HAPPY BIRTHDAY to JUDY GARLAND!

Three birthday posts in a row is rather excessive, is it not? :) This time of year is pretty busy--with birthdays, that is. And I'm pretty busy myself, but things should be slowing down over the weekend so I'll try to post something of substance soon. (Not that birthday posts aren't filled to the brim with substance, but you know what I mean.)

I must remember this hairdo--simply lovely!

Meanwhile, back to the subject at hand! I'm a huge Judy Garland fan, she's a top-notch triple threat and it's amazing how incredible her work was, given the extremely difficult personal circumstances she had to work through. Did you know that she was often compared to Al Jolson in terms of star power and sheer "performability"? Such a pity that she was taken from us so soon.

Judy and Bing Crosby perform on radio

As stated before, Judy was an amazing performer; multi-talented and genuine, beautiful and kind and with a passion for performing ingrained in her since the age of two. She is spunky and vivacious and loads of fun to watch--sort of like a brunette Ginger Rogers! lol.

My favorite Judy movie--"For Me and My Gal" (1942) with Gene Kelly

Some Judy quotes....(courtesy IMDB)
"[MGM] had us working days and nights on end. They'd give us pep-up pills to keep us on our feet long after we were exhausted. Then they'd take us to the studio hospital and knock us cold with sleeping pills . . . Then after four hours they'd wake us up and give us the pep-up pills again so we could work another 72 hours in a row. I started to feel like a wind-up toy from FAO Schwarz."

"Well, we have a whole new year ahead of us. And wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be a little more gentle with each other, and a little more loving, have a little more empathy, and maybe - next year at this time - we'd like each other a little more."

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

Isn't she lovely? The poor thing!

Amazing Dance Sequences of Film, Part 1

Inspired by my tendency to compare motion picture dance sequences, these are the ten most awe-inspiring (or not) dance sequences in film that stand out to me. Bear in mind that I haven't seen any Fred & Ginger films (gasp!) so none of their duets are on this list. Rating goes like this: a dance sequence may be well-choreographed or skillfully danced, but unless it gives me a sense of awe, it's not on this list.

10) Some Like It Hot (1959) Jack Lemmon and Joe E. Brown
Not exactly awe-inspiring, but certainly amazing and quite hilarious too. Who can forget Jack Lemmon in a flapper dress with a rose between his teeth, dancing the tango with Joe E. Brown? ;)

9) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) Dick Van Dyke

What makes this dance sequence amazing is that Dick Van Dyke had to do everything four beats off. Only a dancer will know how incredibly difficult that is. Especially considering the fact that Mr. Van Dyke was not trained.

8) An American in Paris (1951) Gene Kelly & Leslie Caron
Sheer length earns this one's place...the ballet is one of the most well-choreographed and amazing-looking sequences in film...but pretty typical of the musicals of the time, I feel. Those Gershwin blues...outstanding!

7) It's Always Fair Weather (1955) Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly can do on roller skates what the rest of us do on ice. Endlessly entertaining.

6) Royal Wedding (1953) Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling! Actually, this one isn't all that awe-inspiring except for the fact that he appears to be dancing....upside down. Check this out to see how they did it.

Do you agree with my ratings? Are there any dance sequences that you feel are awe-inspiring? More to follow!