Easter Parade (1948 film)
| Easter Parade | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Charles Walters |
| Produced by | Arthur Freed |
| Written by |
Sidney Sheldon Frances Goodrich Albert Hackett |
| Starring |
Judy Garland Fred Astaire |
| Music by |
Score: Johnny Green Roger Edens Songs and Music: Irving Berlin |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling |
| Edited by | Albert Akst |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
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Release date
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Running time
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108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,655,000 |
| Box office | $5,803,000 |
Easter Parade is a 1948 American musical film starring Judy Garland, Fred Astaire and Peter Lawford, featuring music by Irving Berlin, including some of Astaire and Garland's best-known songs, such as "Easter Parade", "Steppin' Out with My Baby", and "We're a Couple of Swells".
It was the most financially successful picture for both Garland and Astaire as well as the highest-grossing musical of the year.
In 1912, Broadway star Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) is buying Easter presents for his sweetheart ("Happy Easter"). He goes into a toy shop and buys a cuddly Easter rabbit, after persuading a young boy to part with it and buy a set of drums instead ("Drum Crazy"). Hewes takes the gifts to his dancing partner, Nadine Hale (Ann Miller), who explains that she has an offer for a show that would feature her as a solo star. Don tries to change her mind and it looks as if he has succeeded ("It Only Happens When I Dance With You"), until Don's best friend, Johnny (Peter Lawford), turns up. Nadine reveals that she and Don are no longer a team and it becomes obvious that Nadine is attracted to Johnny. She continues to pursue Johnny, but he politely refuses her out of respect for Don.
Angry, Don leaves to drown his sorrows at a bar. Johnny tries to persuade him to talk to Nadine, but Don brags that he can make a star of the next dancer he meets. After Johnny leaves, he picks out one of the girls dancing on the stage, Hannah Brown (Judy Garland), and tells her to meet him for rehearsal the next day. The next morning, Don tries to turn Hannah into a copy of Nadine, teaching her to dance the same way, buying her dresses in a similar style and giving her an "exotic" stage name, "Juanita." However, Hannah makes several mistakes at their first performance, and the show is a fiasco.
Hannah meets Johnny, who is instantly attracted to her and sings "A Fella With An Umbrella" while walking her to her rehearsal with Don. After Johnny tries - unsuccessfully - to reunite Nadine and Don by inviting them both to lunch and then leaving them alone, she tells him that all of her friends are laughing because Hannah is trying to be her. Don realizes his mistake and decides to create routines more suited to Hannah's personality. Hannah sings "I Love A Piano" and works out a dance routine with Don that proves much more successful. The duo, now known as "Hannah & Hewes", are shown performing "Snookie-Ookums", "The Ragtime Violin", and "When That Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves For Alabam'" in a montage of their performances.
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