Easter Parade
Short description
Set in New York around Easter 1911, Easter Parade centres on Don Hewes, a celebrated dancer whose professional and romantic partner, Nadine Hale, announces she is going solo. Stung by her departure, Don declares he can turn any dancer into a star and picks a chorus girl, Hannah Brown, as his new partner. Their first attempt together falls flat, and Don only begins to succeed once he stops trying to remake Hannah in Nadine's image and builds on her own strengths. As the pair work towards a Easter showcase, a romance develops between them, complicated by Hannah's belief that Don is still attached to Nadine.
Charles Walters directed the film, which followed Ziegfeld Follies (1945) in his filmography and preceded Summer Stock (1950), Lili (1953) and High Society (1956). Fred Astaire plays Don opposite Judy Garland as Hannah, with Ann Miller as Nadine, Peter Lawford as Jonathan Harrow III, Jules Munshin as François and Clinton Sundberg as Mike. Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett and Sidney Sheldon wrote the screenplay, and Arthur Freed produced for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
On IMDb the film holds a critics' rating of 7.7 out of 10 from 22 reviews. On TMDB its audience rating stands at 7 out of 10 from 157 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- Gene Kelly (1912-1996) was initially cast for the role of Don, but he had to be replaced after breaking his leg. He was the one who suggested Fred Astaire (1899-1987) as his replacement. The role of Nadine was intended for ballerina and stage and film actress Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellms Finkley, 1921-2008), but she injured her ligaments and the role went to actress, singer, and dancer Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier, 1923-2004). Judy Garland (1922-1969) was already popular but wasn’t yet acquainted with Astaire and was afraid to speak to him until they were introduced.
- Judy Garland's feathered dress when she dances with Fred Astaire is a reference to Ginger Rogers’ (1911-1995) dress in Mark Sandrich’s musical “Top Hat” (1935), where a detached ostrich feather floated in the air near Fred Astaire’s face.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
