the Multi-faceted Mr. Astaire

I just finished watching 16 hours of Fred Astaire movies and I've come to a realization; Fred Astaire is one of Hollywood's most grossly under-appreciated leading men. There is no question as to whether or not people respected his talents but when I think of the list of oft mentioned heart throbs in Hollywood movie history, I can not think of a singular instance where Astaire's name is mentioned.

The Astaire marathon was shown on the Turner Classic Movies channel as part of a celebration of the centennial anniversary of Johnny Mercer's birthdate; 18 November 1909. Mr. Mercer was one of the leading Popular song writers of the twentieth century and Fred Astaire was the original performer of some of the distinguished composer's most famous compositions. The songs performed as part of the movie engagement mainly featured Mercer as a lyricist because of the fact that many of these movies were released early on in the composer's life. At this point he was still a fledgling writer and served an apprentice type of role under many of the great composers of the day. The various composers whom Mercer apprenticed under included Harold Arlen, one of the great songwriters of the past 100 years whose compositions were very influential in melding the European influenced style of early American songbook writing with American styles, such as the Blues. I particularly enjoyed hearing Astaire sing the immortal classics; Isn't This A Lovely Day?, Cheek to Cheek, The Way You Look Tonight, Night And Day and My Shining Hour. I would also like to include an acknowledgement of Irene Dunn's performance of Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach's Smoke Gets In Your Eyes in the wonderfully amusing screenplay Roberta.

In wonderful performances like that of his portrayal of cooky womanizer Jerry Travers in Top Hat, Astaire shows that not only was he a superbly talented dancer and actor, he was also an incredibly beautiful singer. This may not seem like much of a credit to the artistic abilities of Mr. Astaire but during the time, when most leading men were solely handsome, talented actors, those additional talents put Fred Astaire a cut above many of his peers. There was never a question as to why he got the girl. Movie after countless movie, Mr. Astaire clearly distinguishes himself from the other leading men of the day with his whole of abilities. He was an unsurpassed quadruple threat; superb actor, extraordinary dancer, elegant singer and heart melting charmer. With Astaire in possession of all of the aforementioned abilities, I constantly found myself wondering how the opening credits went by without the leading lady of the movie already sharing a passionate embrace with our leading man.

Additionally, I found it quite interesting to see the beautiful chemistry between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I often found it hard to remove myself from the fantasy world of the movie and to realize that the two were merely acting and not in fact very committedly involved. This false and overwhelmingly convincing assurance of romance only further assures me of Mr. Astaire's geniously constructed and superbly well rounded artistry. He raised the bar in concern to what can be expected of versatility and mastery of craft.

Optimistic Ernest

Ernest Hemingway's posthumously published memoir, A Moveable Feast, is an interesting look into the time that he spent as a young man in Paris. This sojourn was an interesting time in his life. He was a recent veteran of the Great War and trying to get his writing career off of the ground. Hemingway was also a young husband and had just become a father.

This story takes an interesting look at - excuse my blatant Obama quote - the audacity of hope. Although he had done some periodical writing for various papers, young Ernest had recently quit these part time endeavors to focus solely on polishing his story writing technique and to get his writing career solidified. This courageous attempt at stardom was, to say the least, very financially trying. However, Hemingway, with the help from some very illustrious friends, managed to make the most of an abundantly, culturally rich atmosphere with a non-existant income.

This spectacular account is well worth the read because of the interesting memories that Hemingway shares with the reader. It is also quite remarkable to read some of the names of individuals with whom Hemingway had interactions. Along with Hemingway,Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Sylvia Beach, Ezra Pound and F. Scott Fitzgerald are, arguably, the greatest writers of literature of the past century. It is interesting to think that all of these astounding talents so closely fraternized within the city of lights. At the time, Hemingway was the least established of his circle, not even having finished a first draft of a novel. However, he had such an incredible optimism that permeates the whole of the book. The extraordinarily executed premise of the young man's account can be absolutely summed up with my favorite quote from the book,

"You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen."

This breathtaking masterpiece is a must read for any lover of literature, especially in these trying times.