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Show r Looking at IhollywoodI '"THE DANCE is not only one of the seven lively arts; it's .threatening to become the liveliest. In the movies it's always an up- md - down career, if not actually tough going. Our producers have doled it out in fits and starts a number here, a 'finale there as if they were afraid we could not take it to more than five-minute five-minute doses. And except for the v. '? 1 Astaire - Rogers Vera-EUen musicals and an occasional "Cover Girl" we've had mighty few that can really be described de-scribed as dancing films. In this connection, the late Mark Sandrich was one of those rare producer pro-ducer - directors who had enough foresight to cry, "On with the dance!" He did the best of those delightful ballroom romances with Ginger and Fred, and just before he died he was preparing "Blue ' Skies," a cavalcade of hits by my old (but only in years of friendship) pal, Irving Berlin. Only Local Oversight But if Hollywood and exceptions excep-tions like Mark Sandrich only prove the rule has failed to grasp the terrific possibilities of the dance, the rest of the country certainly cer-tainly hasn't. On Broadway and in the once so - called hinterlands something has been happening something to which Hollywood cannot can-not close its eyes much longer. What has happened, my dears, is that the dance has come into its own. And by dance I don't mean jive, although that, my spies report, is doing all right, too. I mean and it's perfectly safe to come right out and say it ballet. Only it's ballet with the curse off pantomime and jazz and the classics and the joy of living, all rolled into one! Today the big names are those like Agnes De Mille, Jerome Rob-bins, Rob-bins, George Balanchine, and David Da-vid Lichine, among choreographers, and Leonard Bernstein, brilliant young composer of "Fancy Free" and "On the Town.'.' There are ballets bal-lets in "Oklahoma," "Bloomer Girl," "One Touch of Venus," "Song of Norway," "Up in Central Park," "La Vie Parisienne," and "Carmen Jones." Anton Dolin and Alicia Markova Mar-kova are demonstrating terpsichore in Billy Rose's "Seven Lively Arts." Vera Zorina, that gorgeous, elflike creature, is posing in Shakespeare's "The Tempest." And Ruth Page and Sgt. Bentley Stone have set New York town and Commissioner Moss on their respective ears with a sensational interpretation of "Frankie and Johnny." Common Denominator Sooner or later motion pictures and the dance are bound to get together. to-gether. The very soul of both is rhythm. In one sense they already have. Isn't Walt Disney the greatest great-est creator of rhythm of them all? And we've had our "numbers" and our "specialties" by Veloz and Yolanda, the De Marcos, Carmen Car-men Amaya, the Hartmans, Katharine Katha-rine Dunham, and countless others. We've even had a short or two with the Ballet Husse. And we've had Astaire, Gene Kelly, Jimmy Cagney, George Murphy, and that spectacular leaper Marc Piatt of "Tonight and Every Night." Our dancing daughters have been few but precious Rita Hayworth, Petty Grable, Ann Miller, Ruby Keeler, Eleanor Powell, Ginger (of course), and little Joan McCracken, who highlighted "Hollywood Canteen" Can-teen" with her "Ballet in Jive." The other day I had the pleasure of watching a sequence from "Wonder "Won-der Man," Danny Kaye's new one for Sam Goldwyn. Danny wasn't to it, but Vera-Ellen was. She sang and danced a number called "I'm So in Love." Sam hired her without even making a screen test after he'd caught her in "A Connecticut Yankee," and this time I'm betting on his judgment. Vera-Ellen (the last name is Rohe) is not only petite and blonde as Marilyn was; she can put over a song with refreshing re-freshing charm and she's a dancin' fool. If Warners ever get around to making that Marilyn Miller film they'll be wise to have a look at Vera-EUen. If it's O.K. with Sam Goldwyn, of course. Incidentally, Goldwyn, who is something of a wonder himself, has already snapped up Jerome Rob-bins, Rob-bins, who staged the dances for "On the Town." to design numbers for Danny Kaye's next. Which brings ballet that much nearer to the screen. Over-Age at IS Months Gene Tierney thought for one exciting ex-citing moment she'd get her daughter daugh-ter in for a christening scene in "Dragonwyck." In fact, Joe Mankie-wicz Mankie-wicz led her to believe it, then asked how old the baby was. She said, "15 months." "Sorry," said Joe, "She's 14 months too old." . . . Since so much fuss, feathers, and furbelows have been put on her in "The Dolly Sisters," Betty Grable thinks our costume designers should get an award next year. Why not? Set designers de-signers do. |