1940 Fred Astaire i Paulette Godard
- 1941 You’ll Never Get Rich (1941), Fred Astaire i Rita Hayworth catapulted Hayworth to stardom. In the movie, Astaire integrated for the third time Latin American dance idioms into his style (the first being with Ginger Rogers in “The Carioca” number from Flying Down to Rio (1933) and the second, again with Rogers, was the “Dengozo” dance from The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)).
Ball a la presó, So near and yet so far, Boogie Barcarole
- 1942 You Were Never Lovelier (1942), Fred Astaire Rita Hayworth was equally successful. (Jerome Kern)
The Shorty George, I’m Old Fashioned, Primer número, You never were lovelier, Finale
- 1943 The Sky’s the Limit. He next appeared opposite the seventeen-year-old Joan Leslie in the wartime drama. In it, he introduced Arlen and Mercer’s “One for My Baby” while dancing on a bar counter in a dark and troubled routine. Astaire choreographed this film alone and achieved modest box office success. It represented a notable departure for Astaire from his usual charming, happy-go-lucky screen persona, and confused contemporary critics.
One for my baby, Ballroom, A lot in Common
- 1945 The fantasy Yolanda and the Thief, Vicente Minnelli, Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer featured an avant-garde surrealistic ballet.
- 1946 Ziegfield Follies, Gene Kelly Fred Astaire,The babbit and the bromide
- 1948 Easter Parade, Garland becomes Fred Astaire’s vaudeville dance partner in this romantic comedy set to mostly vintage songs by Irving Berlin. The two stars introduced the memorable hobo duet “A Couple of Swells.”
Stepping out with my baby, Drum crazy, A couple of swells, When the midnight train leaves for Alabama
1948–1957: Productive years with MGM and second retirement
- 1950 Three Little Words with Vera-Ellen and Red Skelton was for MGM.
Mr ans Mrs Hoofer at home, Test Solo, Thinking of you, Where did you get that girl
- 1950 Let’s Dance with Betty Hutton was on loan-out to Paramount. While Three Little Words did quite well at the box office, Let’s Dance was a financial disappointment.
- 1951 Royal Wedding had Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling, partnering a hat rack (and making it look good), and joining Jane Powell for the knock-about duet “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I’ve Been A Liar All My Life?” Stanley Donen directed, composer Burton Lane and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner wrote the score, and Lerner penned the story of what happens to a brother/sister dance team when sis wants to marry a British nobleman and big bro falls for a West End dancer (played by Winston Churchill’s real life daughter). This serviceable plot was inspired by Astaire’s real life story – his sister Adele had ended their long partnership in order to marry a British nobleman in 1932. (MGM).
You’re all the world to me (dansa al sostre), How could you believe me, Sunday Jumps, Open your eyes
- 1952 The Belle of New York (1952) with Vera-Ellen was a critical and box-office disaster.
I wanna be a dancing man (sand dance), Oops, Seeing is believing
- 1953 The Band Wagon received rave reviews from critics and drew huge crowds. But because of its high cost, it failed to make a profit on its first release. Soon after, Astaire, like the other remaining stars at MGM, was let go from his contract because of the advent of television and the downsizing of film production. 953, The Bandwagon, MGM, Comden and Green wrote this brilliant backstage story of a stage musical struggling on its way to Broadway. Vincente Minnelli directed and Michael Kidd provided the witty choreography. Using songs from several Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz stage scores (plus the newly composed “That’s Entertainment”), it featured Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant and British stage star Jack Buchannan. Astaire and Charisse shared a stunning pas de deux in “Dancing In The Dark,” Fabray, Astaire and Buchannan were riotous as “Triplets,” and the suave Astaire-Buchannan duet “I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan” is a rarely hailed moment of pure cinematic gold.
Girl Hunt ballet, Dancing in the dark, That’s entertaintment
- In 1954, Astaire was about to start work on a new musical, Daddy Long Legs (1955) with Leslie Caron at 20th Century Fox. Then, his wife Phyllis became ill and suddenly died of lung cancer. Astaire was so bereaved that he wanted to shut down the picture and offered to pay the production costs out of his pocket. However, Johnny Mercer, the film’s composer, and Fox studio executives convinced him that work would be the best thing for him. Daddy Long Legs only did moderately well at the box office.
Sluefoot, A la bateria, Something is gonna give
- 1957 His next film for Paramount, Funny Face, teamed him with Audrey Hepburn and Kay Thompson. Despite the sumptuousness of the production and the good reviews from critics, it failed to make back its cost.// 1957 Funny Face was conceived at MGM, but when Paramount refused to loan out Audrey Hepburn, several key members of the Freed unit (who knew they were in the process of being disbanded) made the film at Paramount. Arthur Freed’s longtime associate Roger Edens produced, Stanley Donen directed, and singer-composer Kay Thompson (Edens’ longtime MGM colleague) gave a film-stealing performance as a ruthless fashion magnate. Fred Astaire made everything from a raincoat to an umbrella come alive as dance partners in “Let’s Kiss and Make Up.” The score consisted of four classic George and Ira Gershwin songs, with several new numbers by Edens and Leonard Gershe. Hepburn gave a disarming performance as an intellectual beauty wooed by photographer Astaire while doing photo spreads for Thompson’s magazine. Impressive as the cast and score are, Donen’s unique sense of cinematic flow makes this film a standout. Every song flows out of the action surrounding it, and unforgettable images abound. Film buffs have long treasured Hepburn’s exuberant descent down a staircase in the Louvre, trailing a red tulle wrap in imitation of the sculpture “Winged Victory” (seen in the photo just above). Although visually stunning and thoroughly entertaining, Funny Face was such a box office disappointment that Paramount stopped making musicals altogether, and MGM allowed the Freed unit to fade away. However, the film developed a dedicated following over time.
- 1957 Silk Stockings, MGM, musical film adaptation, filmed in CinemaScope, of the 1955 stage musical of the same name,[2] which itself was an adaptation of the film Ninotchka (1939).[3] Silk Stockings was directed by Rouben Mamoulian, produced by Arthur Freed, and starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The supporting cast includes Janis Paige, Peter Lorre, Jules Munshin, and George Tobias repeating his Broadway role.[4][5] It was choreographed by Eugene Loring and Hermes Pan.//Similarly, Astaire’s next project – his final musical at MGM, Silk Stockings (1957), in which he co-starred with Cyd Charisse, also lost money at the box office.
All of you, Ritz rock and roll, All of you, The Red blues
Afterward, Astaire announced that he was retiring from dancing in film. His legacy at this point was 30 musical films in 25 years.