Mondays
The Masters of Song and Dance: A Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly Retrospective
Programmed by Freddy Tsao
2016-01-04 @ 7:00 PM
The Gay Divorcee
(Mark Sandrich, 1934) · The first film to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, The Gay Divorcee stars Ginger Rogers as Mimi Glossop, a woman seeking to divorce her husband, only to fall in love with Guy Holden (Fred Astaire), whom she mistakes to be the correspondent for her divorce case. One of Astaire’s earliest films and his second with Rogers, The Gay Divorcee was based off of Astaire’s final Broadway show and established the Astaire-Rogers partnership.
runtime: 107 min format: 35mm
2016-01-11 @ 7:00 PM
Cover Girl
(Charles Vidor, 1944) · When nightclub dancer Rusty Parker (Rita Hayworth) is offered a chance at stardom after winning a cover girl contest for a magazine, her relationship with her boyfriend Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly) is threatened. The riches-or-romance story was a huge hit that cemented both Hayworth's and Kelly’s careers, with Kelly’s complete control over the film showcasing his talents. The film includes the classic scene in which Kelly dances with his own reflection.
runtime: 107 min format: 35mm
2016-01-25 @ 7:00 PM
Top Hat
(Mark Sandrich, 1935) · One of Astaire and Rogers’ most successful works, Top Hat follows Jerry Travers (Astaire), an American dancer in London who falls in love with the woman residing in the hotel room below him, Dale Tremont (Rogers). Jerry tries to win Dale over, but she rebuffs his advances, mistaking him for his married producer Horace (Edward Everett Horton). The film features an Irving Berlin score, including “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” and “Cheek to Cheek”.
runtime: 101 min format: 35mm
2016-02-01 @ 7:00 PM
On The Town
(Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1949) · Adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, _On the Town_ follows three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin) with a day of shore leave to discover everything New York City has to offer. As the two others find women with whom to spend the day, Gabey (Kelly) finds himself enamored with “Miss Turnstiles” Ivy Smith (Vera Ellen) and is determined to see her again before they return to the ship. On the Town was the first musical feature film to be partially shot on location.
runtime: 98 min format: DCP
2016-02-08 @ 7:00 PM
Swing Time
(George Stevens, 1936) · After gambler Lucky (Astaire) is tricked into missing his wedding, he heads to New York to make the $25,000 he needs in order to marry his fiancé. Instead, Lucky falls in love with dance instructor Penny (Rogers), though their preexisting romantic engagements complicate the relationship. Swing Time is often noted as Astaire and Rogers’ best dance musical; dance scholar John Mueller noted the film possessed “the greatest dancing in the history of the universe.”
runtime: 103 min format: 35mm
2016-02-15 @ 7:00 PM
Easter Parade
(Charles Walters, 1948) · Fred Astaire and Judy Garland come together in their first and only collaboration as Broadway star Don Hewes and newcomer Hannah Brown. After Hewes’ former partner leaves him for a solo act, Hewes boasts about his ability to make a star out of anyone and takes on Brown as his new partner. Gene Kelly was originally cast as the lead before he broke his ankle, and Astaire was coaxed out of retirement to replace him.
runtime: 107 min format: 35mm
2016-02-22 @ 7:00 PM
Summer Stock
(Charles Waters, 1950) · Judy Garland stars in her last MGM movie as Jane Falbury, a farmer whose actress sister unexpectedly brings home a theatrical troupe to use the family farm as a rehearsal space. As the troupe rehearses and works on the farm, Jane finds herself falling in love with the director (Kelly), who's engaged to her sister. The film features one of Garland’s most renowned scenes, “Get Happy”, which she performs in a matching black tuxedo jacket, fedora, and tights.
runtime: 108 min format: 35mm
2016-02-29 @ 7:00 PM
Singin' in the Rain
(Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1958) · Regarded by many as one of the best musicals ever made, Singin’ in the Rain stars Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds as performers affected by the movie industry’s transition from silent films to “talkies”. A staple of American cultural history, the film features iconic scenes such as “Good Morning” and the titular number where Kelly sings and dances across puddles and around lampposts with an umbrella in hand.
runtime: 103 min format: 35mm
2016-03-07 @ 7:00 PM
The Band Wagon
(Vincente Minnelli, 1953) · Famous but aging musical comedy star Tony Hunter (Astaire) enlists the help of his friends, writers Lester and Lily Marton, for a Broadway show that he hopes will jumpstart his career once again. But when the pretentious artistic director casts the prima ballerina Gaby Gerard (Cyd Charisse) to star opposite Tony in a modernized and overdone reinterpretation of Faust, characters clash and the show seems doomed before its opening.
runtime: 112 min format: 35mm
