My Mom danced ballet & tap on & off of Broadway, and Fred Astaire was one of her instructors back in the day. She said he was a lovely man,; inside & out. His talent was only equal to his gracious personality. Today it is hard to find such talent coupled with such humility and grace!
+Tahkaullus01 Well, not to be nit-picky, but that was always the goal, but probably one-third of his numbers were actually shot in one take. The others, anywhere from 2-6 sequences, which is still so superior to anyone today...
DDumbrille that's usually with the sequences involving many performers, where it is necessary due to having to adjust camera angles or because they need it to appear smooth with a sequence that would be impossible to do in one shot , like a character coming into the shot or need to adjust instruments for recording sound.. Off topic but one thing I always wondered is if and when some musicals use background track kinda stuff or have people lip sync even the band possibly not actually playing what we are hearing.. Stuff I wondered about
DDumbrille say like the film stormy weather with bill Robinson and cab calloway it wud break my heart to know all the songs and performances were dubbed with a background track.. Please look up "sand dance" and "ain't misbehavin'" tell me if you think those videos are them syncing over pre recorded tracks.. I will be heart broken, I do notice sometimes tap dances not matching the sound so it wud make sense but I seen wonderful plays that seemed to be all 1 sequence like music man and top hat
Yeah, this only his best until you see the rest! I can't even imagine the time it took to choreograph this routine. He never settled for anything short of stellar performances!
Fred's films are always such a delight. His acting alone can carry the entire movie, his dancing is like the cherry on top. And yet his dancing, I absolutely cannot fault, beyond divine.
Not least remarkable about this, is that it`s filmed in one continuous take - not one cut away until he leaves the drum set at the very end.... Astonishing.
This is an example of the sheer talent of one of the finest performers to ever walk the earth. Just mesmerising :)) Whomever had the audacity to put a thumbs down should be dealt with accordingly !!
It's totally unreal how talented this man was. Dance, sing, act, play piano, drums. He was also, next to Crosby, the top solo recording star of the 1930's. His dancing, however, was incomparable. My favorite Astaire number is almost always the last one I saw, because it's so hard to choose.
This is my second favorite dance number of Mr. Astaire. First being the fireworks scene in Holiday Inn. I absolutely love watchin this dude. Always have, always will.
Two more favorites for me are “Puttin’ on the Ritz” from “Blue Skies” (TH-cam doesn’t have the whole number because of copyright issues) and “I Wanna Be a Dancin’ Man” from “The Belle of New York.”
This is the best dance routine that I've ever seen. And as an artist who loves watching various dancers and iceskaters I have viewed a lot of choreographed dance moves but this very old and classic style of dance/drums Americana takes the CAKE! I could watch this man do this for hours and see a new move that he embedded in the choreography. WOW!!! And WOW again!!
This is my favorite Fred dance...and I've watched all his movies. Thank you so much for this scene. Overall this is a great movie that I'd love to add to my collection. Again, Thank You!
I dare any actor today to try and top that.. As a drummer for the past 30 years, even i couldn't do that..Fred Astair was a rhythmic genius, plain and simple..Btw, this was all one take folks.. One take.. Enough said..
God gave us one Fred Astaire, never to be equalled. He was perfection, from the top of his head to the tips of his shoes. I could watch him for hours on end and still be moved.
Tis why the era was referred to as Golden. Kelly could act and dance as well...lord, the man was an Olympic athlete wen it came to dance. And no CGI to assist either!
A-MAZ-ING! Truly a masterful talent of not only Mr. Astaire, but of such a beautiful era. Thank you very much for providing this for all of us to enjoy!
I'm SO glad this was in my recommendations!! I don't really watch, nor am I that familiar with the films of this era, but I do LOVE music, and especially the insanely talented among our human species. Fred Astaire is a straight up mutant!! Also, if he can tap dance like that WHILE playing with sticks then you KNOW that he's a boss on a jazz drum kit. Bravo TH-cam algorithm!! THANK YOU for recommending this to me!! :-)
He was a genious - he was a perfectionist and it was gruelling for his leading ladies but he produced the best dance scenes ever. Thanks so much for the upload!
I’ve never seen this clip before - thank you for uploading it, Matt. Just superb ❗️Fred Astaire made his routines look so effortless. He played piano as well, and anything else that would make a rhythmic sound. No one could compare with his genius. It takes discipline and determination and self-confidence to develop a unique skill, and he had all three in bucket loads. He was no Cary Grant or Clark Gable, in terms of leading “heart-throbs”, but he always got the girl in his movies, and we were happy to see it. He certainly had the charm. (There’s a lesson in that!)
There will never be another better or even that good. He is rhythm itself. Love the way he walks off after the scene, looking very cocky. He KNOWS he's cool !
Eleanor Powell was probably the only one of his partners who could do this number in heels. Whenever anyone rags on Astaire's dancing, I always refer them to this video. Thanks for posting.
Astaire seemed supernatural, the way he could make any object serve his art. Drums, golf clubs, coat racks -- what should have been mere gimmicks took on a life of their own when this little bald guy started dancing, as if he were Orpheus or some mythical character.
I was joking. Michael jackson idolized Fred Astaire if you did not know. Its a shame Fred Astaire is almost forgotten in this generation now. He was the best and was the king of hollywood musicals, the most influential ever. There are more views on yotube of gene kelly than fred, its a shame. :(
I ended up here because I bought a cd of Gershwin's overtures in the mid 80's conducted by John McGlinn and the New Princess Theater Orchestra. Played that cd to death over a few years time. Wow, who could do this routine nowadays? Absolutely amazing.
How freaking awesome was that? Fred Astaire never failed to entertain. He's from an era when the word "talent" meant something. When being good in a particular discipline wasn't enough to get you movie "star" status. You had to be great in two or more. Today's crop of movie "stars" can't even come close to the talent that the stars of yesteryear had. At least I haven't seen any. It would be neat to see this scene recreated today. If it was, the person who keeps coming to mind to do it is Christopher Walken. Or maybe Jim Carrey.
Lovelybones1973 You sound like such a geezer. We are drowning in talent like never before, thanks to digital recording and the internet providing a low-cost way for talent to emerge and be recognized. TH-cam on its own provides a world wide stage for talent. As with anytime in the past, you've got to wade through a lot of crap before you find brilliance. But it's there.
John Techwriter what its a disgrace to be a geezer,whitch he probably is not, and whitch you will be someday if your lucky,but hes right, there was much more talent long ago than today,and you sure do have to wade through a lot of crap today to find brilliance,and its there but so rare its almost impossible to find,but long ago there was much more of it,thats were hes right and your wrong...
+Peter Nemeth LOL! Fred always did it in one take....lots of practice beforehand....but when it came time,...and that costly film was rolling...ONE TAKE!
there actualy is a cut in this particular routine, right around the 3:06 mark. it's very subtle, and doesn't break the flow of Fred's routine whatsoever, but the cut itself is quite noticeable if you're paying attention.
I think folks today still have this level of talent, we just don't focus on them. See: American Idol, The Voice; mainstream prescriptive talent-maker things like that. We should focus on folks that bring this wide breadth of such immense talent. Fred (AND GINGER) are still peerless, and I'd love to be able to give new talent the same treatment. I'd watch a modern musical with this level of kickass, any day.
Boris Yelnikoff's dad killed himself after reading too many awful news in the papers. After reading too many awful news I needed some fresh air and some sun. Amazing Fred Astaire always gives me joy and smile. Thank you for up loading this.
How is this guy not gasping for air after this routine? Because he's Fred Flipping Astaire, that's why.
Yes and he smoked as well! Incredible lol.
@ElRook I love your comment! You are apsolutely right.
Fredd A-flipping-staire
The good ol' times when in order to be famous, you had to be talented!
Very, very true
Nowadays, people don't get that.
What a concept! 😅
My Mom danced ballet & tap on & off of Broadway, and Fred Astaire was one of her instructors back in the day. She said he was a lovely man,; inside & out. His talent was only equal to his gracious personality. Today it is hard to find such talent coupled with such humility and grace!
You what always impresses me about Astaire? He always does his entire number in one take.
+Tahkaullus01 Well, not to be nit-picky, but that was always the goal, but probably one-third of his numbers were actually shot in one take. The others, anywhere from 2-6 sequences, which is still so superior to anyone today...
DDumbrille that's usually with the sequences involving many performers, where it is necessary due to having to adjust camera angles or because they need it to appear smooth with a sequence that would be impossible to do in one shot , like a character coming into the shot or need to adjust instruments for recording sound.. Off topic but one thing I always wondered is if and when some musicals use background track kinda stuff or have people lip sync even the band possibly not actually playing what we are hearing.. Stuff I wondered about
Bob cares They sing and dance to their prerecorded tracks (songs), then have to come back to dub in the taps after the number is filmed.
DDumbrille say like the film stormy weather with bill Robinson and cab calloway it wud break my heart to know all the songs and performances were dubbed with a background track.. Please look up "sand dance" and "ain't misbehavin'" tell me if you think those videos are them syncing over pre recorded tracks.. I will be heart broken, I do notice sometimes tap dances not matching the sound so it wud make sense but I seen wonderful plays that seemed to be all 1 sequence like music man and top hat
DDumbrille plays = musicals***
Yeah, this only his best until you see the rest! I can't even imagine the time it took to choreograph this routine. He never settled for anything short of stellar performances!
very true Deborah. He was a perfectionist and practiced for hours to get it how he wanted it ;)
Handsome, charming, gentle, self-assured, stylish, positive, humble, adorable~
Not only was Fred an incredible dancer, but he had perfect pitch too. His sense for rhythm was awesome!
Fred was simply THE song & dance man. a true master and perfectionist.
One of the greatest athletes of all time!
Fred's films are always such a delight. His acting alone can carry the entire movie, his dancing is like the cherry on top. And yet his dancing, I absolutely cannot fault, beyond divine.
Not least remarkable about this, is that it`s filmed in one continuous take - not one cut away until he leaves the drum set at the very end.... Astonishing.
No one will EVER top Fred Astaire. NO ONE. EVER.
a true genius. a very hard working GENIUS.
This is an example of the sheer talent of one of the finest performers to ever walk the earth. Just mesmerising :))
Whomever had the audacity to put a thumbs down should be dealt with accordingly !!
Just amazing. I can watch this for hours. He was blessed with talent and we're blessed that he shared it with us :)
It's totally unreal how talented this man was. Dance, sing, act, play piano, drums. He was also, next to Crosby, the top solo recording star of the 1930's. His dancing, however, was incomparable. My favorite Astaire number is almost always the last one I saw, because it's so hard to choose.
He is just fantastic!! Truly the Greatest performer ever and he makes it look so easy!!
This is my second favorite dance number of Mr. Astaire. First being the fireworks scene in Holiday Inn. I absolutely love watchin this dude. Always have, always will.
Two more favorites for me are “Puttin’ on the Ritz” from “Blue Skies” (TH-cam doesn’t have the whole number because of copyright issues) and “I Wanna Be a Dancin’ Man” from “The Belle of New York.”
Ridiculously talented man
you're not kidding. He was totally blessed with talent and we're blessed he shared it with us :)
Never knew he could play the drums. Amazing.
That true he was the best singer and dancer in Hollywood history
+horsluva0758
Thats true, he was the best singer and dance in Hollywood history
@@Newton14alan He could play the piano as well!
This is the best dance routine that I've ever seen. And as an artist who loves watching various dancers and iceskaters I have viewed a lot of choreographed dance moves but this very old and classic style of dance/drums Americana takes the CAKE! I could watch this man do this for hours and see a new move that he embedded in the choreography. WOW!!! And WOW again!!
Wow! That's the best drum solo I've heard! Hats off!
Incomparable Fred Astaire will always be supreme ❤️
Superhuman talent. Not a celebrity today can hold a candle to him.
The best (and only) performance of tap dance drumming i've ever seen!
I can't stop smiling
me either :)
@@horsluva0758 Same!
LOVE this dance. Damsel in Distress deserves to be better known, as it's delightful from beginning to end!
This is my favorite Fred dance...and I've watched all his movies. Thank you so much for this scene.
Overall this is a great movie that I'd love to add to my collection. Again, Thank You!
That was freakin' AMAZING!
I dare any actor today to try and top that.. As a drummer for the past 30 years, even i couldn't do that..Fred Astair was a rhythmic genius, plain and simple..Btw, this was all one take folks.. One take.. Enough said..
One of my biggest inspirational dancer I've ever witnessed!
e is the master. still can not believe my eyes at how precise he is without overtly showing it
Now this is probably the greatest drum solo there is.
Absolutely :)
and standing up
God gave us one Fred Astaire, never to be equalled. He was perfection, from the top of his head to the tips of his shoes. I could watch him for hours on end and still be moved.
+Carola Becker He will NEVER be equalled!
I agree wholeheartedly!
If there was only one station that showed 24 hr of Fred Astaire I'd be more than happy
Me too!
Na Nicholas Brothers killing him. He's not bad though.
The One, the Only....incomparable!
they were awesome dancers, but Fred could sing and act and such class .... it's a shame things have changed :(
Tis why the era was referred to as Golden. Kelly could act and dance as well...lord, the man was an Olympic athlete wen it came to dance. And no CGI to assist either!
A-MAZ-ING! Truly a masterful talent of not only Mr. Astaire, but of such a beautiful era. Thank you very much for providing this for all of us to enjoy!
I'm SO glad this was in my recommendations!! I don't really watch, nor am I that familiar with the films of this era, but I do LOVE music, and especially the insanely talented among our human species. Fred Astaire is a straight up mutant!! Also, if he can tap dance like that WHILE playing with sticks then you KNOW that he's a boss on a jazz drum kit. Bravo TH-cam algorithm!! THANK YOU for recommending this to me!! :-)
He was a genious - he was a perfectionist and it was gruelling for his leading ladies but he produced the best dance scenes ever. Thanks so much for the upload!
Man I love this guy! I always watched his movies on Sat aft .
Unparalleled, incomparable and unique in its art.
You can tell greatness by its sheer lack of effort. He’s was just a natural.
"worthy of recognition even today"
You think? How very generous.
You just cannot find anyone who comes close to his incredible perfect timing choreography swag and style!!
The impeccable Fred Astaire....Masterful....."
Amazing.
when I watch Fred Astaire dancing, I understand the meaning of "to be in the flow"
Simply the best!!!
Grande Fred! Era un genio! Cantante, actor, gran bailarin, además podia tocar los tambores... y de que manera! Me encanta. Esta escena es maravillosa.
All while wearing a tux like a boss. :-)
He's great
I’ve never seen this clip before - thank you for uploading it, Matt. Just superb ❗️Fred Astaire made his routines look so effortless. He played piano as well, and anything else that would make a rhythmic sound. No one could compare with his genius. It takes discipline and determination and self-confidence to develop a unique skill, and he had all three in bucket loads. He was no Cary Grant or Clark Gable, in terms of leading “heart-throbs”, but he always got the girl in his movies, and we were happy to see it. He certainly had the charm. (There’s a lesson in that!)
There's DAMN TALENT!!!
I love Fred Astaire :)
JAMAIS APARECERÁ UM ARTISTA IGUAL A FRED ASTAIRE"s-
No one was ever a better dancer than Fred Astaire and no one ever will be. His talent is immeasurable, a gift to the world.
With out him there would be no Hollywood today. The G.O.A.T of Musicals period.
Amazing!!! What a joy! Never see this in my lifetime (1960-
Classic
So incredible. :)
incomparable!!!
This blew me away!
Beautiful !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just beautiful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Iwonder what a jury would say when he would still be alive and perform in a talentshow,this is damn good!
Fred Astaire is the man=FTW!
THE BOSS!!!!!
The Best Show in the world!
1:06 it's all unbreakable self confidence.
There will never be another better or even that good. He is rhythm itself. Love the way he walks off after the scene, looking very cocky. He KNOWS he's cool !
Eleanor Powell was probably the only one of his partners who could do this number in heels. Whenever anyone rags on Astaire's dancing, I always refer them to this video. Thanks for posting.
Just saw this movie on TMC(or AMC, I can't remember). Fantastic!
All his movies are fantastic!
Astaire seemed supernatural, the way he could make any object serve his art. Drums, golf clubs, coat racks -- what should have been mere gimmicks took on a life of their own when this little bald guy started dancing, as if he were Orpheus or some mythical character.
Genius is a dash of talent but loads of practice, perseverance and hard work.
That is the best thing I have ever seen on TH-cam.
O.M.G......AWESOME.....MICHAEL JACKSON.....YES YOU NICE....BUT IM BLOWN AWAY BY THIS GUY
Hassan Talib
who is michael jackson?
Mrputanginaka.....uhhhh who are you???????
LOL!!!!
I was joking. Michael jackson idolized Fred Astaire if you did not know. Its a shame Fred Astaire is almost forgotten in this generation now. He was the best and was the king of hollywood musicals, the most influential ever. There are more views on yotube of gene kelly than fred, its a shame.
:(
Yes i agree....and i love the way fred put it down.....i love the mj does it too
He was a Genius!
you got that right Osmo. He was blessed with awesome talent and he shared his gift with us which makes us blessed :)
Yep
Yep!
I ended up here because I bought a cd of Gershwin's overtures in the mid 80's conducted by John McGlinn and the New Princess Theater Orchestra. Played that cd to death over a few years time. Wow, who could do this routine nowadays? Absolutely amazing.
How freaking awesome was that? Fred Astaire never failed to entertain. He's from an era when the word "talent" meant something. When being good in a particular discipline wasn't enough to get you movie "star" status. You had to be great in two or more. Today's crop of movie "stars" can't even come close to the talent that the stars of yesteryear had. At least I haven't seen any. It would be neat to see this scene recreated today. If it was, the person who keeps coming to mind to do it is Christopher Walken. Or maybe Jim Carrey.
Fantastic!
There is nothing today that can touch this talent! NOTHING....true talent has gone away...
This is soooo true BUT let us not lose hope that one day Hollywood will change and make good movies again !! Let us NOT lose hope !!!!
Lovelybones1973 You sound like such a geezer. We are drowning in talent like never before, thanks to digital recording and the internet providing a low-cost way for talent to emerge and be recognized. TH-cam on its own provides a world wide stage for talent. As with anytime in the past, you've got to wade through a lot of crap before you find brilliance. But it's there.
John Techwriter what its a disgrace to be a geezer,whitch he probably is not, and whitch you will be someday if your lucky,but hes right, there was much more talent long ago than today,and you sure do have to wade through a lot of crap today to find brilliance,and its there but so rare its almost impossible to find,but long ago there was much more of it,thats were hes right and your wrong...
"Great Dancer" -- I believe Baryshnikov once called him the greatest dancer who ever lived.
Today you hardly see takes this long. Great scene.
The first time I watched this I didn't even realize its ONE TAKE
IT WAS ALL ONE, UNEDITED, CONTINUOUS CUT.
NO CHANGE IN CAMERA TIL IT WAS OVER.
+LLyt82 Yes this is what it looks like, but how long had he to practise until it was so perfect. It must have taken a lot of time, that's for sure.
+Peter Nemeth LOL! Fred always did it in one take....lots of practice beforehand....but when it came time,...and that costly film was rolling...ONE TAKE!
there actualy is a cut in this particular routine, right around the 3:06 mark. it's very subtle, and doesn't break the flow of Fred's routine whatsoever, but the cut itself is quite noticeable if you're paying attention.
Still he was better then any dancer today. They way they dance, the clothes they wear. He was amazing.
LLyt82 ..good catch..!!
They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Incredible talent.
Pure genius. Art in motion.
Yes, they did this in one take, from the same frontal perspective with music.
I could not agree more!!! Pure genius!!!!!
incredible
Back when movie stars had TALENT. No cut aways- same take. Amazing.
I think folks today still have this level of talent, we just don't focus on them. See: American Idol, The Voice; mainstream prescriptive talent-maker things like that. We should focus on folks that bring this wide breadth of such immense talent. Fred (AND GINGER) are still peerless, and I'd love to be able to give new talent the same treatment. I'd watch a modern musical with this level of kickass, any day.
This guy just doesn't quit!
Fred Astaire is Amazing😍👍
Derek is amazing and he admittedly stands on the shoulders of these giants. He is the best of the "Dancing" pros.
Boris Yelnikoff's dad killed himself after reading too many awful news in the papers.
After reading too many awful news I needed some fresh air and some sun.
Amazing Fred Astaire always gives me joy and smile. Thank you for up loading this.
Amazing!
And all in one take, including risky stick tricks.
If this was made today it would be a hit on FB no problem
3:26 what skill. What do you call that a quintuple heel kick.
This is ridiculous! Amazing!
Awesome!
his energy and fitness is remarkable
I'm exhausted just watching him do that!