When Damien Chazelle accepted the Oscar for La La Land, few people realized, that he usurped Norman Taurog as the youngest Best Director – a record that had stayed uncontested since the early 1930s.
One of the skilled professionals of Tinseltown, Taurog (1899-1981) started by directing quality pictures, by middle age he was making Martin/Lewis comedies and Elvis-flicks, of which he made nine of. With Broadway Melody of 1940 Taurog was still inspired to try, among absurdly expensive set decorations. This was the fourth installation in an entertainment franchise led by the charismatic tap dance master Eleanor Powellin, a simple comedy of errors in the finest Hollywood style. The main attention is on the choreographies for Cole Porter‘s immortal songs, and there the spotlight is on the male lead: no one and nothing in the history of cinema has ever moved like Fred Astaire.
This musical finds Astaire in full bloom, sheer kinetic joy, imagination and grace. And Powell is not going to be left one step behind. This is the kind of entertainment Hollywood knew how to do better than any other machinery in the history of the world. Begin The Beguine! (Anton Asikainen)
Language: English, subtitles: Finnish and Swedish
