Movie Musicals

 

With the coming of sound, Americans came to love musicals. In 1929. only the second year for Academy Awards, MGM's Broadway Melody won the award for Best picture. Below are brief reviews of two early movie musicals that feature spectacular dancing. Use the links to see for yourself.                                  

 

Swing Time. 

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are universally regarded as the greatest dance team of all time. Starting with their first appearance in Flying Down to Rio where they danced the Carioca, they appeared in a series of films whose dance numbers have never been equaled. No one else danced together as a team as they did. My personal favorite is Roberta, but Swing Time, which opened in 1936, is generally regarded as their best film.

It includes two great songs by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, the Academy Award winning, “The Way You Look Tonight,” and “A Fine Romance,” as well as four of their greatest dance numbers: “Pick Yourself Up,” the most popular of all their dances; the effervescent “Waltz in Swing Time;” the dramatic finale “Never Gonna Dance;” and the solo “Bojangles of Harlem,” Astaire’s spectacular homage to the great black dancer Bill Robinson.

Speaking of homage, Ginger Rogers never gets enough credit for her performances opposite Astaire. She is said to have quipped that she did every step that he did, but backwards and in heels. To my mind she was much more than a beautiful singer and dancer. One only has to look at her facial expressions and posture while she dances to see that she was a great actress as well. In her book on the Astaire Rogers films, Arlene Croce paid homage to Ginger.

“It’s easy to underrate Rogers’ dancing because she never appeared to be working hard, and because, with a bold nonchalance that irritates women more than men, she sometimes threw away stuff she never had. But Rogers danced with love, with pride in the beauty of an illusion—and with one of the most elegant dancer’s bodies imaginable. She avoided any suggestion of toil or inadequacy. She was just physically incapable of ugliness.”

A few years ago, the complete set of Astaire/Rogers films was made available on DVD. Even though streaming has largely replaced DVDs today, the DVD versions often include commentaries and other features. John Mueller’s commentary for Swing Time is one of the best I have ever heard. 103 minutes.

 

Broadway Melody of 1940.

The first Broadway Melody film appeared in 1929 and won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Six years later, MGM produced Broadway Melody of 1936 that made a star of newcomer Eleanor Powell, who would become famous for her extraordinary dancing. She became known as the Queen of Tap, but she was able to do anything from tap to ballet. The success of the film led MGM to follow with Broadway Melody of 1938, and Broadway Melody of 1940.

Despite weak story lines the series is worth watching today not only for Powell’s dancing but also because MGM used these films to spotlight up and coming talent. For example, in Broadway Melody of 1938, a young Judy Garland has a small role but does get the spotlight on her for an unforgettable rendition of “You Made Me Love You,” sung to a photograph of Clark Gable. But only in Broadway Melody of 1940 did Eleanor Powell find a partner to dance with. In this film the Queen of Tap is paired with Fred Astaire who had recently ended his long career with Ginger Rogers. Famed ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov once said, “Fred Astaire is dancing, and the rest of us are doing something else.” 

And so, in Broadway Melody of 1940, despite a weak script and the inevitable comic interludes that including a fantastic female juggler, the "Begin the Beguine" finale of this film is perhaps the greatest dance number ever filmed. MGM created a huge set for this number with countless light bulbs sparkling in the dark background, and a dance floor of glass that would mirror every step.

The first half of the finale is a Latin dance introduced by a female singer intoning Cole Porter’s famous words, but soon the camera pans to a chorus of beautiful girls in lovely white gowns dancing to the Latin music. Then, almost as if she was Venus rising from the sea, Eleanor Powell appears, also in a flowing white gown, and takes over in a solo featuring her incredible back bends and high kicks. Finally, she is joined by Astaire who first appears as a mirror image in a bolero outfit. They complete the dance beautifully and twirl off stage, but there is more to come.

Now, a female quartet appears singing Begin the Beguine in an upbeat swing rhythm. They finish and move off camera as Powell and Astaire, now dressed in contemporary outfits, come tapping into view and launch into a sprightly, up-tempo number where they almost seem to be competing to outdo each other. The King and Queen of Tap match each other step for step in a dance number that has never been equaled.  Heaven, sheer Heaven.

For those who do not want to watch the whole film, the Begin the Beguine number can be watched in two parts on YouTube, but I still prefer the DVD in order to view it in its entirety. The film includes other fine Powell/Astaire numbers including “I’ve Got My Eyes on You,” “I Concentrate on You”, and “Jukebox Dance” which Powell regarded as her personal favorite.102 minutes. CC

 

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Trump DeSantis Ticket

  

Trump and DeSantis

 

Last week I conducted my own informal poll of Republican Trump supporters on whether they would like to see Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as Donald Trump’s choice for his running mate in the Presidential campaign.  All believed it would be a great idea.  A few days later, right before the New Hampshire primary, Governor DeSantis withdrew from the race and announced that he would support President Trump.

Now that Donald Trump has defeated Nikki Haley by 11 points in New Hampshire, I think his way is clear to the Republican nomination despite Haley’s determination to carry on. No matter what she does, I think it would be good to examine the pros and cons of a Trump/DeSantis ticket.

Trump does not need DeSantis to shore up his base. In all my life I have never seen such enthusiasm for a candidate as Trump has garnered since his entrance into politics in 2015. Despite all the criticism, harassment, impeachments, investigations, and indictments, his supporters still love him. In 2020 an unprecedented 74 million people voted for Trump, and I doubt if any of them have changed their mind since then, especially considering what has happened at home and abroad during the past 3 years of the Biden/Harris administration.

What DeSantis can add to the ticket is an heir apparent. Critics claim that Trump will be a lame duck if elected in November, and because of that he will have even more difficulty governing than he did during his first administration. DeSantis provides a competent, experienced, and youthful successor to the aging Trump. He would be a natural to carry on the conservative agenda in 2028, as well as step in if Trump were to experience health issues before then. What a contrast it would be to the Biden/Harris ticket. Even Democrats shudder at the possibility that Biden, already obviously suffering from old age, would be succeeded by Kamela Harris.

It is true that Trump has had bad words for DeSantis since 2020. Trump had helped DeSantis win an unprecedented landslide in Florida, but then believed that DeSantis had failed to reciprocate. A couple of years ago, when DeSantis responded “no comment” when asked if he planned to run for President, Trump felt he was being disloyal. In hindsight, it would have been much better for DeSantis to have responded: “President Trump did a great job during his term in office, and if he chooses to run again, I will support him. I will only consider running if he chooses not to run.” Given his results in recent month he would have saved a lot of time and money. 

Nevertheless, politics is politics and if Joe Biden could choose Kamela Harris as his running mate after what she said about him in debates, there is no reason why Trump and DeSantis cannot mend their fences and forge a winning combination for November.

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In Memoriam

 

Francis J. DeStefano
10/8/1964-1/15/2023

A year ago on a Sunday morning like this, two young Fairfield police officers knocked on our door, and asked if they could come in.They asked us to sit down and then told us that our son Francis had taken his life early that morning. I will never forget the kindness and compassion of those two young officers.

Francis left behind my wife Linda and I, two sons, Liam and Ryan, his younger brother Ed, and four sisters, Anne, Kate, Jane, and Dolores. Here is a eulogy written last year by Ed. 

Good Morning

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Ed DeStefano, the second of 6 children born to our parents Frank and Linda. Francis was my older brother. 

As I reflected back on Fran’s life this week, looking through pictures, and remembering our lives together, some things occurred to me that really defined who he was.

He was so so smart

He was abundantly kind, not just kind but abundantly kind. He would do anything to help anyone and he would always turn the other cheek. 

He also wanted to make his mark, do something important, leave a legacy.

He had strong faith not just in God but in humanity. 

In the later years of Fran’s life he fought hard to overcome mental illness but before all that he was a strong, capable, smart guy. This is the Fran I like to remember, the Fran I know. The one who excelled at everything he did. When we were boys we played baseball in little league. Fran was a star, he could hit and played a number of positions but mostly he was a great catcher. Very rarely would you see a kid in little league throw someone out who was stealing second but Fran could.

He was so cool and I looked up to him so much. We would ride our bikes to the hobby shop and buy things for our train sets, model rocket kits, or other hobby stuff. We would work together for hours in the basement building models. In the end his were always perfect. The assembly, not too much glue, things perfectly in alignment, perfect paint job. My models would be a mess, they would fly but his would win best in show too.

For most of our childhood I was the tag along, Fran would be going to a youth group meeting and have to bring me along. There was Friday night volleyball, dungeons and dragons at his friends houses, scouts, high school theatre, and he had to bring me along. But he did and didn’t complain - that’s the Fran I know.

He got chosen to go to Talcott mountain and came back with an electronic device he built with Integrated circuits. This is when our TV still had tubes. He taught me to solder and tried to explain how it worked. I never got it. I always loved music and wanted to play guitar. When I gave up on my lessons he took it up and learned to play beautifully. 

There were pictures of him helping with my first house, and at birthday parties for my kids. Reading to my daughter and playing in the pool with a super soaker. He was a big kid, kind and fun and always a great brother to me, that’s the Fran I know.

After graduating college he started his own computer business. Consulting, writing software for customers and offering computer training. He called it Prince Computing, I was in awe of how easy it all was for him. I used to joke with him that my small excavating business should be called Pauper Excavating. 

The last time I had the occasion to speak on his behalf was at his wedding. I doubted his decision to get married and it was a struggle to put something together that I felt comfortable saying. In the end I realized that Fran knew what he was doing. He picked the right person.  He and Joan had two boys who have grown to be amazing people. Both smart, capable, and kind, very much like the Fran I know. 

So this is his legacy – to have been a great son and brother, not just to me but to his 4 sisters too. To have accomplished so much in life and helped so many along the way. To have climbed so many mountains only to climb another. To have two young boys that are now men that are making their way in the world and have already accomplished so much. Francis has left his mark on all of us. 

Lastly I would like to touch on his faith. This was unshakable and if you ask me at times over the top. Nevertheless Francis believed in God and was a soldier of the lord. God gave him a burden to carry and Francis fought hard to bear it. But even in the fight Francis never was angry or hurtful, he would smile and laugh at a joke or make a gentile gesture. That’s the Fran I know.

I learned recently that Saint Francis had a different way of looking at death, Saint Francis chose to embrace death as one so close to him as to be called “Sister.” St. Francis tells us rather than battle sister death to love and welcome sister death. Some­day Sister Death will greet us and we will go home to our God who created us, loves us, and re­deems us through Jesus our Savior. In dying we are born to eternal life.

Francis believed this and I believe he is now at rest in paradise. Maybe working on a new guitar riff with Jimi Hendrix or the classical equivalent. 

RIP Fran

PS. When his uncle Rob heard the news of Fran's death, he told me that Don Mc Lean's song Vincent (Starry, Starry Night), reminded him of Fran.  

Are Women Human?

 

                                     

 

Despite the widespread criticism of Christianity today, there is no doubt that it introduced a revolutionary improvement in the role and status of women. Where did early Christians get this revolutionary idea? I think we have to go to the Source, to the actual words and actions of Jesus in the Bible. Dorothy Sayers, a famed Christian author of the twentieth century, wrote the following in an essay entitled, “Are Women Human?”

Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man—there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them. Never flattered or coaxed or patronized: who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as “The women, God help us!” or “the ladies, God bless them!”; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unself-conscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything “funny” about woman’s nature.

But we might easily deduce it from His contemporaries, and from His prophets before Him, and from His Church to this day. Women are not human; nobody shall persuade that they are human; let them say what they like, we will not believe it, though One rose from the dead.

Perhaps Sayers, like many today, included St. Paul among those contemporaries of Jesus who did not understand, especially when we consider the famous passage in his letter to the Colossians where he advises wives to be subordinate to their husbands. 

For years I was a lector or reader at my local Catholic church. Ever since the Second Vatican council it has been the practice for the lector, usually a layperson, to read the first two scripture readings at Sunday Mass, after which the priest or a deacon reads the gospel. Reading the scriptures out loud to a congregation made them more meaningful to me than just hearing them read by others at Mass. I liked doing it but old age and diminishing eyesight made me give it up a few years ago.  

However, something happened last weekend that made me recall an incident from my lector days. It was on the feast day of the Holy Family that usually occurs on the first Sunday after Christmas. I was in the sacristy before Mass looking over the readings when the young priest who was to preside approached me and told me to read the short form of the second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. He must have seen a look of surprise on my face and added that the American Bishop’s Council allows shortened versions to be read on occasion. He didn’t exactly explain why but in this case the passage that I was to omit included St. Paul’s advice to wives to be “subordinate” to their husbands, a passage that even many Catholics today find objectionable.

I was younger then and declined to do it. Since childhood I had been instructed by priests and bishops to regard every word of the Bible as inspired, but apparently some words were not as inspired or sacred as others. It was jarring and I told him to find another lector and went back to join my wife in the congregation.  In the years that have followed it has become standard to omit the controversial scriptural passage. This past weekend, it was again omitted.  In all these years homilists just choose to ignore or omit this and other difficult passages that might be offensive to modern ears.  Rather than explain, discuss, or confront the difficult passages head on, they just ignore or omit. 

This failure was one of the reasons that I began to compose my own reflections on the Sunday Mass readings many years ago. Last Sunday I posted on the historical “context” of St. Paul’s words on my Sunday, Sunday blog.  I tried to explain why Paul would have advised wives to be subordinate to their husbands, but also why his advice to husbands to “love your wives” was revolutionary.

I certainly agree with Sayers about Jesus, but I believe that if we look at the whole context  of the life and writings of St. Paul, we will see that he was truly following in the footsteps of his Master. Despite today's popular opinion, Christianity elevated the role of women not only in society but also in the eyes of her husband. St. Paul understands the teaching of Christ to mean that Christian men must give up their whole lives for their wives and families, a rare thing in any time. The relationship in a family should consist of "heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." A family built on these virtues won't have to worry about who's the boss. 

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