I saw Born to Dance for a number of reasons. One was that it was a musical, for as long as I can remember I have loved musicals and some of my favourite films are musicals. There is also Eleanor Powell, who is an incredible performer. And there is James Stewart, who is one of my all-time favourite actors.
Born to Dance was interesting to say the least. But it was disappointing as well in a way. What didn't work for me was some of the dialogue, some of it is genuinely humorous and witty, but there are other times where it is painful and just bizarre. Buddy Ebsen is a good enough dancer, but his singing is very minimal and does little justice to the wonderful musical numbers.
I hate to say this, but Stewart was a rare disappointment in this one. Stewart was a great actor, and had been in many wonderful movies, but in all honesty his role as Ted is one of my least favourites of his. His acting is good enough, he is still the charismatic and endearing James Stewart I know and love, but his singing and dancing are a different story. His singing is flat and quite limited in range mostly, Easy to Love is listenable but there are other times where he sounds as though he knows the songs are too big for him, while his dancing is heavy and flat-footed.
Problems aside, Born to Dance does have a number of good things. The story is a simple one with some predictable scenes, but it is also very charming with enough heart to satisfy. The dancing is wonderful to watch, especially Eleanor Powell's tap dancing, and the in-general brisk pacing ensures that Born to Dance has few dull spots.
The production values are top drawer, the sets and locations are striking, the costumes are beautifully tailored and the cinematography is quite exemplary and doesn't look dated. While there are two disappointments in the cast, there are several good ones. Virginia Bruce seems to be having a whale of a time, and Frances Langford demonstrates a stunning vocal technique. Reginald Gardiner's cameo is very awkward but also quite amusing at the same time.
In my mind, Eleanor Powell gives the best performance, her acting is great, her charisma is infectious, her singing is well-above average and energetic and her dancing fares best of all as it is incredible. Other than Powell's performance, Cole Porter's music is the other high point. The background scoring is beautiful and very memorable, while the songs especially Rap-Tap on Wood, Love, Love my Peckinese and the big production number at the end are outstanding with catchy melodies and witty lyrics as one would expect from Porter.
In conclusion, interesting film musical but I would be lying if the pang of disappointment wasn't in the air. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Born to Dance was interesting to say the least. But it was disappointing as well in a way. What didn't work for me was some of the dialogue, some of it is genuinely humorous and witty, but there are other times where it is painful and just bizarre. Buddy Ebsen is a good enough dancer, but his singing is very minimal and does little justice to the wonderful musical numbers.
I hate to say this, but Stewart was a rare disappointment in this one. Stewart was a great actor, and had been in many wonderful movies, but in all honesty his role as Ted is one of my least favourites of his. His acting is good enough, he is still the charismatic and endearing James Stewart I know and love, but his singing and dancing are a different story. His singing is flat and quite limited in range mostly, Easy to Love is listenable but there are other times where he sounds as though he knows the songs are too big for him, while his dancing is heavy and flat-footed.
Problems aside, Born to Dance does have a number of good things. The story is a simple one with some predictable scenes, but it is also very charming with enough heart to satisfy. The dancing is wonderful to watch, especially Eleanor Powell's tap dancing, and the in-general brisk pacing ensures that Born to Dance has few dull spots.
The production values are top drawer, the sets and locations are striking, the costumes are beautifully tailored and the cinematography is quite exemplary and doesn't look dated. While there are two disappointments in the cast, there are several good ones. Virginia Bruce seems to be having a whale of a time, and Frances Langford demonstrates a stunning vocal technique. Reginald Gardiner's cameo is very awkward but also quite amusing at the same time.
In my mind, Eleanor Powell gives the best performance, her acting is great, her charisma is infectious, her singing is well-above average and energetic and her dancing fares best of all as it is incredible. Other than Powell's performance, Cole Porter's music is the other high point. The background scoring is beautiful and very memorable, while the songs especially Rap-Tap on Wood, Love, Love my Peckinese and the big production number at the end are outstanding with catchy melodies and witty lyrics as one would expect from Porter.
In conclusion, interesting film musical but I would be lying if the pang of disappointment wasn't in the air. 7/10 Bethany Cox