Easter Parade

UPC: 012569707221

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Suitable for Children]

Summary: Fred Astaire had announced his retirement before the cameras began to roll on Easter Parade, but he decided to accept the film's leading role when its original star Gene Kelly became incapacitated. The thinnish plot, which finds Astaire trying to turn chorus girl Judy Garland into a star in order to show up his former partner Ann Miller, is hardly what keeps the audience's eyes riveted to the screen. All that truly matters are the 17 musical numbers, all written by Irving Berlin (ten were standards, while seven were new to this film). Among the many highlights are Astaire's slow-motion version of "Steppin' Out," the Astaire/Garland duet "We're a Couple of Swells," the opening rendition of "Happy Easter," and the closing performance of the title number. So successful was Easter Parade that plans were immediately drawn to reteam Fred Astaire and Judy Garland in The Barkeleys of Broadway; this time, however, it was Garland who withdrew, to be replaced by Astaire's most famous vis-?-vis, Ginger Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Best Musical Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Musical Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: ccDisc One:
New Digital transfer from restored picture and audio elements
Commentary by Fred Astaire's daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie and Judy Garland biographer John Fricke
Garland trailer gallery
Subtitles: English, Fran?ais & Espa?ol

Disc Two:

New Making-of documentary Easter Parade: On the Avenue
Three-Time Emmy? Award-winning American Masters documentary profile Judy Garland: By Myself
Outtake musical number Mr. Monotony
Audio-only bonuses: Radio production with the film's stars
Radio promo

Easter Parade

Format: DVD

Release Date: 03/15/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 103 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Easter Parade: Disc One
1. Credits [1:21]
2. Happy Easter [2:09]
3. Drum Crazy [4:21]
4. Only Happens When I Dance With You [4:07]
5. Breakup [3:02]
6. Hannah Will Do [2:33]
7. I Want to Go Back to Michigan [2:37]
8. Tight Rehearsal [4:19]
9. One Year From Today [2:16]
10. Getting Noticed [1:56]
11. Beautiful Faces Need Beautiful Clothes [2:34]
12. Wrong Twice [3:47]
13. A Fella With an Umbrella [4:14]
14. I Love a Piano [2:49]
15. Snooky Ookums [4:49]
16. Cancelled Plans [2:32]
17. Fran?ois' Recipe [1:10]
18. Taking Account of Don [2:36]
19. Shakin' the Blues Away [3:49]
20. Unsteady Dinner Dates [4:22]
21. It Only Happens When I Dance With You Reprise (1). [5:13]
22. Steppin' Out With My Baby [1:57]
23. A Couple of Swells [7:25]
24. Opening Night Report [4:35]
25. The Girl on the Magazine Cover [2:06]
26. It Only Happans When I Dance With You Reprise (II). [4:11]
27. Better Luck Next Time [2:04]
28. Nobody's There [3:57]
29. If I Loved Someone [2:51]
30. Easter Parade [2:26]
Side #2 -- Easter Parade: Disc Two
1. My Life in My Songs [6:08]
2. Born in a Trunk [3:51]
3. That Face and Voice [5:07]
4. Can This Be Me? [3:40]
5. The Wizard of Oz [8:16]
6. The Way We Worked [5:19]
7. Imposed Feelings [3:58]
8. Grown-Up Problems [3:36]
9. Meet Me in St. Louis [7:47]
10. Vincente Minnelli [4:17]
11. Pressures of Stardom [6:09]
12. Farewell, Alma Mater [6:16]
13. Sid Luft [2:05]
14. A Star Is Born [10:26]
15. The Man That Got Away [4:08]
16. Robbed [2:04]
17. In Concert [5:47]
18. Nothing Held Back [5:21]
19. The Judy Garland Show [8:24]
20. Cancelled [4:41]
21. Finale [6:45]
22. End Credits [1:50]

Richard Gilliam

Easter Parade crams seventeen songs into 103 minutes and, even at that, still struggles to find enough plot to fill out its length. Fortunately, the musical numbers are very good, and the wait between them is seldom long enough for the story to become tedious. Stars Judy Garland and Fred Astaire find a strong first-time chemistry, to Irving Berlin's music set to the Oscar-winning adaptation of Roger Edens and Johnny Green. Choreographer Charles Walters nominally performs in the director's chair. He's competent in getting the singing and dancing on film, but, as in much of his work, he shows little interest in the story that surrounds the music. The film maintains a fun, wholesome, upbeat tone and has the classy look common in MGM films of this era. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Jimmy Bates  Actor 
Joi Lansing  Actor 
Robert E. O'Connor  Actor 
Patricia Walker  Actor 
Jimmy Dodd  Actor 
Margaret Bert  Actor 
Jeanne Romer  Actor 
Frank Mayo  Actor 
Ralph Sanford  Actor 
Sig Frohlich  Actor 
Lola Albright  Actor 
Helene Heigh  Actor 
Howard Mitchell  Actor 
Dee Turnell  Actor 
Patricia Jackson  Actor 
Ruth Hall  Actor 
Fern Eggen  Actor 
Shirley Ballard  Actor 
Doris Kemper  Actor 
Benay Venuta  Actor 
Bob Jellison  Actor 
Albert Pollet  Actor 
Wilson Wood  Actor 
Dick Simmons  Actor 
Peter Chong  Actor 
Nolan Leary  Actor 
Lynn Romer  Actor 
Harry Fox  Actor 
Guy Bolton  Screenwriter 
Arthur Freed  Producer 
Frances Goodrich  Screenwriter 
Albert Hackett  Screenwriter 
Sidney Sheldon  Screenwriter 
Charles Walters  Director 
Judy Garland  Actor 
Fred Astaire  Actor 
Peter Lawford  Actor 
Ann Miller  Actor 
Jules Munshin  Actor 
Clinton Sundberg  Actor 
Jeni Le Gon  Actor 
Richard Beavers  Actor 

Country: USA