Born to dance movie review

film by Roy Del Ruth

For the New Zealand film, see Born to Gyrate ( film). For the TV series, see Born to Gyrate (TV series).

Born to Dance is a American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Eleanor Powell, James Stewart and Virginia Bruce.

It was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter.

Plot

While on go away, sailor Ted Barker meets Nora Paige at the Lonely Hearts Club, which is owned by Jenny Saks, the wife of fellow sailor Gunny Saks.

Trouble logging in? By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policiesand to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policiesand to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. Please permit 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

Ted instantly falls in care for with Nora.^[1][2][3]

Ted later meets Broadway star Lucy James aboard a submarine while she's on a publicity tour. Her Pekingese mutt falls overboard, Ted rescues it, and Lucy falls in affectionate with him.

Though Ted has already scheduled a date with Nora, he is ordered by his captain, Dingby, to gather Lucy in a nightclub.^[2][3]

Nora, who lives with Jenny and her daughter, Sally, aspires to grow a Broadway dancer.

However, her newfound career is in thoughtful jeopardy when she inadvertently comes between Lucy and her boss McKay. Nora distances herself from Ted after seeing pictures of him and Lucy in a newspaper the next morning.^[1][2][3]

Lucy convinces McKay to stop the urge campaign, threatening to leave the Broadway production if any more photos or articles about her and Ted are published.

Nora becomes Lucy's understudy and thinks about her behavior towards Ted. Nora gets fired suddenly after McKay tells her to achieve a dance that Lucy considers undanceable. But Ted knows exactly what to do after he's told the whole story.^[2][3]

Cast

Soundtrack

Unless otherwise noted, Information is taken from IMDb's soundtrack section for this movie.^[5]

• Rolling Home ()
• Rap, Tap on Wood () (Also called "Rap-Tap on Wood")
  • Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
  • Danced by Eleanor Powell and The Foursome
  • Sung by Marjorie Lane and The Foursome
  • Also danced by Eleanor Powell at a rehearsal
• Hey, Babe, Hey ()
  • Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
  • Danced by Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, Sid Silvers, Buddy Ebsen, Una Merkel, Frances Langford and The Foursome
  • Sung by Marjorie Lane, James Stewart, Sid Silvers, Buddy Ebsen, Una Merkel, Frances Langford and The Foursome
  • Hummed by Una Merkel
  • Played also as background music
• Entrance of Lucy James ()
• Love Me, Love My Pekinese ()
  • Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
  • Sung by Virginia Bruce and male chorus
  • Danced by Eleanor Powell
• Easy to Love ()
• I've Got You Under My Skin ()
  • Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
  • Danced by Georges and Jalna
  • Sung by Virginia Bruce
  • Played also as background music
• Swingin' the Jinx Away (); (Also called "Swinging the Jinx Away")
  • Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
  • Played during the opening credits
  • Sung by Frances Langford, Buddy Ebsen, The Foursome and male chorus
  • Danced by Buddy Ebsen and Eleanor Powell
• Sidewalks of New York ()
• Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean ()
  • Written by David T.

    Shaw

  • Arranged by Thomas A. Beckett
  • In the score during the "Rolling Home" number; Also in the score during the "Swingin' the Jinx Away" number and partially sung by the chorus
• The Prisoner's Anthem (If I Had the Wings of an Angel) ()
  • Music and Lyrics by Guy Massey
  • In the underscore when 'Gunny' Saks is shown in the brig

Production

The film's working title was This Time It's Love.

The motion picture stars dancer Eleanor Powell and was a follow-up to her successful debut in Broadway Melody of . The film co-stars James Stewart as Powell's passion interest and Virginia Bruce as the film's resident femme fatale and Powell's rival.

Powell's Broadway Melody co-stars Buddy Ebsen and Frances Langford return to provide comedy and musical support. Highlights of the film include a rare musical number by Stewart (which the actor later poked fun at in the That's Entertainment! retrospective), and a bombastic finale called "Swingin' the Jinx Away".

Born to Dance - Wikipedia: When Ted meets Nora, he knows that he has fallen in love. But after he rescues a Pekinese canine belonging to rival dancer Lucy James (Virginia Bruce), Ted is caught in a media mix-up when pictures.

Set amidst a pre-Second World Warnaval backdrop, the Depression-era "feel good" number (which runs nearly 10 minutes) makes topical references to the economy and political leaders (with a "shout out" to Cab Calloway thrown in for good measure) sung by Powell, adds in an eccentric dance routine by Ebsen, and ends in a flurry of tap dancing by Powell culminating in a patriotic salute, and finally a blast of cannon fire.

This finale was also lifted in its entirety and re-used in another Powell film, I Dood It, co-starring Red Skelton. Although considered one of Powell's (and MGM's) most memorable musical numbers, and often featured in retrospectives such as That's Entertainment!, musical director Roger Edens was often quoted as being embarrassed by the segment.

In , a part was written for Judy Garland.

The dance movie travels to New Zealand in Born to Dancegiving an otherwise generic offering a much-needed dose of enthusiasm in the process. The majority of the film adheres to tried-and-tested elements, as seen in a narrative peppered with underdogs trying to succeed against the odds, rivalries between dance crews, a coming-of-age journey and a wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance. Thankfully, the power of the cast and the spectacular choreography enliven what could have remained a blandly formulaic, feel-good showcase of moving and grooving. Training with a community of pals who call themselves 2PK, he has his sights set on winning the national championships.

Cole Porter wrote in his diary that it was his "great Joy" that he was writing for a movie featuring Garland. However, her part was written out of the film before she could initiate any work on the movie.

The film introduced the Porter standards "You'd Be So Effortless to Love" (performed by Stewart and Marjorie Lane, dubbed for Powell) and "I've Got You Under My Skin" (performed by Bruce), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Top Original Song.

It was the first film in which Stewart sang.

BORN TO DANCE is light on plot, memorable on songs and well constructed with dance numbers as choreographed by Dave Gould, highlighted by the lavish but classic 13 minute finale of "Swingin' the Jinx Away" (portions would be reused again for the finale in Eleanor Powell's latter musical titled I DOOD IT, newly re-scored to appeal more to.

Some of the musical numbers were recorded in stereophonic sound, making this one of the first films to utilize multi-channel technology. Rhino Records included the stereo tracks in its soundtrack album, released on CD, including Jimmy Stewart's and Marjorie Lane's production of "You'd Be So Straightforward to Love."^[7]

Accolades

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards; Cole Porter was nominated for Top Song for "I've Got You Under My Skin," and Dave Gould was nominated for Finest Dance Direction.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

References

External links