Hollywood: song & dance

United States, 1989

Film
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Narrated by Bob Sessions this is the story of the development of song and dance in the Hollywood film. Concentrating on the performances of the thirties and forties it explores how song and dance routines became more sophisticated with advancements in technology. Most of the emphasis is on the extensive range of clips selected from the films of those decades, featuring such greats as Al Jolson and including early performances by Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Peggy Lee…. Other more surprising performances include Laurel and Hardy, James Cagney and John Wayne! Legendary actresses such as Betty Grable and Yvonne De Carlo show the range of their skills, and Barbara Stanwyck’s early singing debut is recorded - in a costume that caused censorship problems in more than one country. The peerless Fred Astaire delights in an energetic orchestral number epitomising the golden era of song and dance. “Song and Dance” is a deserving tribute to some great performers.

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Collection

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Credits

director

Ray Selfe

producer

Derek Blades

production company

EPA

Duration

00:55:00:00

Production places
United States
Production dates
1989

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

304490

Language

English

Audience classification

G

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/83283--hollywood-song-dance/ |title=Hollywood: song & dance |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=29 March 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}