Amazing Dance Sequences of Film, Part 2

Well, it took me a little longer than I anticipated to get this finished but here it is! Continuing the countdown:

5) Living it Up (1954) Jerry Lewis, Sheree North

As a sometime-swing-dancer, I can always appreciate a good jitterbug, especially when the dancers are as talented as Sheree North and Jerry Lewis! Most people think of Jerry as just a comic, and rather a forgettable one at that, but he was actually a very talented dancer and I always enjoy watching him. You can see Dean Martin and Janet Leigh in there a little too. ;)

4) the Seven Little Foys (1955) Bob Hope, James Cagney
This clip simply astounds me. Not only because the dancers are so well-known and so talented, but because, to put it quite frankly, they're so old! Bob Hope was fifty-two and Jimmy Cagney was fifty-six when this movie was filmed. And they dance so incredibly well! Especially Jimmy. He's so smooth and he has such style. (In fact, I had no idea James Cagney could dance until I saw a clip of Yankee Doodle Dandy. Call me an idiot.)

3) Cinderfella (1960) Jerry Lewis, Anna Maria Alberghetti
Another Jerry Lewis number, this time from one of his self-produced films (and one of my favorites). I adore this clip. How cool is that entrance?! The amazing thing is, Jerry didn't rehearse it. He knew exactly what he was going to do, but he only did it once. Like James Cagney, Jerry is an incredibly smooth dancer. His steps are as sharp as the creases in his pants. ;) And the bit where he's dancing with Anna Maria Spaghetti (as Dean called her) is so cute. I love her, she's gorgeous (and I don't know how she danced in that sheath skirt--Edith Head should know better). Oh, don't forget, that's Count Basie in the background! Could it get any better?

2) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) Sally Ann Howes, Dick Van Dyke
Who can forget the stunning "Doll on a Music Box"? Sally Ann Howes is a genius. The whole number is phenomenal. Dick Van Dyke is incredible. (He had to be on wires. There is no way.) When I was a little kid, I thought they had actually built a life-size doll that looked just like Sally Ann Howes. I just couldn't believe that was a real person, and I still can't. Not only is doing the jerky motions incredibly difficult, but try doing them while you're turning around in a circle with one foot suspended on your ankle! (Hint:Watch closely and you'll see Truly push Caractacus into the mirror at 5:23.:P )

And the Number One, Most Awe-Inspiring Dance Sequence of all time Is....

1) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)  Betty Carr, Jacques d'Amboise, Martha Doggett, Virginia Gibson, Nancy Kilgas, Ruta Lee, Martt Mattox, Julie Newmar, Marc Platt, Jane Powell, Tommy Rall, Russ Tamblyn
I was eleven years old. My dad had brought home Seven Brides on DVD and we all sat down to watch it. It was a funny, entertaining film but when we got to the barn dance...well, nobody said a word. We just sat there. After it was over my dad solemnly hit the replay button. It was even better the second time. (As an aside, I love the part where Jane Powell comes in! She was a great dancer!)
The next year, I became obsessed with the film and that dance in particular, and learned it off by heart. (My dad checked the soundtrack out from the library for me so I wouldn't wear out the DVD.) I would prance around the family room with my imaginary partner, wearing my grandmother's bridal hoop and an old gingham curtain tied around my waist. When they whirled up onto the picnic tables, I bounced up on the back of our couch.I always danced Virginia Gibson's part (the girl in pink) because we had the same name and I thought she was the best dancer (plus she was in almost every single sequence of the dance, so I got to do the entire thing). You know, it's still my dream to perform this dance somewhere, sometime...

So, that's it! What did you think of my list? Do you agree or disagree? Is there some fantasmagorical dance number I missed out on? Tell me what you think!

A Cinderfella *Remake*??

Well, I checked the Jerry Lewis news feed on IMDB for the first time in like, a month, and guess what.

Yes.

He has optioned out six of his films from the early 1960s as remakes. Can you believe it??!

Jerry won't say what the  last three are, but he has mentioned remakes in the works for the Bellboy, the Family Jewels, and Cinderfella. Cinderfella!

I love that movie. I absolutely adore it. Not only is Jerry totally cute and utterly sweet but it has Ed Wynn and Anna Maria Alberghetti (whom I happen to UTTERLY idolize and look up to and whom I was once told I look like.... :D no fooling!). How can they remake Cinderfella?

My feelings on this piece of news are soooo mixed....on the one hand, I am extremely glad that a whole new generation will come in contact with Jerry's genius. Entertainment today is at an all-time low and Jerry is one of the few remaining Redwoods (as I like to call Old Hollywood's alumni). But how can you remake a Jerry Lewis film?

There is no one, I repeat, absolutely no one, who can take his place and even be remotely successful (with the tiny, microscopic exception of possibly Sean Hayes). Jerry mentioned that he would like these roles to be venues for outstanding comedic talent or some such nonsense....which probably means he'll be teaming up with Robin Williams, Jim Carrey or another modern comedian I can't stand...just like he did with Eddie Murphy in that awful remake of the Nutty Professor. And Sean Hayes is already out of the running because, as Jerry so gracefully puts it, "He's in bed with Universal. And I'm not thrilled to death about them." Which makes me sad because Sean Hayes was the one good thing about that simply dreadful biography film, Martin & Lewis. Why not get Billy Crystal, for gosh sakes? (I know he's old, I know, I know...)

Anyway....the only good thing about a Cinderfella remake is that they would have to recast the role of Princess Charming (aka Anna Maria Alberghetti)...which means I could have a shot at it! lol. (Not really. But the possibilites do give one reason to hope. :)

Another thing I was glad to hear is that Jerry is going to be very much more involved with these films than he was with the Nutty Professor Remake of Death. Which means we should get less toilet humor and more Jerry-esque hijinks. Joy rapture, hallelujah, and amen three times over.  : D

And now, to rant on the Stupidity of Modern Hollywood and Their Bullheaded Insistence on Remaking Every Good Film... (seriously, that title just about says it all, doesn't it?) I don't know about you, but I am getting extremely tired of Hollywood thinking they have to remake Every Good Film...if it ain't broke, don't fix it, folks! The problem is, Hollywood is broke...broke for good ideas, broke for fresh films...they simply don't have any more juice left. So they feel the need to capitalize on past successes with the excuse of putting a "fresh" or "modern" take on them (to which I say "faugh!". What's wrong with the old-fashioned take?!).  So help me, if they ever get around to that Thin Man remake I will never visit a modern theater again.

So anyway....I'm still sort of split on this thing. I can't wait to see what Jerry is going to come up with, but at the same time I can't help wishing that he would take all the time, energy and money he is using on these remakes and pour it into developing DVDs of all those films of his we don't have instead...the Giesha Boy, etc....we don't even have a full Colgate Comedy Hour set!

By the way, if you want to read the interview I got this info from, it is here.