I Bet You Like to Walk in the Rain.

Don't you hate it when you're rooting for your movie heroine to pick the guy she'll obviously never pick? This happens to me mostly in musicals. I always yearn for Eliza to pick the lovely Freddy over the obnoxious Professor Higgins, for Giselle to pick Prince Edward over the dull Robert and for Maria to pick God over the Captain.

By the fifth time you've seen these movies you get used to the plot remaining the same, but few times do I cross my fingers hoping that this will change, as much as I do during Easter Parade. Why on earth can't freaking Hannah (Judy Garland) realize that Johnny (Peter Lawford) is so much better than Don (Fred Astaire)? Not only is he less of a sadistic co-worker, he's also not as much a misogynist as Don. 

Have you realized how women in musicals tend to have a thing for men they would oppose in social feminist dramas?

Don might dance better and sing better, but he does not inject Hannah with the same kind of life Johnny does. This is especially obvious during the scene in which they meet:

The worried young man sees a damsel in distress and literally dances in the rain to protect her.

If the Technicolor in this movie wasn't gorgeous enough, Johnny finds a lemony yellow umbrella (whatever happened to subdued black?).

As they walk under the rain the clever young man is able to figure out who this woman is by asking key questions. Completely taken aback by his insistence, Hannah asks "Yeah but you haven't told me a thing about yourself", which leads to the response which provides my favorite shot in the movie: 

"I'm just a fella, a fella with an umbrella"

I'm sorry but Fred Astaire never gets that smile out of Judy at any other point during the movie. This shot is perfect not only because it highlights that Garland magic we've all learned to worship but also because it shows the way in which studios were in complete control of everything that happened onscreen. The beauty of classic musicals is how they are always able to suspend our disbelief. Nowadays nobody would believe that a man who saves you from getting wet and curiously matches your outfit isn't a stalker. In the movies, it doesn't matter. This crazy array of coincidence makes for something our ancestors knew as "romance".

The way in which the strings swell, Lawford's voice comes out and Judy reacts with such joy makes for a scene that rivals much more famous musical numbers in the canon.

 Of course, Judy ends up revealing she loves someone else later but "Fella with an Umbrella" will be the song you'll find yourself humming for weeks to come.

This is part of Nathaniel's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" series, go read the other fabulous entries here!

While Watching "The Towering Inferno"...

...and wondering if movies like this (star studded-actual A-listers-multimillion dollar, disaster flicks) could get made nowadays, I also learned a few things.

Fires can get started all of a sudden and have their own will power, it didn't just happen in "Silly Symphonies".

Faye Dunaway and Paul Newman might have inspired "Afternoon Delight"

The taller you build them, the harder they fall. What's G-d's issue with downsizing human achievements in movies? This one makes a point out of having every character point out how indestructible the building is ("Titanic" much?).

Faye Dunaway was HOT!

Jennifer Jones could've played Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

Faye Dunaway in distress was equally hot.

Nobody exuded raw, macho, sexiness and charm like these two.

Damn were they blue.

If a phallic object gets increasingly hotter for a certain amount of time it will end up releasing fluid.

Song Time.

A few years during the Oscars there was a special performance featuring some of the winners in the Best Song category.
I was more than surprised to realize that some of the most beloved English songs of all time actually came from the movies. Some of these songs have survived time even when the films they were featured in are practically forgotten. Watching "Swing Time" I remembered this all over when Fred Astaire sits to play the piano and the lovely "The Way You Look Tonight" comes out of his mouth.
The first time I remember hearing, and instantly falling in love with this song, was in "My Best Friend's Wedding" when I was eleven years old. And even though this post could steer into "Songs from movies featured prominently in other movies" (I'm looking at you "Ghost"), for now I'll just concentrate on the Oscar winning songs.
While it's true that Fred Astaire wasn't the best singer ever (neither was Gene Kelly), his performance has something extra; a little bit of melancholy and innocence that make the song feel more available to everyone who wants it.
We know not everyone can be Sinatra and his performances sometimes are better left off to be seen and heard, but with Astaire you wanna join him and sing.
That must be the reason why "The Way You Look Tonight" ended up winning the Oscar in 1936.
Here are some other songs I was stunned to discover came from films:
"I've Got You Under My Skin" from "Born to Dance" (1936)
"They Can't Take That Away From Me" from "Shall We Dance" (1937)
"The Last Time I Saw Paris" from "Lady Be Good" (1941)
"That Old Black Magic" from "Star Spangled Rhythm" (1943)
"Long Ago and Far Away" from "Cover Girl" (1944)
"I Fall In Love Too Easily" from "Anchors Aweigh" (1945)
"Mona Lisa" from "Captain Carey, U.S.A" (1950)
"A Kiss to Build a Dream On" from "The Strip" (1951)
"That's Amore" from "The Caddy" (1953)
"Unchained Meoldy" from "Unchained" (1955)
"Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Será Será) from "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956)
"All the Way" from "The Joker is Wild" (1957)
"The Look of Love" from "Casino Royale" (1967)
"Say You Say Me" from "White Nights" (1985)
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" from "Mannequin" (1987)

How long has it been since a song from the movies made it big?

- This post is part of "Musical of the Month" hosted by Nathaniel Rogers of "The Film Experience".

Another Reason Why I Love Musicals.

Despite being highly discriminated against nowadays, they are the most inclusive of film styles, as seen in this picture from "The Band Wagon" where they do film noir.

Another Reason Why I Love Musicals.

"No one could teach you to dance in a million years".
- Penny (Ginger Rogers) to Lucky (Fred Astaire) in "Swing Time".