Eleanor Powell - "Duchess of Idaho" Cameo

[Kaiserin1]

She sounds like part of the orchestra. Truly one of a kind

[beyoncetyratina]

My two favorite talented women! Eleanor Powell, the famous tap dancer and Esther Williams, the famous swimmer. Just love those two women! They are sooo awesome!!!!!!!

[Fantomas4616]

absolutly fantastic tap dance. Eleanor Powell is still the best!!!!!

[johnnyjackpot]

Thanks for this great video clip!

[trschaefer]

This number is definitely not worthy of her talent. The outfit that she's wearing is extremely unflattering too. She was the queen of movie dancers!!

[SpiritualGurl1990]

That's pure talent, man. Whew! :D

[44032]

Esther Williams was, in effect the successor to Eleanor Powell except as a swimmer instead of a dancer. They had entire films and huge production nubmers built around them. But dancing is more interesting than swimming, so I prefer Powell. But both are great ladies of the screen!

[JudithIN410]

@44032 Have you read Esther Williams' autobiography, "Million Dollar Mermaid"? She and Eleanor Powell were both very talented but very UNLIKE in character.

[44032]

@JudithIN410 No, I haven't. Could you be more specific? I thought both were very well-liked and widely admired. 

[mpo1107]

Eleanor Powell, what a babe!

[indigoslicer]

Williams, in her autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid, writes of being touched watching Powell rehearsing until her feet bled in order to make her brief cameo as perfect as possible.

[bobandrayfan1]

Wow..she made tap dancing look sexy.. not many dancers can claim that. She had extraordinary talent and to echo everyone else here it's too bad that she wasn't in more films!

[luckdog909]

Perfection!!!

[opelske]

@luckdog909 she sure was special, wasn't she?

[luckdog909]

@opelske She was very special. The woman was a virtuoso. It's one thing to amaze people with flashy, complicated moves. But Ellie could execute the simplest of moves in a way that would melt your heart.

[opelske]

@luckdog909 Agreed! I'm so grateful for You Tube that exposes her to a wider audience today. More people need to see the genius and talent of this lady. We surely do need to go back and begin celebrating true talent and beauty.

[hajune]

Somewhat later Ellie performed at Las Vegas. She set all attendence records that held up for a long time. Her movies were locked in the MGM vault far too long. Television had a thing about black and white movies because they were attempting to promote color,having just been introduced. It's a shame that for 40 years Ellie became just a footnote. Her contributions and talent were simple amazing. She is being rediscovered and the word WOW is oft times used when fans see her for the first time.

[happiihoneii]

after watching this i love her more and more ♥

[opelske]

@happiihoneii me too!

[jumpdance24]

Awesome ! pity the present day "artists" dont have a hundredth of her talent.

[Nabokov50]

Judith, I count the same things. Death dates. Am I weird?

[dukesgal39]

Love Eleanor -- The Queen of Tap!!! Too bad this is the only video of her in color ...

wish there were more of her! Thanks for

sharing.

[JudithIN410]

She had a cameo role in "Thousands Cheer" (Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson - 1943) , which was in color. She performed her boogie-woogie number. You can find it here at YouTube.

[boom254584]

Great stuff! Can you please post the number "can't go wrong doing right" with van Johnson? I'd really appreciate it!

[coubotand]

That spin at 3:27 is W-O-W. It's as if she's on ice skates.

[singerandmoviestar]

i love her so much but for some reason this one is my favorite

[suttonguy]

still sensational in her final screen dance appearance..an absolutely incredible talent.god bless you eleanor powell.

[mrmanrules]

mgm and the film industry made one big mistake not casting eleanor in more movies .she was an uextrordinarily classy dancerwith great looks and figure as well.

[Joans20thCentury]

WOW Yummy

[JudithIN410]

Today (Nov 21st) would be Eleanor Powell's 97th birthday.

[netwitt1]

In addition to her prodigious talent and indefatigable work ethic, Ellie had the ability to project utter confidence and authority in her dancing without losing ANY femininity. I never tire of watching her dance - even routines I've watched dozens of times still have the power to make me gasp at their complexity and artistry or giggle with joy at the sheer breathtaking speed and dexterity on display. She truly was one of a kind - The Queen of Tap.  LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

[frustrado]

It's a pitty she don't make more movies at that years. She is still better than the much dancers in the 1950's and so beautiful as ever.

[69alex7]

most grateful, i really needed to know that name:-)

[69alex7]

I wonder who the male part is?

[JudithIN410]

Her dancing partner/band leader? It's Van Johnson, a very popular leading man of the mid-late 40s.

[bjnevin]

Van Johnson! (Watch "Miracle in the Rain"!)

[lenaweeparka]

The only thing amiss here is the lack of a standing ovation. I love how she is so reluctant at first but when prodded blows the roof of the place like it's nothing. Phenomenal. No, we won't see the likes of her again (said with the sincere if faint hope of eventual contradiction). Love her forever!

[snaaptaker]

Terrific!!

I'd completely forgotten she was in this one.

[PSYCHABOO]

I could watch her all day. She's amazing. Definitely top 5 dancer of all time.

[MoNkEyCaKeS85]

I've never seen someone dance so awesome!! Beautiful lady i might add.

[mgar88]

any idea where i can watch this online???i'm dying to see it again:)appreciate any help x

[JudithIN410]

Best bet is probably on Turner Classic Movie (TCM) cable channel. You can check schedules at their website.

[TL250Rider]

This Lady Could Dance. This is fantastic

Do you know Glen Ford' Son

Love to talk to him

Thank you again JudithN410

God Bless You

[labtennis0827]

Love the fluid hand motions 1:28-1:31.

[pandabear003]

i work at a nursing home and i take care of her brother kenneth

[JudithIN410]

That would be  her half-brother....

[mca1218]

"You wouldn't dare..."

Well, well, well...this was one I'd never seen before. Ellie in color for a second- and last, I believe- time on film. How lucky for us. And is it me, or does she seem almost glad to be able to take Van Johnson's dare on the floor: first in lyrical dance, then with a quick peel of the long skirt, get down to business. As someone else mentioned, it's all about the staccato breakdown at 2:09. Thank you, Judith.

[netwitt1]

Now, if she didn't plan on dancing, why did she wear THAT dress and her TAP shoes to dinner? : -)

Oh well, I don't mind absurdity as long as we get to see Ellie dance!

[opelske]

I always loved Van Johnson, he's so right! Eleanor Powell most definitely has made us very happy. She reminds us of better times when grace, elegance, class, hard work and dedication meant something. Maybe it will all come back one day.

[luckdog909]

@opelske One thing I know is that history always repeats itself, especially in dancing. I know it's been a long time coming, but this shall return. Especially with clips of this nature on Youtube racking up views, this will cause the present day artists to have to "get back to work"!!! Gotta love Ellie!!!!

[fhr331]

How fitting, the last line spoken to her in a film: "Thank you, Eleanor, you made us very happy." How true..

[willissuperb]

Judith, THANK you for such a clear version of this dance! WHAT a fabulous dancer Ellie was!!!

[netwitt1]

I love how she starts out the tap portion a bit laid back and then at 2:09 kicks in the tap afterburners and flies! Her upper body hardly moves and those feet just vibrate - yeowza! Magical! I can't watch her dance without being amazed.

[MovieGuyAz]

All I can say is... WOW! BMof1940 is my absolute favorite of the Astaire films, and Elenor is arguably the best dance partner he ever had bar none (sorry Ginger). I'd never seen this routine before and its magic jumps through the screen. Again Bravo!

[moonlightorchid99]

oh that was amazing! its atonishing how when you look at eleanor she doesn't really age, she still looks amazing, the only thing is she looks more slighly larger at the hip! whic isn't bad thing because it makes her look curvacious like hell!

and its a charm, the part where van johnson goes, "what's the matter you tired?", and before you know it youre looking at her, and her dress is gone (!), and she's shaking her hips! i absolutely LOVE that!

[netwitt1]

Ellie in color - shazaam! BM of 40 would have been wonderful in color - although B the B was simply perfect in black and white. Somehow they achieved such clarity and beauty - especially in the first section of the number. But Ellie had that great coloring for color film - blue eyes, dark hair and fair skin - really pops in color. And what a pretty dress - good thing she had dance bottoms on! Don't you just love Hollywood?

[JudithIN410]

Eleanor Powell was born 96 years ago today - November 21, 1912.

[MANFROMMARS46]

Four days before my dad,sadly deceased.

Eleanor Powell and ballet, totally unthinkable. No films feature tap today to my knowledge.

[filmfan1927]

I like how at the beginning she starts her routine with more of a balletic style, it seems to be poking fun at how MGM musicals were focusing more on lavish Ballet numbers instead of tap numbers, by 1950 Ann Miller was the only real tap dancer left, Astaire, Kelly and Cyd Charisse were focusing on ballet now (Ex. An American in Paris, The Band Wagon, etc.) I always prefered tap routines though, I think that the ballet numbers get long and bloated after a while. Thanks for posting.

[canoga1958]

Another great job Judy! It's so wonderful to see Ellie in glorious Technicolor. I wish they had gone through with the original idea of producing BM of 1940 in color. Think how great that would have been. 5 stars!

[JudithIN410]

Think how great it would have been to see Ellie and Gene Kelly together in a Broadway Melody film too! Too bad that didn't happen - but wonderful that we have her other films. Van Johnson says it all at the end of this clip: "Thank you, Eleanor; you've made us very happy."