When I was twenty years old I met Donald when I was working at a hotel . He was in the parking lot when I approached him for an autograph ! It was my birthday. The autograph said. Happy of all birthdays Love Donald O’Connor !! It sure made my day ! He’s the sweetest man.Also told me I was beautiful,of course that was sixty years ago !
Amazing talent. However, I did notice that his actual 'tap dancing' was bracketed by camera cuts. Which makes me suspect the roller skates he 'tapped' in had locked wheels.
notice the cut away when he starts and stops dancing ... the middle bit the wheels are locked ... the end and start they are not ... that is some tight editing
No one could do these complex novelty dances filled with physical comedy as well as O'Connor. Unfortunately, he was not given the best songs to sing and dance to as a solo. Ever heard anyone sing this song outside of this film? Great respect for his talent.
The cuts before and after the tap dancing makes me wonder if the wheels were frozen during that time. I never thought that of Gene Kelly, I'll have to go back and see his dancing on roller skates.
People say of Fred Astaire that he used he used the items on the scene and integrated them into the dance routine, famous scenes include him throwing ash on the floor and shuffling with his feet, or using a broom...but whenever O'connor did it....they had to strike off each item he touched from the inventory 😂😂😂
The IMDB trivia mentions that Donald did a “similar” dancing number before Gene did a couple of years later. This doesn't have the choreography that Kelly’s number in It’s always Fair Weather. Kelly is much more graceful on the skates to the extent that you question if they cheated with some movie magic (Kelly apparently said they were unaltered skates). This scene doesn't have the scope, very limited moves, set, poor editing, stupid speed ramp effects and is proceeded by a very annoying song. Donald probably could have done much better than this if given the chance. This scene might have inspired Kelly to do his on a much bigger stage with better production values.
wow. Donald O'connor could do it all....sing.... dance and even roller skate. What an amazing talent ! The little girl held her own too. She was was working with amazing talent and she made it look so easy.
