Actors - The Belle of New York

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	Actors - The Belle of New York

The Belle Of New York (MGM) is a 1952 Hollywood musical comedy film set in New York circa 1900 and stars Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Alice Pearce, Marjorie Main and Keenan Wynn, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The film was directed by Charles Walters.

This whimsical (even by Astaire's standards) drama failed at the box office and impressed few critics at the time, mainly due to the nature of the plot which empowers lovers to float free of the influence of gravity - a conceit reprised in the 1999 film Simply Irresistible
. Clearly stung by its failure, Astaire later claimed that the dance routines - of which there are more than usual - are of a particularly high standard - a rare verdict from such a notoriously self-critical artist. Vera-Ellen is generally viewed as one of Astaire's most technically proficient dance partners, and this was a factor in his readiness to expand the dance content of the film beyond its traditional proportions.

Key songs/dance routines:

The choreography makes play with ideas of lightness, of floating on air and on ice, and the use of platforms, with Astaire consciously avoiding his usual love of noise-making in his solos. Vera-Ellen's lithe and waif-like figure (she suffered from anorexia nervosa in real life) facilitated this concept. Choreographer Robert Alton collaborated with Astaire on the routines.

When I'm Out With The Belle Of New York: The film's signature waltz is delivered by a chorus outside Vera-Ellen's window.

Who Wants To Kiss The Bridegroom: Astaire sings and dances with seven women in sequence, finishing the routine on a table.

Let A Little Love Come In: Sung by Alice Pierce and then by Vera-Ellen (dubbed here by Anita Ellis).

Seeing's Believing: Astaire fantasy song-and-dance solo performed atop a mock-up of Washington Square Arch and which makes considerable use of process photography.

Baby Doll: Partnered romantic duet, with gentle comic overtones, sung by Astaire and danced by Astaire and Vera-Ellen with much emphasis on twirling motifs and platform work.

Oops: Comic dance duet, sung by Astaire, takes place in and around a moving horse-drawn streetcar which introduces the platform ingredient into a linear side-by-side style of choreography incorporating gags and tap routines which echo aspects of the I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket Astaire-Rogers number from Follow the Fleet
.

A Bride's Wedding Day Song (Curries And Ives): After some unfortunately cloying opening scenes, and an attractive swirling routine on an ice-skating rink, Astaire and Vera-Ellen launch into a duet which in terms of virtuosity is equalled only by the famous Waltz In Swing Time Astaire-Rogers dance from Swing Time
, with which this routine has some elements in common, being also a syncopated waltz with tap components, this time to a speeded-up version of The Belle Of New York. The apparent ease with which Vera-Ellen copes with the myriad complexities of this routine has sealed her reputation as one of Astaire's most accomplished dance partners.

Naughty But Nice: A solo song (dubbed by Ellis) and dance routine by Vera-Ellen which attempts to be erotic.

I Wanna Be A Dancin' Man: Astaire's second solo routine is a song and sand-dance (only his second sand-dance on film, the other being the No Strings number from Top Hat
), and one which - by running separate takes side by side in split screen - has been used in That's Entertainment, Part III to illustrate the extreme precision of Astaire's dance technique. The number - whose lyrics are a tribute to Astaire by his friend Mercer - is a humorous study in nonchalance, with Astaire's choreography deliberately offsetting Mercer's tribute.

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