Cast: Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, James Melton, Victor Moore, Red Skelton, Esther Williams, William Powell, Edward Arnold, Marion Bell, Cyd Charisse, Hume Cronyn, William Frawley, Robert Lewis, Virginia O'Brien, Keenan Wynn
This might be the film with the biggest cast and most directors ever made...
THE PLOT: There really isn't a plot, besides the deceased Florence Ziegfeld (William Powell) looking down from heaven and designing his next big show. The rest of the film is live action except for a sequence at the beginning, where a sequence is shown that consists entirely of puppets.
THE REVIEW: I went into this film solely for the purpose of seeing a young Gene Kelly, but I was completely taken aback by the acting skill, especially the terrific comic acting by Red Skelton and Keenan Wynn. I was laughing my ass off at Skelton's comedy. And this is the first time I saw Keenan Wynn. I didn't peg him as a comedian, but boy, was he funny! And of course, Gene was terrific in his bit with Fred Astaire in "The Babbit and the Bromide." I think this movie should get a 4 out of 5 stars, minus 1 because of Kathryn Grayson's strange performance at the end. I just didn't like it.
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