Easter Parade (1948)

Judy Garland and Fred Astaire

'Easter Parade' is a spectacular musical movie starring Judy Garland, Fred Astaire and Ann Miller. It was made in 1948, directed by Charles Walters, who replaced Vincent Minnelli, and features music by Irving Berlin.

The movie has gone down as one of the great musicals of Hollywood's Golden Age and is the only movie pairing of Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, but it won just one Academy Award, for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. Commercially it was a great success and was MGM's biggest hit of 1948, grossing over 6 million dollars on its first release. Nationally, it was second only to the Bing Crosby and Bob Hope comedy 'Road to Rio'. For both Garland and Astaire 'Easter Parade' was the most financially successful picture of each of their careers.

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The movie was originally intended to star Gene Kelly with Vincente Minnelli directing, but Kelly broke his ankle playing baseball or football just before the start of filming. Fred Astaire was persuaded out of retirement, reportedly because he wanted to work with Judy Garland, and the movie's success gave him another twenty years of picture making. Judy's marriage to Minnelli was going through a difficult time and she asked for him to be replaced. She and Minnelli divorced three years later.

The movie is a fast moving visual feast of costume and color together with the wonderful singing of Judy Garland and the breathtaking dancing of Fred Astaire and Ann Miller. As with many musicals, the plot is flimsy and is really an excuse for the wonderful music and dancing. Fred Astaire and Ann Miller play a dancing team, Don Hewes and Nadine Hale, but when Nadine opts for a solo career, Don takes a new partner, Hannah Brown, played by Judy Garland and the new partnership becomes extremely successful also. Throw in several love interests, including Peter Lawford, and, of course, a happy ending and you have the recipe for a great feel-good musical.

What makes 'Easter Parade' stand out is the great talents of Astaire, Garland, and Miller, all at their best, all together in the same movie. Absolutely wonderful, and one of the greatest of all musicals.