User Reviews

. . . in prattling on about "Fred Fred Fred Ginger Ginger Fred Fred Ginger Fred Fred Fred Fred" here. Not a single syllable of this 13-minute piece is devoted to the ACTUAL STAR of THE BARKLEYS OF BR0ADWAY, pianist Oscar Levant. Mr. Levant not only acts circles around Fred and Ginger in this 1949 feature film, but he also provides the ONLY two musical highlights with his theatrical performances of Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor. Perhaps the ONLY other flick of this era to use classical music to advance its plot as effectively as what Mr. Levant accomplishes Single-Handedly here is Alfred Hitchcock's use of Benjamin's "Storm Cloud Cantata" (and why not throw in Doris Day singing "Whatever Will Be"?) in his second version of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956). So the next time that nine Dance People get together to chew their fat, let's hope that no one films and distributes such a navel-gazing bore-fest to the general public!