Speaking of dancing...
I don't suppose you can really call it a dance, can you--more a routine. But who cares?
Video posted by ozabbavo77
Talk about classic comedy! And if you want to brave a Russian site, you can see Joseph Gordon-Levitt interpret/recreate the number on SNL, which while considerably less frenetic is at least as impressive an accomplishment considering that he made it all the way through on live TV--and then did the rest of the show--while when Donald O'Connor performed that tour de force of physical comedy he was so bruised and battered he had to retreat to bed for several days after filming the number. Ouch!
Of course, there is a teensy little problem with the song itself. Arthur Freed was a producer at MGM, responsible for many of the best musicals to come out of Hollywood, but before that he was a lyricist, and together with composer Nacio Herb Brown had written a nice catalog of songs that he thought could be put to good use in a movie. Being an excellent producer, his whim became Singin' in the Rain. The director, Stanley Donen, realized they needed a number for Donald O'Connor, so he asked Freed and Brown to come up with a song for that, something similar to the Cole Porter song "Be a Clown" from the Gene Kelly/Judy Garland vehicle The Pirate:
Video posted by Broadway Classics
Um. They certainly followed directions, didn't they?
There's an interesting scholarly article that carefully compares the two pieces, and the author, Jonas Westover, concludes that Brown took the melody and "gently reshaped it," which I think is a lovely way to put it. The two songs aren't precisely the same, but I think it's a given that had Cole Porter sued, he likely would have won. Porter never did. Freed, after all, was the head of the FREED UNIT (the musicals department of MGM), which had produced The Pirate, and Freed was the one who had hired Porter for that film when Porter's career was in a slump, so perhaps Porter was grateful. Also, it's not as though anyone would miss the *ahem* similarities, nor did Porter need the money. Anyway, whatever his reasons he let it go.
***
I've already pointed out that the Jewish Arthur Freed was a hugely influential and respected producer. In addition to the less famous The Pirate and the now-legendary Singin' in the Rain, his Freed Unit produced nearly 50 movies, including such classics as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Harvey Girls, Easter Parade, On the Town, Annie Get Your Gun, An American in Paris, Show Boat, The Band Wagon, Brigadoon, and Gigi. And after he was done with producing those gems, he served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1963-1966)--yep, the Oscars organization.
* * * * *
And my brother found me MORE PENGUINS!!!!
I mean, how cute is that?!?!
Video posted by ozabbavo77
Talk about classic comedy! And if you want to brave a Russian site, you can see Joseph Gordon-Levitt interpret/recreate the number on SNL, which while considerably less frenetic is at least as impressive an accomplishment considering that he made it all the way through on live TV--and then did the rest of the show--while when Donald O'Connor performed that tour de force of physical comedy he was so bruised and battered he had to retreat to bed for several days after filming the number. Ouch!
Of course, there is a teensy little problem with the song itself. Arthur Freed was a producer at MGM, responsible for many of the best musicals to come out of Hollywood, but before that he was a lyricist, and together with composer Nacio Herb Brown had written a nice catalog of songs that he thought could be put to good use in a movie. Being an excellent producer, his whim became Singin' in the Rain. The director, Stanley Donen, realized they needed a number for Donald O'Connor, so he asked Freed and Brown to come up with a song for that, something similar to the Cole Porter song "Be a Clown" from the Gene Kelly/Judy Garland vehicle The Pirate:
Video posted by Broadway Classics
Um. They certainly followed directions, didn't they?
There's an interesting scholarly article that carefully compares the two pieces, and the author, Jonas Westover, concludes that Brown took the melody and "gently reshaped it," which I think is a lovely way to put it. The two songs aren't precisely the same, but I think it's a given that had Cole Porter sued, he likely would have won. Porter never did. Freed, after all, was the head of the FREED UNIT (the musicals department of MGM), which had produced The Pirate, and Freed was the one who had hired Porter for that film when Porter's career was in a slump, so perhaps Porter was grateful. Also, it's not as though anyone would miss the *ahem* similarities, nor did Porter need the money. Anyway, whatever his reasons he let it go.
I've already pointed out that the Jewish Arthur Freed was a hugely influential and respected producer. In addition to the less famous The Pirate and the now-legendary Singin' in the Rain, his Freed Unit produced nearly 50 movies, including such classics as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Harvey Girls, Easter Parade, On the Town, Annie Get Your Gun, An American in Paris, Show Boat, The Band Wagon, Brigadoon, and Gigi. And after he was done with producing those gems, he served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1963-1966)--yep, the Oscars organization.
And my brother found me MORE PENGUINS!!!!
Nacho and Goat went hiking pic.twitter.com/vWLspdRHK5
— Oregon Zoo (@OregonZoo) May 5, 2020
I mean, how cute is that?!?!
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