The slattern. Of course she doesn’t, but she does it anyway. Here, the estimable Ginger Rogers does the infamous Black Bottom in Roxy Hart (1940, dir William Wellman), the basis for the musical play and Oscar-winning film Chicago.
Archive for the ‘Choreography’ Category
Percussive Effect? Got It.
January 31, 2009
I don’t generally like or even understand “the dance,” but this stirs me [non-typo] Celtic soul. That rythmic stomping is mesmerizing and no amount of criticizing the leads diminishes the joy I get from this clip.
Brilliance
January 9, 2009
The great Carol Haney (see elsewhere on this site) does the remarkable “Steam Heat” number from the fair-to-middlin’ adaptation of Broadway’s “The Pajama Game” (1957, dirs George Abbot & Stanley Donen). While Gwen Verdon usually gets the attention, the coulda/woulda/shoulda story of Haney trumps all else in this poignant screen farewell. (She died soon thereafter, a victim of bum lungs.)
I. Could. Cry.
January 9, 2009
From “A Chorus Line.” Kay, Christine, and Maggie let — in the parlance of the 70s — it all hang out. I know Sheila Bishop plays Kay; I’ll get back to you on the others.
Teach Me
May 24, 2008
Indeed, Zorba makes a wonderfully charismatic instructor to the callow writer who has come to Greece to find himself. Here, Anthony Quinn does the honors and shows Alan Bates how it’s done, in “Zorba the Greek” (1964, dir Michael Cocoyannis).
Und Vorbei. . . Whatever
August 4, 2007
Great choreography and Liza Minnelli’s inimatable love-her or hate-her style in the iconic “Mein Lieber Herr” number from “Cabaret” (1972, dir Bob Fosse, who of course also did the choreography).
