A treat, but best enjoyed by Astaire fans
Added 5/19/2004
The Belle of New York is one of Astaire's lesser musicals, and for good reasons. The story line is a little simple minded. The secondary comic relief characters aren't all that comic. Vera Ellen paired with Astaire made for a screen relationship with few sparks. But the movie has more screen time of Astaire dancing than any of his other films, the songs by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer are easy to listen to and reflect the age nicely, and Vera Ellen is a pretty good hoofer in her own right. "Baby Doll" should have become a standard, and Astaire's dancing in the "Sands of Time" number is a classic. If you appreciate Astaire, you'll want to watch this.
7 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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Watch Alice Pearce!
Added 11/6/2003
Fred and Vera (and Marjorie "Ma Kettle" Main) are excellent, but the one I really love watching is Alice Pearce, best known for her role as nosy-neighbor Gladys Kravitz on the TV show "Bewitched." She's wonderfully funny, and her cackling laugh is truly frightening. The "special effects" (probably very advanced for those days, though poor by today's standards) are not exactly seemlessly worked into the plot, but the movie is still worth watching for its lovely dancing, and the scenes where the Courrier and Ives postcard backdrops come to life. (If you like Alice Pearce, be sure to watch "On the Town," where she plays Lucy Schmeeler.)
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Have seen better
Added 2/12/2002
The Belle of New York was very disappointing to me.
Considering the dancing talent involved, I would have thought this movie to be quite good. No way! The songs are corny, the plot is second rate, and worst of all, Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen just don't fit in. It's a waste of their dancing talent.
The only thing I liked was the humor and that's about it.
Save your money and don't buy it. I would recommend "Three Little Words" instead. Fred and Vera are great in that movie.
4 out of 12 people found this helpful.
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A wonderful musical!
Added 9/8/2001
They don't make them like this anymore. Fred Astaire and
Vera-Ellen have some great dance numbers in this musical. Also there are some really nice songs. It's a really wonderful movie musical. I highly recommend it!
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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A Beautiful film, fantastic dancing!
Added 9/1/2001
This is defintly one of my favorite movies. I'd give it
10 stars if I could. It's a great film. Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen are wonderful in it! They dance divinly and the choreography is fantastic. I highly recommend this film. It's a great escape. A great musical, a real classic!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Royal Wedding/The Belle of New York
Added 3/9/2009
Two of my favorite Fred Astaire - Vera Ellen is terrific in Belle of New York. Have had them on VHS, just updating my collection.
Judy Francis
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A Good Version
Added 5/15/2008
This version of "Royal Wedding" and "The Belle of New York" has a good quality of picture and sound and is worth buying. Both movies are enjoyable, but "Royal Wedding" is by far a better made film. You will watch "Royal Wedding" more than the other one. I would recommend this version.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Five Stars for Royal Wedding; One Star for Belle of New York
Added 8/4/2007
"Royal Wedding" is among the top five or so of the great Technicolor musicals of the late 1940s and 1950s. For fans of the genre, it is not to be missed, and finally a decent-looking studio release is available. "The Belle of New York", on the other hand, is a different story.
How do these misfires happen? You have the number-one musical-producing studio and number-one musical star of all time, a worthy partner, a supporting cast of terrific character actors, a pair of great songwriters, top pros writing and directing, and yet the result of their collaboration is this lifeless waste of an hour and a half. "The Belle of New York" is Astaire's second-to-worst movie, better only than the dreadful "Yolanda and the Thief". The plot is uninteresting, and Fred's character is perhaps, this time, just a bit too much of a wastrel to be sympathetic. The special effect of the couple floating and dancing in the air is too silly to watch without a little embarrassment, and the comedy gags don't work. One protracted dance number bringing to life the paintings of Courier and Ives (the Thomas Kinkades of the 19th century) goes on so long you almost forget what the movie was about. "Belle" is a genuine flop, without one memorable musical number, and no redeeming attribute other than Vera-Ellen's legs, which are finally shown off near the end.
Buy this DVD package. You'll only watch "Belle" once, but you'll watch "Royal Wedding" over and over.
7 out of 9 people found this helpful.
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