Easter Parade (1948)

My Review

“Easter Parade” is a musical romantic drama about a nightclub performer who hires a naive chorus girl to be his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make anyone a star. Director Charles Walters (“High Society” 1956) pulled out all the stops to make this project into a classic MGM musical extravaganza. The excellent script was penned by Sidney Sheldon, Frances Goodrich, and Albert Hackett, with the story developed by Goodrich and Hackett.

The cast includes Fred Astaire as the lead performer, Judy Garland as the new partner, Ann Miller as the old partner, Peter Lawford as an admirer of Garland’s, Jules Munshin, Clinton Sundberg, Jimmy Bates, and Jimmie Dodd, the future leader of “The Mickey Mouse Club.” The sixteen songs were all penned by Irving Berlin, including the theme song “Easter Parade” and “Steppin’ Out with My Baby.” “Easter Parade” was the fifth highest grossing film of 1948 for producer Arthur Freed and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It won a single Academy Award for Best Original Score (Johnny Green and Roger Edens).