ROYAL WEDDING
1951 – NR – 93 Min.
D: Stanley Donen
S: Fred Astaire – Jane Powell – Keenan Wynn – Sarah Churchill – Peter Lawford
Warner Home Entertainment DVD – Released as a double feature with The Belle Of New York
Fullscreen / Dolby Digital Mono
Extras: Robert Osborne hosts TCM’s Private Screenings with Stanley Donen – Featurette – Song Outtake – Two Classic Cartoons – Promotional radio interview with Astaire and Powell – Trailer
Lively Techincolor musical showcases Astaire and Powell as brother and sister dancing team of Tom and Ellen Bowen. He’s a workaholic and she’s a bit of a get-around-girl. Offered the chance to put on a show in London around the time of the Royal Wedding, both their lives are eventually complicated by the fact that each finds romance. Or more appropriately, it finds them. Tom and Ellen are thrown off balance by this unexpected segue into such unfamiliar territory. And what effect will all of this have on the new and tremendously successful act? Donen crafts an endearing film that is happily concerned with more than just getting to the next number. All of which, by the way, are very well done and highly entertaining. That fantastic sequence featuring Mr. Astaire dancing on the walls and ceiling of his room is still a standout; he’s as effortlessly smooth as ever. Sarah Churchill, Tom’s love interest in the story, is the daughter of Winston Churchill. Powell is bright, energetic, and a pleasure to watch. If you’re an Astaire fan you’ve probably already picked this up. If you’re unfamiliar and have been wondering, lay those worries to rest, Royal Wedding is terrific entertainment.