Royal Wedding is a fine example of the commitment to excellence in musical filmmaking brought forth by producer Arthur Freed and his team during the golden era at M-G-M. Although not a landmark in the history of the studio or the genre,
Royal Wedding is an amalgam of simple pleasures. Scored with the stunning melodies of Burton Lane and the enchanting lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner, the film earned its place in the hearts of moviegoers due particularly to the winning performances of its stars-the lovely, multitalented Jane Powell playing opposite the incomparable Fred Astaire.
Lerner also wrote the film's original screenplay (his first), based on an idea of Arthur Freed's. Freed conceptualized a musical set against the events of the 1947 marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Philip Mountbatten. He then put Lerner under contract to write the story and screenplay, and teamed him with Burton Lane. Both men were fresh from Broadway triumphs with other collaborators in 1947. Lerner had teamed with Fritz Loewe to write
Brigadoon, while Lane and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg wrote the memorable score for
Finian's Rainbow. The teaming of Lerner and Lane was fortuitous, as they crafted great songs together, not only for
Royal Wedding but also for other projects in subsequent years.
From the outset, Freed intended
Royal Wedding as a picture for Fred Astaire, and Freed hoped to reteam Astaire with Ginger Rogers after their huge success in
The Barkleys Of Broadway. Rogers stepped into Barkleys at the last minute, replacing Judy Garland, who could not complete the film due to illness. While Rogers enjoyed working with Astaire again on Barkleys, she wasn't interested in another reunion, at least not that quickly. Freed settled on casting June Allyson, then at the height of her popularity at M-G-M. With Astaire and Allyson in mind, screenwriter Lerner drew from reality and came up with a story about a famous brother-and-sister Broadway team, Tom and Ellen Bowen, who bring their hit show to London at the time of the royal wedding. The usually flirtatious Ellen falls in love with a British nobleman she met on ship (portrayed by Peter Lawford), while the older brother/confirmed bachelor Tom is enchanted with a lovely English dancer (portrayed by Sarah Churchill, daughter of Winston). The story ends with a double wedding of the principals at the same time as the royal wedding. (An interesting footnote: The studio's first choice to play Astaire's love interest was English ballerina Moira Shearer, who piqued Freed's interest after her memorable performance in 1947's
The Red Shoes.)
The plot points were not entirely foreign to Astaire's own life. It was in 1928 that he and his sister Adele brought their hit show,
Funny Face, to London. While there, Adele fell in love with an English Lord, and she permanently retired from show business. Fred, who had to go solo, eventually became one of the greatest motion-picture legends of all time.
Set to direct
Royal Wedding was Charles Walters, who made his directorial debut at M-G-M with Allyson and Lawford as his stars in 1947's
Good News. Allyson and Lawford had just starred in the studio's hit remake of
Little Women (1949), and the studio was anxious to take advantage of their excellent chemistry yet again, this time in
Royal Wedding. Walters' subsequent films,
Easter Parade (1948) and
The Barkleys Of Broadway (1949), both starred Astaire, so their professional association was ripe for reteaming. However, fate stepped in and changed everything.
A few days into production, Allyson unexpectedly found herself pregnant and had to bow out of the production. Scrambling for a star, Freed decided to give Judy Garland another chance to reteam with Astaire. Freed's previous attempt to replicate their success together in
Easter Parade with
The Barkleys Of Broadway was ill-fated, as Garland's illness led to her being removed from that production. Having just completed
Summer Stock under the direction of Charles Walters, Garland was still in tenuous emotional shape, and Freed's desire to give her one more chance in front of the cameras was something Walters wanted no part of. He was exhausted from the
Summer Stock experience and asked to be replaced. Freed then handed over the directorial duties to Stanley Donen, who, following the success of his codirectorial smash,
On The Town, had yet to direct a film on his own. Freed had earlier assigned him the reins of the Esther Williams vehicle
Pagan Love Song, but Williams and Donen did not get along with each other (to put it mildly). As a result, Donen bowed out of that job and was replaced by Robert Alton. So, with Donen at the helm and Garland cast with Astaire, all seemed on target for
Royal Wedding. Composer Lane was particularly pleased that Garland was in the picture, as he had known her for years and, in fact, wrote the score for her
Babes On Broadway in 1941. But issues arose immediately.
After only a few days of rehearsals, Garland was having problems, frequently reporting to the studio late or not at all. Both Freed and Astaire would have none of that yet again. Garland was removed from the picture and her contract with the studio was terminated.
A panic ensued to try and save the picture. Who to replace Judy? Freed looked at the bevy of Metro talent and selected Jane Powell, a huge star at the studio, but one who had never appeared in one of Freed's pictures. Only 21 at the time filming began, Powell's superb acting, singing, and dancing abilities made her a perfect costar for Astaire, and once filming finally began, all proceeded with incredible smoothness.
When Powell was finally cast, Lerner and Lane collaborated on a new song for the picture to take full advantage of her large musical range and exquisite voice. The result was the hit "Too Late Now," which ended up earning an Oscar® nomination for Best Song.
Nick Castle was engaged to stage the musical numbers, although Astaire created the choreography for his own numbers. With Donen at the helm, the star and director collaborated on some of the most memorable routines Astaire ever filmed. Donen had idolized Astaire as a youth; in fact, it was his repeated visits to the local cinema to see Fred & Ginger movies that made him pursue a career in show business.
Royal Wedding is best known as the film in which Fred Astaire "dances on the ceiling"-in the number "You're All The World To Me." The sequence became immortal when excerpted in M-G-M's hit 1974 compilation
That's Entertainment!. Donen devised the concept: The room in which Astaire would be dancing would be built within a 20-foot-diameter tube that would turn along with the camera, which turned with the room. All the furniture and fixtures in the room had to be nailed down so they would remain in place as the room turned. The cinematographer was harnessed to the camera in the process. Although complicated, the sequence was pulled off without a hitch. The same effect was later adapted by Stanley Kubrick for a famous scene in
2001: A Space Odyssey.
Interestingly, the melody for the song was actually written by Lane 17 years earlier-known as "I Wanna Be A Minstrel Man" in the 1934 Samuel Goldwyn musical
Kid Millions.
Astaire's other big solo turn was also briefly featured in
That's Entertainment!-in the number "Sunday Jumps," Fred dances with a hat rack and various items inside the ocean liner's gymnasium. Lane wrote a catchy melody, perfectly suited for the vocal stylings of Astaire, and Lerner created a nifty lyric to match. However, as Fred began developing the routine in rehearsal, he opted for a straight instrumental with no lyrics. The impeccable perfection of the M-G-M orchestra, conducted by Johnny Green, was given even more of an opportunity to shine in this stand-out sequence.
Fred and Jane Powell had three duets together: the clever "Ev'ry Night At Seven," which opens the picture; the stunning, Technicolored "I Left My Hat In Haiti," which is the last big number; and "Open Your Eyes," which is sung by Powell and followed by a dance duet wherein the duo's ability to perform is hindered by their transatlantic ocean liner's battle with heavy seas. The ship begins to tilt, and the Bowens must try to keep their balance. Again, studio trickery helped pull this stunt off, and it made for another enjoyable number. Powell was given the chance to sing one other lovely ballad, "The Happiest Day Of My Life," which was originally intended for the Sarah Churchill character.
Comic relief was also on the bill as Powell and Astaire tore into Lerner & Lane's tongue-in-cheek "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life?" With Fred as a gangster and Powell convincingly playing against type as his moll, this number was a fine vaudevillesque turn in the tradition of "A Couple Of Swells" from
Easter Parade and was a highlight of the picture.
Lane & Lerner wrote only one other song for
Royal Wedding, intended for Astaire, entitled "I Found Me A Baby." However, it was never filmed or even prerecorded.
Once the casting calamities had passed, production on
Royal Wedding was efficient and satisfying to all concerned. Prerecordings had begun in early June with Astaire, while Powell rehearsed. She began her prerecordings at the end of that month. Shooting commenced on July 6 and ended on October 5, 1950. Actual shooting time during that period was only 33 days, and despite the delays and problems early on, the picture came in at a cost of $1,662.235.96, just a bit higher than the $1,577,765 originally budgeted. The picture was previewed successfully in early 1951 and the only tightening done was the removal of Lawford's vocal reprise of "Ev'ry Night At Seven."
Royal Wedding finally opened in New York on March 9, 1951, to mostly enthusiastic critical reviews and strong box-office receipts. The national release followed two weeks later, and the film went on to earn nearly $4,000,000 in its domestic theatrical release. The success of
Royal Wedding was just the beginning of good fortunes for Arthur Freed that year. He followed with the triumphs
Show Boat and
An American In Paris only a few months thereafter.
This Turner Classic Movies Music/Rhino Handmade collection represents the first release of the entire score of
Royal Wedding (available in May 2003), including some choice underscoring cues. In addition, we are pleased to present a promotional recording featuring Jane Powell and Fred Astaire being interviewed by studio personality Dick Simmons, which promoted the film's release to radio stations at the time.
