Today's topic is MGM musicals. We'll start with an all-time favorite from It's Always Fair Weather, combining the marvelous dancing of Cyd Charisse, a snappy tune, ace character actors worthy of Guys & Dolls, Nat Hiken's You'll Never Get Rich and Car 54 Where Are You and stellar direction by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly.
Do we love Cyd, one of the greatest dancers to ever appear in motion pictures, whose natal anniversary is right around the corner on March 8, our enthusiastic response is yes, yes and YES!
It's a tough call, but the favorite MGM musical of the gang here is still The Band Wagon. How can one not love Vincente Minnelli's imaginative direction, the incredibly creative set designs and costuming, all-time greats Astaire and Charisse rocking the terpsichore within a Freed unit style noir based on Mickey Spillane?
Now this brings this post to the animation part of the program? Who do we at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog like almost as much as Cyd, Fred, Gene and such terpsichorial heavyweights as Vera-Ellen? Jerry the freakin' mouse, that's who! Jerry gets the nod because Droopy, Red Hot Riding Hood, The Wolf and the rowdy "Peter Arno grandmother" never appeared in an MGM musical.
In all these years and years of writing this blog (1382 posts), never posted that great clip of cartoon stars Tom & Jerry w/ the swimmin' musical star and MGM aquababe Esther Williams. Let's rectify that oversight right now, shall we?
As part of our post last July on Bill Hanna, we extolled the virtues of the splendid live-action meets animation musical Invitation To The Dance (1956).
We dearly love the animation, cool Cartoon Modern design and Gene's dancing in the Sinbad number of this outstanding film.
In closing, shall bring your attention to a terrific piece that author Greg Ehrbar, the man on all things Hanna-Barbera, posted on Cartoon Research about Gene Kelly, Jerry Mouse and the Columbia recordings based on Anchors Aweigh.
Mr. Ehrbar does amazing work as usual - and, like the great MGM musicals, animation, art, music and classic movies in general, we need all of the above more than ever in unrelentingly off-the-rails 2025.
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