in a different era. would Torvil And Dean make movies

stuart.uk · Post by **stuart.uk** » February 4th, 2008, 11:06 am

I hope nobody mind this as it's not about movie stars, but two sporting legends who if born in an earlier era might well have made classic musicals

Fred And Ginger were the screens greatest dance partnership and at RKO they danced for 6-yrs. Sonja Henie was a movie star, who did skating routines.

I would say 1980s World and Olympic gold medalists Jane Torvil And Christopher Dean are the nearest thing i've seen to Fred And Ginger, only the dance on ice. i hope i'm not bias because they're British, but i think they're the all-time greatest ice dancing team of all time. so i wonder if Jane and Chris, if they'd been around in the 30s or 40s weather they would have made ice dance movies, similiar to Fred And Ginger's RKO films. three of their routines are folklore, Mack And Mabel, Barnum and Bolero

the other great thing about Jane and Chris is that after over 20 yrs their still dancing on ice today at still a high standard. their involved in a highly popular tv show called Dancing On Ice where they coach celebrities and their professional skating partners and create routines for them. the added bonus is Jane and Chris open the show with a spectacular routine. Chis had an injured knee and couldn't perform on Sunday's live show, so for the first time ever Jane went solo with a chorus, doing a great number from Chorus Line. not bab for an oldie!

PS the one celebrity you might now, who's taking part is Tim Vincent, who i beleive is presenting a popular game show in America

Moraldo Rubini · Post by **Moraldo Rubini** » February 4th, 2008, 11:44 am

Back in the days of the great studios, it seemed anyone who was "hot" at the moment would be tried out on screen. Many athletes made it to varying success: Buster Crabbe, Johnny Weissmueller, Esther Williams, Eleanor Holm, Sonja Heni, among them... In the 1960's and '70's television seemed to take over this role; creating specials starring Peggy Fleming or Dorothy Hamil. Though not a champion, Lynn-Holly Johnson was a competitive skater (at the novice level) before joining the Ice Capades and moving to the big screen with Robby Benson in Ice Castles.

I think MGM was scared off of skating pictures after the disaster of Ice Follies of 1939. This was said to have been one of the last straws for Joan Crawford at MGM (though she lasted for another couple of years). Heni continued making pictures into the late 1940's.

I imagine the process to get a green light on a movie today takes a lot longer than it did when Zanuck could just order his writing department to whip something up for Heni. By the time the flick is made, the spotlight has already left the star. Exploitation films are still made every once in a while, but the featured characters have to be hot enough for their popularity to last at least until the opening of the picture. There was a summer musical made a few years ago starring finalists from the American Idol competition. I believe it flopped and the singers are now answers to trivia questions.

Post by **movieman1957** » February 4th, 2008, 11:59 am

Talk about pulling one out of left field.

I remember their Olympic competition and if you transfer skating to dancing they might havebeen quite good. The real question was what kind of personality did/do they have. You need to be more than a good dancer to complete in Fred and Ginger's league.

They were lovely to watch.

Ayres · Post by **Ayres** » February 4th, 2008, 1:47 pm

I've always found it interesting that the only dancers who can come close to the style of Astaire and Rogers are people who are gliding over ice!

Watching a Sonja Henie picture recently, I was startled. She was cute, and skated beautifully, but the skill levels of ice skaters have risen so steadily and to such heights since her time that what she did seems now rather ordinary in comparison.

knitwit45 · Post by **knitwit45** » February 4th, 2008, 2:13 pm

Speaking of skating, isn't it interesting that quite a few of the "big" movies of the forties had skating sequences? "Farmer's Daughter", "The Bishop's Wife",
"The Man Who Came to Dinner", and of course the others just skated right out of my mind....sigh....

Anyway, skating must have been really big back then???

Moraldo Rubini · Post by **Moraldo Rubini** » February 4th, 2008, 2:23 pm

Ayres wrote:Watching a Sonja Henie picture recently, I was startled. She was cute, and skated beautifully, but the skill levels of ice skaters have risen so steadily and to such heights since her time that what she did seems now rather ordinary in comparison.

Where did you catch a Sonja Henie movie?! They aren't out on DVD (at least I'm not aware of them -- I'd own them if I knew). I haven't seen them in decades and would love to see them again. Especially Sun Valley Serenade which featured a great score. Glenn Miller, Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Davis, Lyn Bari, John Payne. Yup, this is on my must-see list.

Ayres · Post by **Ayres** » February 4th, 2008, 2:27 pm

My husband and I are hoping to live long enough to see everything in our collection. : )

ken123 · Post by **ken123** » February 4th, 2008, 3:11 pm

I watched Sun Valley Serenade somewhere on cable in the last month ! I is very good.

sandykaypax · Post by **sandykaypax** » February 6th, 2008, 12:40 pm

moraldo, Fox Movie Channel shows a Sonja Henie film from time to time. I recorded Sun Valley Serenade last month or so...

I do remember Torville and Dean. I haven't thought of them in years...

Sandy K

Moraldo Rubini · Post by **Moraldo Rubini** » February 6th, 2008, 1:55 pm

sandykaypax wrote:moraldo, Fox Movie Channel shows a Sonja Henie film from time to time. I recorded Sun Valley Serenade last month or so...

Thank Paxi! I rue the day that DirecTV took the Fox Movie Channel away from me.

sandykaypax · Post by **sandykaypax** » February 7th, 2008, 9:19 pm

Curse that DirectTV! Fox Movie Channel is showing the Henie film One in a Million tomorrow, too...

Sandy K

mrsl · Post by **mrsl** » February 8th, 2008, 2:01 am

To return to the original question, whenever a champion turns up, be it a single or a couple, H'wood always seems to try to find some way to exploit them. I'm sure they would be put in some kind of movie, but someone might also just write a story around them like they did for Lynn Holly Johnson. My girls both adored Ice Castles and each saw it several time.

Anne

Dawtrina · Post by **Dawtrina** » February 10th, 2008, 12:37 pm

movieman1957 wrote:You need to be more than a good dancer to complete in Fred and Ginger's league.

Hallelujah to that! Not being a fan of musicals at all (and still trying vainly to understand why I love some but hate most), I'm still a major Fred and Ginger fan. I end up knocking points off my ratings because their plots are often so completely dumb and the whole point being the singing and dancing which I try but usually fail to not gloss over.

Yet I can't stop watching either of them. They move amazingly in their routines but that's not the real point. They act too and they act really really well. I see more acting in their faces even during their routines than in many of the more famous actors in many of the more famous musicals.

Does it seem right to watch Fred and Ginger movies for something other than the dancing?

The Silver Screen Oasis

The Silver Screen Oasis

in a different era. would Torvil And Dean make movies

in a different era. would Torvil And Dean make movies