i LOVE this number! first, jane sings this absolutely charming song. then, they dance. all is SO graceful, then it turns to high comedy. my favorite line: what now? keep your balance. oh, sure!
Side note: Jane Powell was the third actress cast in the role. Judy Garland was first( but had a breakdown), June Allyson was second( but she discovered she was pregnant). Jane Powell turned out to be the best choice.
James Ryan: WRONG!! GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE POSTING! It isn’t to find the history behind the picture’s casting. The idea was a brother/sister musical based on Fred and Adele Astair. Initially it was to reteam June Allyson and Peter LAWFORD who were a big hit in GOOD NEWS. Then Fred Astair came back into the picture after he replaced Gene Kelly in EASTER PARADE. However Allyson was pregnant and it was thought to reteam Garland with Astair and Lawford from EASTER PARADE after she finished SUMMER STOCK. However, MGM’s contract with Garland guaranteed her a vacation/cooling off period after finishing a film which they did not honor by rushing her into ROYAL WEDDING. She missed days and was unfairly fired by ASSHOLE DORE SCHARY. It was then that Jane Powell came into the film as the third actress. The song “Too Late Now” was written in mind with Garland and nominated for Best Song; it lost.
@@johnpickford4222 Thank you. I love Jane Powell. She graciously said good morning to me when I met her on my street years ago. I would have loved to see Garland with Astaire again. Easter Parade is a movie I love to watch regularly.
This is one of the greatest Hollywood dance scenes besides Dancing in the Dark at the Central Park by Fred and Cid. And this song Open Your Eyes by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner is one of the most beautiful and uplifting popular songs besides Sing My Heart by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, sung by Irene Dunne in the 1939 film Love Affair. That scene of Dunne's singing that great song is a Must-Watch !
oh, it's very nice and clever, and Fred danced very ingeniously, and generously, with Jane, but it would have been much, much better with June Allyson, originally cast, but got pregnant, and so...
How much fun was that??! I loved the comic angle added by the tilting of the ship. Back in the day, they didn't have stabilizers so this was entertainment reality once upon a time! Excellent production and wow... great dancing!
Lee Larson: She is a soprano and a very good one. A helluva lot better than Kathryn Grayson who sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. By the way, does your voice crack glass?
![[HQ] Open Your Eyes (Royal Wedding-1951)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
