Eleanor Powell–Broadway Rhythm

We are a little out of chronological order, but we are going back in time so that we can visit with Eleanor Powell. In her first movie, Broadway Melody of 1936, Eleanor shows off her versatility in a number called “You Are My Lucky Star” by Herb Nacio Brown.

If this song is familiar to you, it is because it was revived in 1952 for the movie, Singing in the Rain. In that movie, Gene Kelly sets a sound stage with just the right number of special effects so that he can sing the love song to Debbie Reynolds. In our movie, Eleanor starts the number with a tap dance in high heels, then changes to toe shoes to finish the number, which is now a ballet. Oh, you kid!

We are going to focus on the film’s stirring finale; the sequence opens with Eleanor on the arm of a newspaper columnist, played by Jack Benny, as they try to make her love interest, Robert Taylor, jealous. The ruse works (come on, this is the movies), and Eleanor dances her way into Robert’s heart. The music again features Brown’s music, starting with “I’ve Got a Feelin’ You’re Foolin’ ” and then moves into the dance number, “Broadway Rhythm.” Please note Eleanor’s balance when she performs her back bends with no one holding her. In ballet, this movement would only be done with a partner.