Granted, it's a bit odd to be posting this now, since I stopped procrastinating today: two pages of my conference paper down, five more to go. Of course, there's still Emily Sarah Holt (twenty-five pages down, at least five or six more to go). Reading David S. Katz's God's Last Words feels a bit like procrastination, because it's quite a fun book (yes, really), although the first Amazon reviewer has a point about its slightly idiosyncratic take on the history of Biblical criticism.
In any event, new additions to the procrastination lineup:
"Bouncin' the Blues" from The Barkleys of Broadway (1949): I've always loved this jazzy little divertissement, even if it's in one of the lesser Astaire/Rogers vehicles.
"All Ashore," "Please Don't Monkey with Broadway," and "Beguin the Beguine" from Broadway Melody of 1940: Eleanor Powell does incredibly athletic things, Fred Astaire and George Murphy duel, and Astaire and Powell duet. (I admit to fast-forwarding through Powell's singing, though.)
"The Red Blues" from Silk Stockings (1957): Cyd Charisse and proles in a vaguely Russian-themed dance number. (There's also something weirdly engaging about "The Ritz Roll and Rock," which tries to meld Fred Astaire's style with a mock rock n' roll beat.)
"When the Foeman Bares His Steel" from The Pirates of Penzance (1980): picture quality is eh, but I like the staging rather better than the 1983 film version with the same cast.
The challenge dance from The Cotton Club (1984): Charles "Honi" Coles, Gregory and Maurice Hines, Jimmy Slyde, and a number of others show us how it's really done. (This movie, by the way, has the most infuriating editing--was it necessary to chop up every Cotton Club number?)
The challenge dance from Tap (1989): Arthur Duncan, Bunny Briggs, Jimmy Slyde, Steve Condos, Harold Nicholas, Howard "Sandman" Sims, Gregory Hines, and Sammy Davis Jr. show us (again) how it's really done. (I saw Jimmy Slyde perform live a few years ago; still very high on my all-time Extremely Cool Things list.)
The Newcomer's solo from Bojangles (2001): Savion Glover is brilliant, as per the usual.
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