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"Fascinatin' Rhythm" - Eleanor Powell from "Lady Be Good" (1941)
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- Опубліковано 12 сер 2024
- A mesmerizing dance sequence by perhaps the greatest female dancer of all time, Eleanor Powell, set to Gershwin's "Fascinatin' Rhythm.
There is no monetary gain involved. This is done for educational and inspirational purposes as a public service. The video & audio clips used in the following presentations were selected under the "Fair Use Doctrine" for their outstanding message, graphics, videography or music.
If the Nicholas Brothers said she's the best, then she's the best.
I agree with them..Ms.Powell is the best.
Powell would be the best whether the Brothers said so or not.
No better authority than that
Eleanor Powell was the best female tap dancer all around. Only Ann Miller came in a distant 2nd.
Ginger who?
The stage appears almost endless like a dream. I'm always in awe of these productions. This was the age of dance, nothing since can measure up.
Eleanor was a master of her craft, she had elegant and clean lines. She was the best tap dancer in film industry.
I don't know, I think Fred Astaire takes the cake. Still one of the best.
And on top of all this , she is easy to look at
beawild You’re absolutely spot on! Even Astaire was intimidated by her. SIMPLY THE BEST!!
Yes, she had very clean lines...no awkward movements or circus like attempts to be showy.
@@johnbailey9274 *OnLy cuz YOU are One of God's Chosen!!!!*
Everyone insisits on calling her the best FEMALE TAP dancer. Fayard Nicholas (of the Nicolas Brothers) once said; "I don't regard Eleanor Powell as the greatest female tap dancer. I regard her as the greatest dancer, period."
He would know too!
Apparently Fred Astaire said he was somewhat intimidated by Eleanor Powell because she was so good. I can only appreciate her from out here in the cheap seats. But Astaire was certainly knowledgeable and in a position to be an authority on the subject.
Yes, he was, but he then said because she tapped like a man...😁
@Current Batches Yes. I agree with your agreement. : )
Gene Kelly and then Eleanor Powell.
Lots of candidates here.
Grateful that this film exists. She was beyond awesome !!
So, tell me again why this doesn't have a million views? And who in the world could dislike this??? There are some seriously disturbed people out there.
Amen ,this was frantic performance in fact this could be the best individual dance performance ever recorded on film,
Perhaps because the film quality here is blurry, not HD.
Peoples of today isn´t fond of dancing. They hawe anoter interrest. They use their mobile moore and use Internet till Facebook and other things. Regards from Sweden:)
One of the best musical sequences in movie history!
I can't believe I've never seen this before. I can't believe it isn't common cultural knowledge. It's astounding!
Eleanor Powell was common cultural knowledge at the time of this filming. Everyone knew who she was even if you hadn't been to the theatres to see her movies.
likewise, as a dance i need to see such stuff
You need actual culture for “common cultural knowledge” and in the U.S. culture has been lost to consumerism. So there can be no common cultural knowledge. See she didn’t make it to the Simpsons, where Americans get all their culture. Oh and she’ll never make it to a Maga Trump Rally either. So now you can put your disbelief to rest and be assured she’ll disappear from American cultural memory.
She was absolutely a beautiful and most talented woman.
*& YOU are One of God's PeoPLe!!!!*
I Love her, Eleanor Powell is my favorite dancer from the golden age of Hollywood
Regarding filming "Broadway Melody of 1940" Fred Astaire said he was intimidated by Eleanor Powell because her tap dancing was so much better than his. That's about a high a compliment as a dancer could get. She's just the best and makes it look SO easy, too.
Astaire was such a good man to give credit where it was due. he said Ginger Rogers was a much better dancer than him due to the fact she did everything he did but backwards and in high heels on flooring that was absolutely lethal to a dance number. if he says Eleanor was a better tapper then he meant it. no hollow praise from that cat!
Astaire never said that Ginger "did everything he did, backwards and in heels". Ginger said that, and she was absolutely wrong. Astaire was involved in the choreography, music selection, arranging, orchestrating, costume-making, and cinematography while all Ginger did was come in on filming day and shoot the routine. To equate the two is ridiculous and inacurrate.@@highonimmi
Wow! She is incredible! This is way more than tap dancing. She was an amazing dancer all around. 🥰
She's the greatest dancer bar none...she's on another level of her own. The one & only Eleanor Powell. Simply incomparably the best of the best!💃💃💃
I was mesmerized for over 4 minutes.
I know it is an awful lot of hard work, but it must be absolute fun being able to dance like that. You can see it in her radiant smile at the end.
Did you notice that the first 2 minutes 50 seconds is one long take . That takes some serious rehearsal .
+Steve Rhodes I know right?!? I noticed that too. Incredible!
The sequence was directed by Busby Berkeley. That explains the innovation of the sequence which was probably like nothing else seen up to that time.
Try this: ua-cam.com/video/9z5FVU34JMI/v-deo.html
You can see how this is working.
That was Eleanor's style
"some serious rehearsal" -- and not just by Powell, of course.
That said, consider that in this entire opening section Powell is basically dancing backwards!
It's wicked good.
I love the satisfaction of the piano players, they know she's got it.
Simply the best. Wouldn't it be great if there was a musical made about her, with her dancing on a big screen in the background. She should not be forgotten.
@annwaine2881: Sure there should be. Just like they should a film biography of Fanny Brice and use her own comedy routines on a screen in the background!?!? STUPID IDEA. Who be watching the actual movie if you could see the real one. Although I wish Fanny Brice had filmed her routines.
Holy crap this woman was UNREAL!!!😳😳🥰🥰
Oh my God! She's absolutely divine! This makes me happy!
I think she was THE VERY BEST, male or female, tap dancer. Those spins and tosses down the line, very disorienting, are mind boggling!!!
Helen Gale Shehan I must concur wholeheartedly. Can someone PLEASE clone her...PLEASE!!
*YES!!! LOVE ELeanor PoweLL!!!*
*But Don't Forget: Ann MiLLer, Rita HarWorth, Vera ELLen!!!*
She is the great set female dancer - perhaps the greatest dancer - ever put on film. Powerful, precise, perfection.
The elegance of the whole thing is striking - dancer, pianists, music, set. And really terribly modern..
Sheer perfection ELEANOR POWELL !!!!
Busby Berkeley said that by the time this number was in the can, Powell was so battered and bruised, but still thanked him for creating such a fabulous showpiece for her.
What an unbelievable production and choreography. Unbelievable dancer, unbelievable stamina. That was a real work of art . Thank you !
In 1965 (I think) she was voted best tapper in the world by a poll of tap teachers!
The Dancing Masters of America were revalidating the title they had conferred on her 30 years earlier, when she was 22 and had not yet started in Hollywood.
Good lord in heaven!!!! she's amazing!!!
There were many very good female tap dancers in those times, but She is simply the best.
Hermes Mercury Those spins! I ice skate, and I'll never spin as fast and precise as she does! Her dancing is jaw dropping.
Absolutely!
By the way...I love that name (Hermes Mercury).
She was not only the best female tap dancer but the best period. Even Fred Astair was intimadated dancing with her.
@@shimmeringfairydust3275 Richard Marshall Bowman
-- NOPE. His name was Hermes Pan. (Professional Name, of course.)
Wowee! There are no cuts/edits until 2:50 in this number. That's a lot of coordinating and dancing to get 100% perfect. So impressive and well done. There's nothing like the golden age of Hollywood, especially its wonderful musicals.
Yes, it's Busby Berkeley. Check out the first part of "Do the Conga" in Strike Up the Band as well.
@@barryputterman2412 I will, thanks! It might be on HBO Max.
The pure joy on her face in the final close-up elevates this virtuoso performance from amazing to inspiring. We should all work to find the thing that brings us such fulfillment, and then work to master that thing.
I agree. For me what elevates Eleanor above the other ten or so great dancers of the Golden Age- even Astaire- is that sense of channeling divine inspiration. She knew she was potentially the best, she labored without pause to fulfil her expectations of herself, and everything she did was to make audiences share her pleasure in being alive.
Her life, on and off screen, was dedicated to making us all feel better.
Gh
She really is the queen of tap, I love her work
I adore her! I love watching her dance. She’s in a class all her own. 😍
This is the next best dance no. IMHO........she has done......sensational ...she was just fabulous, no one like her. I just find her dancing mesmerizing !
Wow, she's incredible!
One of the top five dances ever put to film. Masterpiece
Wow!!She was Fantastic!! Thank you for sharing!True Virtuosa!!!!!
Eleanor Powell was the greatest female tap dancer who has ever lived & this is just astonishing. The routine she does with her pet dog, which can also be seen here on UA-cam, is equally marvellous!.
Yes. I agree. Her "Fascinating Rhythm" number and the number with the pet dog are from the same movie.
She might have been the best tap dancer ever. Even Fred Astaire thought she was better then him.
BBBYpsi My mom was a professional dancer in NY and Chicago in the 30's and '40's. She considered "Ellie" (as she called her) better than Astaire. Mom confessed to having lifted many a step from Powell, and even appropriated the satin top hat, like the one Powell wore in this dance, for costumes her for nightclub act.
As far as the "Fascinatin' Rhythm" rehearsals went, they doubtless took weeks and weeks, and were danced in tight shoes that made her feet bleed every day. After having gotten into my mom's trunk of old costumes as a little girl, one of the first things I tried on was a pair of her tap shoes. I asked her what the brown stains on the insides were. I didn't believe her at first when she answered me.
Though in every way the consummate professional, I'm pretty sure Powell's beaming smile at the end of this dance was at least in part due to relief.
I bet you're pretty proud of your Aunt Angela's accomplishments, too. Chancellor of Germany ain't chopped liver. Just kidding. My dad was a tap dancer in the late 20's early 30's and I was one in the 50's and 60's. Great to hear your mom's stories.
crowe bobby Merkel is my ex's name. I understand it's not an uncommon surname in Germany.
My mom had some good dance stories to tell but the best ones came to me from her friend Pat, who danced with her in NYC and was her decades-long friend.
These 360s are just insane
So much style and attitude in the way she dances. Tap is a lost art form.
No it’s not it’s actually making a comeback
No it’s not in fact it’s being taught many places in the US. It’s just not put out there so people can see it often. I’d like to see dancing with stars too that. Spoiler! It will never happen!
Thanks so much for posting this. She was the very best!!! No one else could hold a candle to her!!
Except Fred Astaire, who was in way more great musicals than any other dancer in the world !!
It’s so hard to make tap dancing look smooth.
She nails it.
What a radiant performance by Miss Powell!
Eleanor Powell, the greatest! For sure!
A super athlete, by any definition in sports, dance, or art. Famous for her gravity defying speed, physical strength and power, she layed down some of the most intricate rhythms in tap and dance history. Considered by many of the greatest dancers, to be the greatest of them all.
Taught by one of the greatest tap dancers of all time, gifted with supernatural energy, natural beauty and charisma, is the all time great, who made it look easy, sexy, and happy.
Eleanor Powell.
She was such a star
Mind blowing, those flips at the end, awesome.
A master class in camerawork.
The hippest coolest female dancer of all time!!
Busby Berkeley, who directed this sequence, called Eleanor Powell "by far the finest female dancer we ever had in films, and a very hardworking perfectionist."
Fantastic! That’s entertainment.💫
This is beyond fantastic and the ending is mind-blowing! How could she be swung around like that and come out dancing without falling flat on her face???? Eleanor Powell had talent beyond any mere mortal.
Try doing one somersault (thrown forward, not stationary), landing on your toes and going at once into a fast 360-degree spin, in tap heels... without tripping, wavering or moving off your mark.
She does EIGHT somersaults, followed by SIX fast spins, then rushes forward to hit the precise spot required for a big close-up (35mm cameras had very critical depth of field, using slow-speed film with the plane measured from the subject using a tape). And she adds the typical 'I'm only human' touch with which musicals liked to end virtuoso sequences: the tweak of her bow tie, like the way she brushes her hair back while saluting at the end of 'All Ashore'.
The final shot of this solo is Eleanor Powell's strongest claim to be regarded as divine.
Eleanor Powell was one of the most intricately spectacular of all the dancers and should be better known & appreciated! On top of that she was one of the most loved & respected of ladies in the business.
Definitely a Greatest of All Time!
How can anyone thumbs down this performance?
The Jive Aces r
*Meet down Voter #34, RePorting as Ordered!!!!*
*I Vote Up, when ELeanor is wearing Her shorts!!!!*
*I Vote DOWN, when ELeanor is NOT wearing her shorts!!!!*
@John Ashtone
*Speaks About those, whom Tony has Never Met!!!!*
@John Ashtone *CoRRect in this INBRED IDIOTS Mind, is just*
*Wut Ever He just ATE OUT of his Ass H. 0 . L. E.!!!!*
With many tap dancers I find my attention wandering half way through a number...but not with Eleanor Powell...it’s impossible to take your eyes off her.
Precise perfection!
And she makes it look so Easy!
Fantastic performance by Ellie. Back in those days they couldn’t get mics close to the dancer, so the sounds of her tap dancing was post synced. Kudos to the techs involved doing that too.
She always put her own taps in, as Fred did.
As the master Fayard Nicholas famously said when asked if the Nicholas Brothers still resented the fact that they were often overlooked for film spots. After all, everyone knew that they were better then all of the white dancing stars!
Wait, Fayard answered, "Well, we at least we weren't better than Eleanor Powell: No one was."
Ellie and Fayard were close friends.
David Hajdu wrote in The New Republic magazine on the 100th anniversary of Eleanor Powell’s birth: “Dynamic and versatile, Powell danced with a melodist’s sensitivity to the essential musicality of tap.” I always think of this quote whenever I watch this number.
I have NEVER seen a woman dance like that. EVER. Holy eff! That spinning at the end, you only see that sort of speed in ice skating!
Lol check out that spin at the end of Broadway Rhythm from Broadway Melody of 1936. Believe it or not, it's even crazier than this! LOL I would be on the floor
@@mlbslugger62 Yeah me too!! Just watched it, and she sure is incredible. Thanks for the recommendation!
Wow! This number takes off into some surprising directions.
I couldn't take my eye's off her thru out the entire act , She was just amazing .
I love the opening riff; that's the wickedest left hand I've ever heard!
She makes it all look effortless. That's the mark of a true virtuoso
I've always felt that Eleanor was much better than Ann Miller. Eleanor had a smooth, controlled way of moving that looked almost effortless. I've always felt she was under appreciated. What a talent; sorely missed.
I agree Eleanor was a better tap dancer, but Ann could sing and act better, especially doing comedy.
So wonderful! Classy and a little sassy. I love this!
Remember that first sequence of around three minutes was with one camera and one continuous sequence, something they almost never do today as dance routines involve several cameras, lots of takes and judicious splicing.,
Fred Astaire insisted on as few cuts as possible and always showing the full dancer. It's amazing how often you see dance routine filming NOT following those rules with the result of usually ruining the viewing of the routine.
Busby Berkeley would cut much more faster, almost frenziedly, at Warners for his huge ensemble spectacles in pix such as 'Dames' and 'Gold Diggers of 1933'. But cunning Buzz only used one camera, so that if producers tried to mess up his ideas in the cutting room there would not be many alternative shots with which to do so, and his outline would have to be followed.
In this routine he capitulates to the newer school of filming which stipulated that the line of the dance should be as far as possible unbroken by cutaways (e.g. to spectators) and not gussied up by fast montage-style editing. Instead Buzz puts all his skill into marshaling the revolving set, with its pianos and swirling curtain, and goes to the extreme opposite of his previous habit: a single shot lasting almost three minutes. AFAIK this was a record in the classical period of the musical, if not ever.
There is more editing in the second part, but not in competition with the performers- for instance, there is only one overhead angle, his trademark- and he concentrates on drilling the male chorus behind Powell. He accepts that when shooting a great dancer, as opposed to Keeler, Garland or nameless chorines, he does not have to complexify things; the audience will be raptly attentive to her. So it was with Astaire and Rogers in their seamlessly edited numbers; they give the impression of being unbroken, though they never were.
One of the greatest tap dances in film history.
Not one of! The best of the best
Who needs depression therapy when you have this?
I second that, and hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you! And you as well.
I get depressed because we DON'T have it anymore. Not really. Just on UA-cam until some algorithm removes it.
*ALL Psychiatrists are: God-Hating, Sad 0 Mites & KidBangers!!!*
So You Think you Can Dance...watch and learn!
Plus look for her Rosalie number too! She's amazing!
That goes for 'Dancing With The Stars', too.
just watched this on TCM Thanksgiving eve 2018
God Bless America!
Eleanor is all that, "fascinating rhythm"!
With the ability to play the video over and over, you have the chance to see all the things that go into a first class dancing performance. You can watch looking at only the facial expressions. Only the upper body movement. Only the feet. Only the hands (Astaire would sometimes spend a couple of weeks getting his hand movements perfect.) I sort of think that dancers at this level (the very best) know where every molecule of their body is at all times. That may be hyperbole, but you get the idea. It is so much more than just the dance steps.
Nearly three unbroken minutes in which not one gesture, step or facial expression is repeated, against ever-shifting syncopation and the distractions of revolving floor and grand pianos. Control of her body is absolute, building almost unbearable tension before the release of the second part. Surely she must falter? Nope.
Though Ellie was the kindliest and most modest of women off screen, she never gave an inch professionally. There are moments in this sequence when she looks almost haughty, as if her awareness of her supreme gifts cannot be cloaked. When she thrashes the stage with the sticks at the start of the second section, grinning triumphantly, one gets the feeling she was exalting in her power over everything and everyone, including the hundred supportive gents she 'reviews' like a general.
All credit to Busby Berkeley, who had sliced and diced so many dancers' performances to feed his strange pathologies, for playing it straight this time.
@@esmeephillips5888 Well, Busby never had a dancer of her caliber to work with at Warners. Besides, he discovered the possibilities of the long take/moving camera at Metro. Check out the opening of "Do the Conga" in Strike Up the Band.
@@barryputterman2412 Know what you mean, and the first shot in La Conga is almost as long as in FR, but the goal is different. Judy was not a pro dancer, Mickey was a comically exaggerated vaudevlle hoofer. Their moves are limited and the object of shooting without cutting is to highlight Judy as a singer, not to let a virtuoso dancer perform without directorial intervention.
The ethos of the Rooney-Garland musicals, the 'let's do the show right here' schtick, militated against Buzz's fantasticated working over of massed, anonymous dancers bowing to his vision. Restless camera movement and frenzied cutting were a needless distraction when those two kids were throwing off so much energy. The camera tracks in and out or pans laterally with discretion, following classical Golden Age practise.
But notice how from 2:50, as if giving in to his natural urges, Buzz on broadening the canvas to include more people reverts to WB habits: tilted angles, zippy 'cuts in camera' left and right, overhead views of big formations, processions of close-up chorines miming, even the floor-level movement through legs.
There is some Berkeleyness about the second part of FR, but it is still about showcasing one soloist: now focusing on acrobatics in the air instead of tapping across a plane surface. That shift is announced by Ellie's double leap to catch the drumsticks.
This is all her show: Berkeley's swirling pianists and top-hatted male troupe (a reference back to the finale of 'Broadway Melody of 1936', her first big finish) are subservient throughout. So although I think he began to appreciate the benefits of long takes and less gussied-up staging when he went to Metro- a lesson he had been slow to assimilate from the example of Astaire, Pan and Sandrich- it was collaborating with the Queen that drove it home. At the same time, there was an aesthetic reaction against expressionism and montage towards the calmer narrative of Ford, Renoir and Wyler which may have chastened Berkeley's wilder inclinations. Or he may simply have grasped that with a talent pool such as MGM's he no longer had to try so hard to cloak the limitations of such as Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell.
Buzz's two last great routines, in 1953, were Ann Miller in 'I Gotta Hear That Beat' and Esther Williams in the finale of 'Easy to Love'. These two ladies were Ellie's successors on land and water, and both numbers were physically taxing solos. Ms Powell had not only made the dance tyrant do what she wanted; she had pushed him in a new direction.
@@esmeephillips5888 It is a pleasure to talk to somebody who has such a deep and sensitive knowledge of the subject.
From Berkeley's perspective, he probably couldn't have changed directions at Warners even if he had wanted to. He created a "brand" and the studio was going to play it out till the end.
Yes, the goal is different in La Conga in terms of showcasing different forms of performing talent, but in terms of the camera, the goal is always the same, exploring and discovering new dynamics in spatial relationships. In La Conga the camera is quietly doing its own dance of re-framing to create of the players who are moving into and out of Judy's orbit as she sings a harmonious, rhythmic whole in a confined space. In Fascinatin' Rhythm, the camera continuously finds new spaces for Eleanor to extend her dancing. The second half of both numbers, in different ways, follow the Berkeley pattern of exploring a space until you think it has reached a dead end before it joyously opens into another space.
I also love Esther's clown number in Easy to Love. And, for late Berkeley, I have a special fondness for The Oceana Roll in Two Weeks with Love for quietly creating a primarily camera dance using a cast of limited dancers.
She got the rhythm!!!
Wow!!! The talent.
The Best tap dance Ever, Love Miss Ellie
No "perhaps" about it. Ellie was the best of all by far. Had the pleasure of meeting her once at a film fest of her movies and she was a gracious, lovely lady too. Brava.
The BEST. Time has underrated this lady, she's truly 'bad ass'! Word is Louis B Mayer wanted this expensive spiral curtain apparatus used and that's why the 1st part of this sequence was conceived. Whatever happened, it's some of the best design Hollywood studios ever produced- spectacular and all Eleanor Powell.
Why did she leave Metro in the forties? (They should have kept her.)
She wanted to raise her child and then she became a minister to children and lived a full life.
There are several stories going around as to why she left Metro. Eleanor herself has told different stories. One story was that producers grew reluctant to build musicals around her any longer because Eleanor failed to exude sex appeal and she did not have a voice for singing or acting the dramatic scenes. Other musicals stars came along such as Judy Garland who was selling more tickets and were triple threats in the singing, acting and dancing department. Eleanor bowed out gracefully...got married and had a child. She did however return to dancing between long intervals. After she left Metro, she was one of the first acts in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel. In the 1960's, in one of her many "comebacks" she made several television appearances on variety shows. She also won an Emmy in 1956 for her weekly non-dancing religious program in which she told Bible stories to little children. Her marriage to Glen Ford was a disaster according to her.
According to Eleanor Powell, her life was not exactly full after she left Metro. She was miserable after she left Metro because she was not dancing regularly and was in a very abusive marriage to Glen Ford who did not want her dancing. Eleanor stated in a magazine article that upon divorcing Glen Ford in 1959 that she went back to work dancing in Las Vegas and that she felt she had finally woke from the dead after her miserable 16 year marriage to Glen Ford.
I would have hated to have to wash that curtain
Amazing dancer
I love this dance number performed by Eleanor.
She was incredible!
my favorite Eleanor Powell performance.
😍She's the absolute best! I can't take my eyes off her!
She is incredible. And she looks so good doing it - such aplomb, such cool, her dance lines are so sophisticated.
Talent.
I love this woman
Brilliant as always
I thought I had spotted everything about this routine, but only today did I notice that at 1:28 she jumps right off the ground, lands and continues to tap and spin without missing a beat. This is beyond belief.
All I can say is WOW, she was terrific.
Great dancer. Wow.
Yes, mesmerizing!
Just phenomenal...
The best of the Best of the BEST.
Astounding talent!
I love it
Boy Eleanor Powell it’s such an amazing dancer! Vera Ellen is my favorite simply because she has a much wider genre than Eleanor. But Eleanor just tap so clean and her turns are amazing. Thank you for sharing!
No comparing those two . EP did her own choreography no one else comes close to ELLIE POWELL
Holy shit, this is very impressive.
Eleanor Powell is the best female tap dancer ever!
she is so amazing thank you ms2doggies pure joy