Easter Parade Easter Parade

The Happiest Musical Ever Made is Irving Berlin's Easter Parade

On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protegee Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.

Judy Garland Fred Astaire Peter Lawford Ann Miller Jules Munshin Clinton Sundberg Richard Beavers

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

music comedy drama romance

107 mins   More details at IMDb / TMDb

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  • Jeff Howard

    Review by Jeff Howard ★★½

    Had a hard time staying interested. Probably needed a surer hand like Minnelli's to guide this colorful ship to easy waters.

  • lonelytourist

    Review by lonelytourist ★★★★

    Three of the greatest musical stars that ever lived - Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Ann Miller - are at their best in this wonderful film filled with some of Irving Berlin's finest songs. Highlights include Fred Astaire's tap dance through a toy shop in 'Drum Crazy' and Ann Miller's show stopping 'Shaking the Blues Away' (which she, incredibly, performed while in immense pain and wearing a back brace).

  • Thorkell August Ottarsson

    Review by Thorkell August Ottarsson ★★★½

    A fine Musical.

  • 'Becca'lise

    Review by 'Becca'lise ★★★½

    A decent musical, although it's pretty standard. I do not for one minute believe Fred Astaire and Judy Garland as a couple. Worth a watch for Ann Miller, who I adore and who dances her butt off!

  • Brian Salisbury

    Review by Brian Salisbury ★★½

    Not my favorite Fred Astaire musical, but Judy Garland is otherworldly adorable and some of the dance sequences are quite astounding. Still doesn't hold a candle to Singin' In The Rain, but the Technicolor extravagance makes for a wonderful Blu-ray transfer.

  • Glenn Kenny

    Review by Glenn Kenny ★★★½

    Better than decent backstage musical with a couple of staggering numbers (Astaire's slow motion simulation for "Steppin' Out" is remarkable) and glorious Technicolor, etc...

  • Steven Bellah

    Review by Steven Bellah ★★★★

    A fun musical with two of the biggest stars (and my favorite actress) of all time. Fred Astaire is a bit too old, but if you forget that aspect, it's highly enjoyable. Oh Judy. Barely a down moment; fun all around.

  • Josh Keown

    Review by Josh Keown ★★★★

    “A girl dancer has to be exotic; she has to be - a peach.”
    -Don Hewes (Fred Astaire)

    I’ve probably said it before, but I’ve never really been that much of a fan of the musical sub-genre, bar several notable exceptions. I would wager that it is actually one of the hardest to work within, since not only is there strong competition, but it really takes something special, some magic spark, in order for one to differentiate itself against other similarly themed films. What this usually results in are several truly great musicals, yet hundreds of poor knock-offs and cheap imitations.

    Recently however I have cultivated my love/hate affair with the genre with some sincerely solid entries. Between this, Bye…

  • boyleboy

    Review by boyleboy ★★★½

    I'm always looking to educate myself further in the musical field, but I feel like, having started with Singin' in the Rain, every successive film is just snapping at its heels. So it goes with this Fred & Judy song-and-dance number, which has a selection of great sequences, but lacks SitR's heart and ingenuity.

    It's also very much a product of its time: a modern reiteration wouldn't (one hopes) have Garland fawning so hopelessly over the rather callous Astaire. I thought the film might be bold when it introduced 'the professor' as a more suitable (and more suitably aged) suitor, one who genuinely had affection for Garland's character; but he ended up being a red herring, existing only to facilitate the…