in daylight. So
every night after a performance, much against his mother's wishes, he
skated happily up and down Park Avenue. "Now, Freddie, think what will
happen if you break an anklel" Mrs. Astaire cautioned. "Oh, Mom, I'll
be all right," he replied

unquote

Puttin' on the Rollers.

Dermot

--- In astaire@yahoogroups.com, "judithleew" <judithleew@...> wrote:

>
> Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
> mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
> good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?

>
> Judith
>

 
Dermot, I thank you very much!
 
Judith

--- On Fri, 1/9/09, drop_that_long_face <fenians_rainbow@...> wrote:

From: drop_that_long_face <fenians_rainbow@...>
Subject: [astaire] Re: Fred on Roller Skates
To: astaire@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, January 9, 2009, 9:57 AM






According to Billman, p.98: "For the roller skating dance sequence to
"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," it was printed that Astaire and
Rogers rehearsed with Hermes Pan for 100 hours." but he doesn't
provide a reference to the publication.

Thomas's bio has the story of how Fred acquired his roller-skating
prowess in the late twenties (p.70):

quote

When Jock Whitney presented him with a pair of new-style, big-wheel
roller skates, Fred was eager to try them out. He realized the press
might discover him rolling along the Manhattan streets in daylight. So
every night after a performance, much against his mother's wishes, he
skated happily up and down Park Avenue. "Now, Freddie, think what will
happen if you break an anklel" Mrs. Astaire cautioned. "Oh, Mom, I'll
be all right," he replied

unquote

Puttin' on the Rollers.

Dermot

--- In astaire@yahoogroups .com, "judithleew" <judithleew@ ...> wrote:

>
> Does anybody know if anything appeared in the press in
> mid to late 1936 about Fred and Ginger's training to become
> good enough as skaters to be able to "dance" while wearing them?

>
> Judith
>


















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I really like Rita Hayworth as Mr. Astaire's partner. Actually, I like her in a
great many things. Even though the plots of her films with Mr. Astaire require
her to do less than intelligent things, Ms. Hayworth manages to suggest her
character isn't without brains. She was a lovely dancer, and more than held her
own with both Mr. Astaire and Mr. Kelly, and had a nice comic touch that didn't
get employed nearly enough. And she was a good actress too. It's unfortunate
that Columbia Pictures kept treating her as a goddess or a femme fatale in not
very good films, and her private life was so difficult.

Pat

I need to use one of my most important investigative tools--my library card.Det.
Robert Goren

Yes it's true. There was a film which she play between "you'll never get rich"
and "you were never lovelier", "My gal sal" with in a little young role Hermes
Pan. I have never seen it. Is it a good film?.

Céline


________________________________
De : Pat <wardicus2002@...>
À : astaire@yahoogroups.com
Envoyé le : Vendredi, 9 Janvier 2009, 19h23mn 45s
Objet : [astaire] Hayworth



I really like Rita Hayworth as Mr. Astaire's partner. Actually, I like her in a
great many things. Even though the plots of her films with Mr. Astaire require
her to do less than intelligent things, Ms. Hayworth manages to suggest her
character isn't without brains. She was a lovely dancer, and more than held her
own with both Mr. Astaire and Mr. Kelly, and had a nice comic touch that didn't
get employed nearly enough. And she was a good actress too. It's unfortunate
that Columbia Pictures kept treating her as a goddess or a femme fatale in not
very good films, and her private life was so difficult.

Pat

I need to use one of my most important investigative tools--my library card.Det.
Robert Goren






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