Fred Astaire Dancing Musical

[tessieadog]

I am looking for the name of musical F. Astaire ( I think) was in where he danced up and down the staircase. Thanks!

[sandykaypax]

Could that be the "Steppin' Out with My Baby" number from Easter Parade?

 

Do you remember if the film was in color or black and white? Was Fred dancing alone, with a partner, or chorus?

 

Sandy K

[JackBurley]

I couldn't help but think if she was really thinking of 1) the "I'll Build a Staircase to Paradise" number with George Guetary in An American in Paris; or 2) the advertisement that manipulated Fred Astaire footage to look as if he were dancing on a staircase with a with floor sweeper...

[NZ]

Actually Jack, sorry to disagree with you on this one but I had cause to see that commercial for the Orek sweeper and it is from Easter Parade in totem. Though the sweeper has been added the background information has not been altered in any way - it is Steppin' Out With My Baby all the way.

 

A similar commercial finds Astaire dancing with a vacuum using the footage from his Sunday Jumps routine from Royal Wedding with the floor cleaner substituting for the original hat rack.

 

Hope this was useful.

[JackBurley]

I think you might have misunderstood my reply; I was wondering if the original poster was thinking of the advertisment as she searches for the "the name of musical F. Astaire (I think) was in where he danced up and down the staircase." My poor memory doesn't serve me well enough to remember what the origin of the footage. It's been a long time since I've seen that commercial; but I wonder if this what Ms. Dog is looking for?

 

[but anything that brings NZ in to post is well worth it.]

[ayresorchids]

Tessie,

 

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance up and down the resort stairs during the lengthy number "The Continental" from The Gay Divorcee (1934), and they dance up both sides of a sweeping dual staircase in the "Never Gonna Dance" number in Swing Time (1936).

 

Dressed as Pierrot, Astaire does a bit of dancing on the stairs in a big production number ("I Concentrate on You") from Broadway Melody of 1940, with Eleanor Powell his Pierette.

 

In Blue Skies (color, 1946) he briefly dances down some stairs with a group of dancing girls in hoop skirts (?A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody?), and toward the end of the movie, portraying a drunken and disillusioned character who attempts a dangerous performance of ?Heat Wave,? he dances up a fairly high flight of stairs and alarmingly, falls to the stage below.

 

Sandy, Jack, and NZ already mentioned ?Steppin? Out with My Baby? from Easter Parade (1948) (and, yes, from the unfortunate Dirt Devil commercial).

 

He runs up a stylized red metal fire escape to nowhere during ?The Girl Hunt Ballet? in The Band Wagon (color, 1953).

 

There are several other instances in which Astaire dances around a very short flight of steps (the very end of ?Dancing in the Dark? comes to mind), and during the ?Bonjour, Paree? sequence of Funny Face he seems to run up and down every long staircase in Paris, his energy never dimming.