Perhaps not quite reaching the heights that the talent involved suggests it should, Easter Parade is still none the less a delightful musical full of skill, vigour and heart warming attributes. The story sees Fred Astaire's Don Hewes getting dumped by his dance partner Nadine Hale {Ann Miller}. Vowing revenge, he boasts that he could get any basic lady performer and make her a star alongside him. Enter Judy Garland as chorus girl Hannah Brown…… But for a volleyball accident, Don Hewes would have been played by Gene Kelly, who suggested that since he was out of the picture, the makers should try and get Astaire on board. Astaire had retired from Hollywood but jumped at the chance to replace the then present incumbent of the role, Mickey Rooney. Worked out OK in the end, because, as was normally the way, Astaire gave another masterful song and dance performance. Garland on the other hand had to dig deep to enthuse the role with some quality. In a rut with the formula of the films she was making, and nearing exhaustion because of the hectic schedules, it took a guiding hand from Astaire to see her thru the production. The end result? Garland still managing to enchant and whisk the viewer to a nice place where troubles don't exist.

The piece contains 17 of Irving Berlin's tunes, with Steppin' Out with My Baby and A Couple of Swells particularly standing out, with the latter expertly played out on a moving floor. While admirably supporting the principals is Peter Lawford as Jonathan Harrow III. It's a foot tapper to warm the cockles on a blustery winters day, never mind only at easter! 7/10

Gene Kelly broke his ankle, and was replaced by the wonderful Fred Astaire. Throw Judy Garland into the mix, and you have a simply delightful easter film. I thought Astaire had great chemistry with Ginger Rogers, but he and Garland are both brilliant here. Anybody who said Judy Garland wasn't a dancer, that is so unfair. She did very well with the dance routines, which were at such a fast pace. I know because I have 2 sisters who are dancers. The songs by Irving Berlin are among his best, and the incidental music, particularly when Don and Nadine were dancing in the restaurant, was just beautiful. How could you say, this has too many songs. For God's sake, it's a musical. The script actually wasn't as bad as anybody has said; I thought it was clever. There was also solid support from Ann Miller and Peter Lawford, and the film just looked beautiful, (Judy's costumes were to die for) the song and dance numbers beautifully staged. Astaire and Garland were especially outstanding in "Couple of Swells", see this movie. It is a true Easter treat! 10/10. Bethany Cox

I know that "Easter Parade" has a reasonably high IMDb score and a lot of folks liked it, but it left me flat. I for one wanted to like it, as I adore Fred Astaire and try to watch all his films. But, unfortunately, while the film looked nice, it lacked the sort of stuff that made many of Astaire's movies great. Sure, it had singing and dancing but it also had Astaire playing a rather unlikable guy, lacked charm and style as well as having way too much singing! Too much singing? Yep--or at least the TYPE of song and dance numbers were not all that great. So here, instead of having Astaire sing and dance because life is grand (the BEST reason to sing and dance in a film),it was because he and his partner were professional dancers on stage. And, insanely, MGM decided not only to show their dance numbers but practically ALL the other numbers as well. It made for a variety show sort of film but it also made the plot seem rather unimportant and also dragged the film to a grinding halt. For example, after Judy Garland and Fred profess their love for each other--there were several dance numbers that had NOTHING to do with this. Too often, the film failed to work towards enhancing the plot--and the songs were just there. It's a shame, too, as the plot wasn't bad and Fred and Judy could have made this a terrific film--but the writing and direction just did everything to make the film drag. Heck, after a while, I found myself just wanting it to end already! And that is NOT what I expect from a Fred Astaire film!