I Love this!! She was a spectacular talent!! In real life that audience would have been on their feet cheering after a performance like this. The audience looks like they are applauding for the opening piece of a piano recital. She deserved.a standing ovation. Thank you for posting!
"What did you do in the movies, Grandpa?" - "I stood under a stage with my arms sticking through it and waved a clarinet around while Ann Miller danced on my head through the floor."
TH-cam gets you to meet great stars of amazing talent that you have only heard about long ago. Ann Miller could sing and dance with the best ever, and was such a personality and story teller as well. I wish her life could have been happier, especially her married life. The love of her life dying young of a broken heart and all . . .
One of my all time favorite musical numbers and of course it has the great Busby Berkeley written all over it. Another terrific Miller dance is “It’s TooDarn Hot” in Kiss Me Kate. I LOVE that she performed it for the troops in 120* heat! I was lucky enough to see and have my young daughter see Miller and Mickey Rooney (IMO the most talented performer in film history) in their wonderful stage musical Sugar Babies back in the 80’s.
It's so rare nowadays that you see dancers that look healthy, most of them look stick thin so I love the fact that Ann miller isn't! She is absolutely incredible! X
Ann Miller wrote that there was no air conditioning in the studio when she filmed this number and it was over 100 degrees in the studio. The only relief from the California heat was from the large noisy fans that were in place on the set. But these fans had to be turned off during filming and during rehearsals as the large crews could not hear Busby Berkeley's directions when the noisy fans were on. Ann stated that a few of the men who were under the stage holding the instruments which protrude from under the floor where she danced fainted from the heat...some carried away in stretchers... as it was even hotter under the stage floor. Ann also wrote that although she had been dancing in films for over 15 years when this number was shot it was the first time that her feet bled. Busby Berkeley would not let her get her feet bandaged from the blood. According to Ann, Busby's exact words were: "I don't care about you Ann Miller or your bleeding feet. I only care about bringing this picture in on time and no matter what you will finish filming this number today, bloody feet and all. "
Thanks so much, Jack. Yes, Miller was a highly professional and consummate artist who worked as hard as anyone during the era. I'm thankful we have so many films in which to watch Ann perform. Her treatment by Berkeley was outrageous and she would have been fully within her rights to go over his head to the producer, Joe Pasternak, to show him the physical damage Berkeley was doing. This wasn't the first time Berkeley had abused a star he choreographed or directed. He overworked and verbally degraded Judy Garland on the set of Girl Crazy to the point of exhaustion and breakdown (this was before Garland developed a pattern of being late on-set). There were a number of performers at MGM who couldn't stand Berkeley for this and other reasons. In a telling quip, Berkeley was shooting an outdoor sequence later in his career but reverting to his earlier "cast of thousands" style. He was on a camera crane screaming to the truck operator, "pull back...more...back!" to which Gene Kelly said to some others nearby, "yeah, all the way back to 1933." Though many of Berkeley's musical numbers from his Warner Bros. days are extraordinary, I have a pretty difficult time disassociating his behavior from his work. For a quick look at what was behind Berkeley's dark nature, you might want to check out this review from the Los Angeles Times: articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/25/entertainment/ca-11799
Sub-Lt Berkeley William Enos of the US Army, still pulling rank. He was a psycho, a momma's boy who relieved his frustrations on his underlings, but he was not the only dance-directing extremist. 'Madame' Albertina Rasch was dropped by Metro because of her martinet habits, and never worked in Hollywood again.
'Small Town Girl' is not much of a film, but it is redeemed by two knockout numbers: this one, which Salvador Dali might have designed, and Bobby Van's crazy but delightful hoppity-hop all around the aforesaid small town.
Judy Garland worked a few movies with Busby Berkeley . They didn’t get along , and she didn’t care for him at all. Judy could be difficult , but she always did better when you were in her corner . He didn’t see it that way . He was known as a brutal harsh perfectionist . But this number is definitely my favorite , and I met Ann once and she said this number was probably her favorite of her career . Pretty impressive . She took tap to a whole new level .
Glad to hear that, b/c I reckon it was her best number as well as Buzz's last masterpiece. Ann's choreography was by MGM's head dance tutor, Willie Covan, the frst black man to hold such a post at a big studio.
I agree. Ann Miller's numbers were far too big and glamorous for such a small town movie. Although Ann did write in one of her books that sometimes she would shoot a number without it being attached to any particular film. When a script became available and her dialogue completed the number would then be inserted in.
True. It is a remake of the 1936 Janet Gaynor flick, typical of the 1950s when studios took to musicalizing old comedies. They had run out of original plots and hoped scope, color and stereo sound would compensate. The rewrite has too much story for its runtime, but at least this weird and glorious masterpiece, Berkeley's last, was crowbarred into it for Ann.
Ann Miller, the ultimate tap dancer, at her very best. Busby Berkeley at the top of his form. the wizardly, the intelligence of this incredible number will never be surpassed. nor should it. have some respect people. this is as good as it gets. and don't you agree, Cyd Charisse? yes?
Berkeley just didn't like individuals much. He wanted to marshal them in patterns to fulfil his strange fantasies. There is an unmistakable strain of misogynist sadism in his imagination, which above all comes out in 'Lullaby of Broadway', that creepy but brilliant conception. He was also insecure, apt to get cross because his technical knowhow was so patchy. He could not give detailed choreographic instructions; didn't know a buck from a wing. He had never danced himself. Like all men, Buzz met his match in Eleanor Powell. For once he confined himself to moving the camera in 'Lady Be Good', recording her endlessly evolving movement instead of chopping it up. He kept busy with the complex but imperceptible machinery of 'Fascinating Rhythm'. He admitted he was more proud of that number than of all his Warners spectacles. He serves the supercharged Ms Miller pretty well here, again milking the simple, surrealist idea instead of embellishing it with tricks.
In an interview Ann revealed that Berkeley made her complete this number despite a bleeding blister. That dazzling smile masked a lot of pain. As she said, he lacked compassion.
'I hope to hell you know what you're doing, because I don't'. (Producer Joe Pasternak to Busby Berkeley). Lyricist Leo Robin had written words which gave Buzz no clue about how to visualize them. Production was already under way. Buzz suddenly envisioned a stage and steps with a five-foot crawlspace below for 86 extras as musicians, while Ann Miller's cruel spiked heels menaced their hands. He toiled all night graphing holes for their arms and exact routes for the huge Technicolor camera and crane. 'We started filming it next day and it worked like a charm' he blithely recalled, ignoring how several of his captives had collapsed with heat stroke, and how he had screamed at Ann that he was not going to overrun even if it killed her.
Berkeley rated Eleanor Powell top among movie dancers. His concept here echoes hers and Dave Gould's choreography in the gigantic finale of 'Born to Dance': a soloist moving past groups of instrumentalists (trombones, trumpets etc) as the orchestration highlights their contributions. Buzz extended it from the brass, flutes and drums of Ellie's military support- soldiers and sailors- to an entire symphonic line-up, arranged roughly as orchestral forces would be in the wide shot at the end: strings and big fiddles sandwiching brass and wind, percussion at the back.
That's pretty sad to hear, but at the same time I have to give her credit for pulling it off so well despite the pain. I know I wouldn't have been able to.
Another of those great only-on-film numbers that opens and closes with shots of an audience politely clapping from theater seats. It's a kind of inside joke I think. So, did they sit through a couple hours of floor changes to fit different instruments in, depending on the choreography?
I Love this!! She was a spectacular talent!! In real life that audience would have been on their feet cheering after a performance like this. The audience looks like they are applauding for the opening piece of a piano recital. She deserved.a standing ovation. Thank you for posting!
"What did you do in the movies, Grandpa?" - "I stood under a stage with my arms sticking through it and waved a clarinet around while Ann Miller danced on my head through the floor."
Wow boy could she dance
This is what they're showing on TV at the airport (July 4th, 2023)
she gave a great performance in Two Tickets to Broadway two years earlier
TH-cam gets you to meet great stars of amazing talent that you have only heard about long ago. Ann Miller could sing and dance with the best ever, and was such a personality and story teller as well. I wish her life could have been happier, especially her married life. The love of her life dying young of a broken heart and all . . .
One of my all time favorite musical numbers and of course it has the great Busby Berkeley written all over it. Another terrific Miller dance is “It’s TooDarn Hot” in Kiss Me Kate. I LOVE that she performed it for the troops in 120* heat! I was lucky enough to see and have my young daughter see Miller and Mickey Rooney (IMO the most talented performer in film history) in their wonderful stage musical Sugar Babies back in the 80’s.
It's so rare nowadays that you see dancers that look healthy, most of them look stick thin so I love the fact that Ann miller isn't! She is absolutely incredible! X
Ann Miller wrote that there was no air conditioning in the studio when she filmed this number and it was over 100 degrees in the studio. The only relief from the California heat was from the large noisy fans that were in place on the set. But these fans had to be turned off during filming and during rehearsals as the large crews could not hear Busby Berkeley's directions when the noisy fans were on. Ann stated that a few of the men who were under the stage holding the instruments which protrude from under the floor where she danced fainted from the heat...some carried away in stretchers... as it was even hotter under the stage floor. Ann also wrote that although she had been dancing in films for over 15 years when this number was shot it was the first time that her feet bled. Busby Berkeley would not let her get her feet bandaged from the blood. According to Ann, Busby's exact words were: "I don't care about you Ann Miller or your bleeding feet. I only care about bringing this picture in on time and no matter what you will finish filming this number today, bloody feet and all. "
Thanks so much, Jack. Yes, Miller was a highly professional and consummate artist who worked as hard as anyone during the era. I'm thankful we have so many films in which to watch Ann perform. Her treatment by Berkeley was outrageous and she would have been fully within her rights to go over his head to the producer, Joe Pasternak, to show him the physical damage Berkeley was doing. This wasn't the first time Berkeley had abused a star he choreographed or directed. He overworked and verbally degraded Judy Garland on the set of Girl Crazy to the point of exhaustion and breakdown (this was before Garland developed a pattern of being late on-set). There were a number of performers at MGM who couldn't stand Berkeley for this and other reasons. In a telling quip, Berkeley was shooting an outdoor sequence later in his career but reverting to his earlier "cast of thousands" style. He was on a camera crane screaming to the truck operator, "pull back...more...back!" to which Gene Kelly said to some others nearby, "yeah, all the way back to 1933." Though many of Berkeley's musical numbers from his Warner Bros. days are extraordinary, I have a pretty difficult time disassociating his behavior from his work. For a quick look at what was behind Berkeley's dark nature, you might want to check out this review from the Los Angeles Times:
articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/25/entertainment/ca-11799
I didn't know Ann Miller can endure all of that. Some one go back in time and bring Ann Miller to the present. She will be the new Wonder Woman.
Sub-Lt Berkeley William Enos of the US Army, still pulling rank. He was a psycho, a momma's boy who relieved his frustrations on his underlings, but he was not the only dance-directing extremist. 'Madame' Albertina Rasch was dropped by Metro because of her martinet habits, and never worked in Hollywood again.
'Small Town Girl' is not much of a film, but it is redeemed by two knockout numbers: this one, which Salvador Dali might have designed, and Bobby Van's crazy but delightful hoppity-hop all around the aforesaid small town.
Umm excuse me? I know those people better get up on their feet after that performance! None of this golf clapping!! Amazing!!
It's a studio sound stage...........!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awesome!
One of the all-time best! Thanks for posting.
Judy Garland worked a few movies with Busby Berkeley .
They didn’t get along , and she didn’t care for him at all.
Judy could be difficult , but she always did better when you were in her corner .
He didn’t see it that way . He was known as a brutal harsh perfectionist .
But this number is definitely my favorite , and I met Ann once and she said this number was probably her favorite of her career . Pretty impressive .
She took tap to a whole new level .
Glad to hear that, b/c I reckon it was her best number as well as Buzz's last masterpiece. Ann's choreography was by MGM's head dance tutor, Willie Covan, the frst black man to hold such a post at a big studio.
She obviously was born to dance. She makes it look effortless.
This scene and the other Ann Miller number deserved to be placed in a much better movie than “ Small Town Girl”.
I agree. Ann Miller's numbers were far too big and glamorous for such a small town movie. Although Ann did write in one of her books that sometimes she would shoot a number without it being attached to any particular film. When a script became available and her dialogue completed the number would then be inserted in.
True. It is a remake of the 1936 Janet Gaynor flick, typical of the 1950s when studios took to musicalizing old comedies. They had run out of original plots and hoped scope, color and stereo sound would compensate. The rewrite has too much story for its runtime, but at least this weird and glorious masterpiece, Berkeley's last, was crowbarred into it for Ann.
❤❤❤Annie Miller...❤❤❤
Muchas gracias for taking the time to post this clip and in such crisp high quality too.
Ann Miller, the ultimate tap dancer, at her very best. Busby Berkeley at the top of his form. the wizardly, the intelligence of this incredible number will never be surpassed. nor should it. have some respect people. this is as good as it gets. and don't you agree, Cyd Charisse? yes?
Cyd Charisse was not known as a tap dancer. She was ballet and jazz.
Berkeley just didn't like individuals much. He wanted to marshal them in patterns to fulfil his strange fantasies. There is an unmistakable strain of misogynist sadism in his imagination, which above all comes out in 'Lullaby of Broadway', that creepy but brilliant conception.
He was also insecure, apt to get cross because his technical knowhow was so patchy. He could not give detailed choreographic instructions; didn't know a buck from a wing. He had never danced himself.
Like all men, Buzz met his match in Eleanor Powell. For once he confined himself to moving the camera in 'Lady Be Good', recording her endlessly evolving movement instead of chopping it up. He kept busy with the complex but imperceptible machinery of 'Fascinating Rhythm'. He admitted he was more proud of that number than of all his Warners spectacles.
He serves the supercharged Ms Miller pretty well here, again milking the simple, surrealist idea instead of embellishing it with tricks.
Well, even Ann Miller gave high marks to Eleanor Powell and considered Powell her idol!
@@arthurgearheard4701 no doubt Eleanor Powell was an impressive tap dancer, but Ann Miller was prettier, funnier, sexier.
In an interview Ann revealed that Berkeley made her complete this number despite a bleeding blister. That dazzling smile masked a lot of pain. As she said, he lacked compassion.
She is an inspiration! Ann sounds like Lena Horne in parts of the song.
'I hope to hell you know what you're doing, because I don't'. (Producer Joe Pasternak to Busby Berkeley).
Lyricist Leo Robin had written words which gave Buzz no clue about how to visualize them. Production was already under way. Buzz suddenly envisioned a stage and steps with a five-foot crawlspace below for 86 extras as musicians, while Ann Miller's cruel spiked heels menaced their hands.
He toiled all night graphing holes for their arms and exact routes for the huge Technicolor camera and crane. 'We started filming it next day and it worked like a charm' he blithely recalled, ignoring how several of his captives had collapsed with heat stroke, and how he had screamed at Ann that he was not going to overrun even if it killed her.
Berkeley rated Eleanor Powell top among movie dancers. His concept here echoes hers and Dave Gould's choreography in the gigantic finale of 'Born to Dance': a soloist moving past groups of instrumentalists (trombones, trumpets etc) as the orchestration highlights their contributions. Buzz extended it from the brass, flutes and drums of Ellie's military support- soldiers and sailors- to an entire symphonic line-up, arranged roughly as orchestral forces would be in the wide shot at the end: strings and big fiddles sandwiching brass and wind, percussion at the back.
Eleanor Powell will always be the best tap dancer of them all.
boy, she was hoofin'!!
And she wasn't huffin and puffin at the end..
Es an Miller,!!!😂❤😂
I always feel sorry for the men who had to stand underneath the stage holding their arms up through these holes uncomfortably for who knows how long.
Imagine trying to sleep in a room like this
She managed to maintain killer gams without developing outward muscularity. An amazing dancer.
Incredibly talented and beautiful, it is impossible to be jealous, she is/was out of this world!
The muscles come with practice at the barre, but Ann never liked ballet.
That's pretty sad to hear, but at the same time I have to give her credit for pulling it off so well despite the pain. I know I wouldn't have been able to.
Another of those great only-on-film numbers that opens and closes with shots of an audience politely clapping from theater seats. It's a kind of inside joke I think. So, did they sit through a couple hours of floor changes to fit different instruments in, depending on the choreography?
looks like sand accumulated during a windstorm and the shifting dunes almost buried the musicians