The Belle of New York (1952)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent, a Must See

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Fred Astaire plays a playboy (an odd job of casting there) and he becomes infatuated with a lady (Vera-Ellen) working in a mission in New York City. So, to impress her, he tries to give up his playboy ways and get an honest job. Can he win her or is he simply out of his league? Despite being filmed in beautiful Technicolor, this is an amazingly sub-par film for Fred Astaire. Despite a lot of songs and dance numbers, none of them stand out--particularly the songs. And, to make matters worse, there really isn't a lot of plot or chemistry in this film. It's a shame, as I adore Astaire films--but this one left me very, very flat. It also didn't help that the film used the traveling matte technique to make people appear to fly. The technique seemed crude and very fake. I'd rather they spent their money writing some better songs than coming up with silly special effects. The only reason the film earns a 5 is that a bad Astaire film STILL is a pretty decent film!

Supporting players Marjorie Main, Alice Pierce and Keenan Wynn do their best, but the script is no help to them. I've heard Vera-Ellen described as a wonderful dancer, but she seems frozen and mechanical here. It would be nice if she changed the expression on her face once or twice during a movie. Vera-Ellen angry, Vera-Ellen concerned, Vera-Ellen in love...same difference. There are too many songs (or is it that they're such lame, forgettable songs?). The only reason to see this film is near the end when Astaire, in a white suit with trousers slightly too short in order to show off colored socks, dances on a sandy stage to "A Dancin' Man." That's worth the rental of the DVD right there.Also, the DVD I watched had a clip of a discarded version of "Dancin' Man." It was interesting to see this much inferior take.

This was not the best movie ever made. If it were much longer than 82 minutes it might have been much less interesting. But it was entertaining and amusing at that length. I also think that Fred Astaire proves once again that the seemingly effortless grace and style and rhythm and yes, even charm, that he displays in "I wanna be a dancing man" places him in the very top echelon of modern day dancers. Bojangles. Fred Astaire. Bob Fosse. And perhaps a dancer who has not yet been discovered. For 82 minutes of inconsequential entertainment you could do much worse than this. And did anyone else notice that the effects presage Mary Poppins some ten years later? I love to laugh.....lol...

This was one of Astaire's few critical and box office losers. The flaws, in hindsight, are obvious. The New York playboy Astaire plays is charming but an emotional light-weight. He finds love eventually and he never loses his charm. Still, he's a shallow guy. The Salvation Army-type lass he falls in love with is played by Vera-Ellen, who was always perky and a supremely proficient dancer. Still, there's something chilly, to my mind, about her dancing. She can do any step Astaire does, but does it with little spontaneity. The smile on her face while she dances never changes. The comedy relief doesn't seem very amusing. The story serves merely as a quick bridge between extended musical numbers. I don't mind this at all, but it does make the story seem like an afterthought. But the good things are fine. The 1880's Currier and Ives look is warm and charming. The Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer songs are easy to listen to. Most of all, there is Astaire and his dancing. The film features, I think I got this right, eight musical sequences, most of them major productions. Astaire is in all but one. The highlights for me are: --"Baby Doll," a sweet. wooing number sung by Astaire to Vera-Ellen and then danced in a relaxed and easy-going style by the two. --"Seeing's Believing" has Astaire singing and dancing around and on the Washington Square Arch. The idea is that love has him floating. The routine uses camera tricks and false backgrounds to create the illusion he's on the top of the arch teetering and tapping. Not for viewers who suffer acrophobia, but this extended Astaire routine is a lot of fun. --"I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man," is a classic. It's just Astaire, a stage and some sand on the floor. Everything works in this number, including the Warren-Mercer song:I wanna be a dancin' man while I can, / Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time, / If I never leave a dime. Never be a millionaire, I don't care, / I'll be rich as old King Midas might have been, / Least until the tide comes in. The Belle of New York is a proficient movie, and you don't have to spend much time waiting for the next dance number to arrive.