beyond fred, ginger & gene

 A number that was merely sung in the Broadway original is reconceived and redefined in an outlandishly stylish way for the screen by the ever-inventive Hermès Pan, who came up with a veritable choreographic reverie.

 The film: "Flower Drum Song" (1961)

 The director: Henry Koster

 The number: "Sunday"

 The composers: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

 The singers: B.J. Baker (for Nancy Kwan) and Jack Soo

 The choreograher: Hermès Pan

 The dancers: Kwan, Soo and company

 The cinematographer: Russell Metty

 The editor: Milton Carruth

 The production designers: Alexander Golitzen and Joseph C. Wright

beyond fred, ginger & gene

 Yes, Astaire and Kelly were brilliant, as they kept reminding us (especially the latter, Hollywood's most endearing egomaniac), but for my money, the athletic, hyper-masculine and criminally overlooked Gene Nelson could keep up with them - and then some. Just take a look and become a believer.

 The film: "She’s Working Her Way Through College”(1952)

 The director: Bruce Humberstone

 The number: “Am I In Love?”

 The composers: Harry Warren and Al Dubin

 The choreographer: LeRoy Prinz

 The singer-dancer: Gene Nelson

 The cinematographer: Wilfred M. Cline

 The editor: Clarence Kolster

 The production designer: Charles H. Clarke

beyond fred, ginger & gene

 A curiously neglected film musical, Frank's "Li'l Abner" was successfully stylized in ways that Mankiewicz's "Guys and Dolls" wasn't, as personified by the vivid "Sadie Hawkins Day Ballet," wisely lifted directly from Michael Kidd's Broadway original by Dee Dee Wood.

 The film: “Li’l Abner” (1959)

 The director: Melvin Frank

 The number: "Sadie Hawkins Day Ballet"

 The composer: Gene De Paul

 The choreograher: Michael Kidd, recreated by Dee Dee Wood

 The dancers: The ensemble

 The cinematographer: Daniel L. Fapp

 The editor: Arthur P. Schmidt

 The production designers: J. McMillan Johnson and Hal Pereira

beyond fred, ginger & gene

 It's way too short, lasting perhaps less than a minute, and for some reason, director Bridges opted to film it in shadows, but is any dance on film more endearing than Debra Winger and John Travolta's wedding waltz to Anne Murray's achingly beautiful rendition of “Could I Have This Dance (for the Rest of My Life)?”? I think not.

 The film: "Urban Cowboy" (1980)

 The director: James Bridges (1987)

 The number: “Could I Have This Dance (for the Rest of My Life)?”

 The composers: Wayland Holyfield and Bob House

 The singer: Anne Murray

 The choreograhers: Lisa Niemi and Patsy Swayze

 The dancers: John Travolta and Debra Winger

 The cinematographer: Reynaldo Villalobos

 The editor: David Rawlins

 The production designer: Stephen Grimes

beyond fred, ginger & gene

  For reasons sadly transparent, more than 50 years later, Rita Moreno continues to downgrade Natalie Wood, commenting in an AFI interview that WSS "had no major stars. Natalie Wood was not a major star! The movie was the star!" Sorry, Moreno, you're wrong. Natalie's delicate rooftop dance, created especially for her by Jerome Robbins, is more classic than all your ligament-spraining kicks in the racist "America!" number.

 The film: “West Side Story” (1961)

 The directors: Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins

 The number: “Maria’s Rooftop Dance” (“Maria”)

 The composer: Leonard Bernstein

 The choreographer: Robbins

 The dancer: Natalie Wood

 The cinematographer: Daniel L. Fapp

 The editor: Thomas Stanford

 The production designer: Boris Leven