Main Cast: Gene Kelly, Igor Youskevitch, Claire Sombert, Carol Haney, David Kasday
Release Year: 1956
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
Plot
MGM's Invitation to the Dance was the fruition of Gene Kelly's long-standing dream to create a plotless "concert" feature. Eschewing dialogue, Kelly tells three stories entirely through the medium of dance. The first sequence is a mime-like Pagliacci story, with Kelly as the Clown and Igor Youskevitch and Claire Sombert as the Lovers. The second vignette, "Ring Around the Rosy," tells the story of a bracelet as it is passed from owner to owner. The best is saved till last: "Sinbad the Sailor," wherein Kelly shares screen time with a plethora of animated cartoon characters, courtesy of MGM house cartoonists William Hanna and Joe Barbera. Carol Haney appears briefly as Scheherezade, and also posed for the writhing cartoon serpent. Considered totally unsellable by the MGM higher-ups, Invitation to the Dance was shelved upon its completion in 1952, and didn't see the light of day for nearly four years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The entertaining Invitation to the Dance is an ambitious project that ultimately falls somewhat short of its promise; interestingly, Invitation's biggest flaw is that there is not as much dance in it as there should be. There's always movement, mind you, and more than a little bit of mime; but a film that wants to be a total celebration of dance needs to employ genuine, legitimate dance throughout. Too many portions of Dance settle for acting without words -- as in a silent movie, in other words -- instead of finding a way to use dance to convey story, character, or emotion. That said, there are a number of sequences in which dance is used properly, and these show how good the film could have been. The first section, the "Circus" segment, is very uneven; the "show" dancing and the romantic pas de deux are lovely, but the Pagliacci-like story is unconvincingly told and comes across as too melodramatic. The second "Ring Around the Rosy" sequence is a re-telling of La Ronde, but done without sufficient imagination and development, and with a tacked-on happy ending that is laughable. Yet there's a tempestuously sensual duet between Gene Kelly and Tamara Toumanova that is achingly sad, torrid, and exciting. (Kelly's choreographed movement for the partygoers, while simple, is quite effective and deserves applause.) The final "Sinbad the Sailor" segment is the most successful and is totally charming, due in large part to the fact that dance is employed to a greater extent. Kelly's decision to make the genie a child is inspired, and the use of animation adds to the appeal. The serpent dance is perhaps the most well-known, and is quite good, but Kelly's knife dance and trio with the two guards are its equal. Invitation to the Dance sometimes misses the mark, but it's still a delightful little curiosity. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Tommy Rall - Flashy Boyfriend; Tamara Toumanova - The Girl; Claude Bessy - The Model [Ring Around The Rosy]; Diana Adams - Hat Check Girl [Ring Around The Rosy]; Belita - Femme Fatale; Daphne Dale - The Wife [Ring Around The Rosy]; Irving Davies - The Crooner [Ring Around The Rosy]; Gene Kelly - The Marine; Sigurdur Sverrir Palsson - The Husand
Invitation to the Dance (1956) is an anthology film consisting of three distinct stories, all starring and directed by Gene Kelly.
The film is unusual in that it has no spoken dialogue, with the characters performing their roles entirely through dance and mime. Kelly appears in all three stories, which feature leading dancers of the era including Tommy Rall, Igor Youskevitch, Tamara Toumanova and Carol Haney.
The movie was filmed in 1952, but its release was delayed until 1956 because of doubts at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about its commercial viability. The movie was a failure at the box office, but is regarded today as a landmark all-dance film.
Plot
The first segment, "Circus", set to original music composed for the film by Jacques Ibert, is a tragic love triangle set in a mythical land sometime in the past. Kelly plays a clown, who is in love with another circus performer, played by Claire Sombert. She, however, is in love with an aerialist, played by Youskevitch. To impress Ms. Sombert, the clown performs a dangerous high-wire act, and falls to his death.
The second segment, "Ring Around the Rosy", set to original music by André Previn, tells several romantic stories tied by the exchange of a gold bracelet. The bracelet is originally given by a husband (David Paltenghi) to his wife Daphne Dale. She gives the ring to a flirtatious artist (Youskevitch), at a party, infuriating the husband, who stalks off. The artist gives the bracelet to a model (Claude Bessy), and the bracelet changes hands through various performers, eventually returning to the husband, who reunites with his wife.
The third segment, "Sinbad the Sailor", is a fantasy consisting of live action and Hanna-Barbera-directed cartoons set in the casbah of a Middle Eastern country. Kelly plays a sailor who is sold a magic lantern. This puts him in conflict with cartoon villains wielding swords, and falling in love with a cartoon harem girl. This segment includes complex dance sequences showing a live Kelly dancing with cartoon characters; predating many ideas which reappeared in Mary Poppins. (Walt Disney was a friend of Gene Kelly's, and Disney animators provided technical consulting for the MGM animators on blending live action with animation for this film.) Use is also made of the original themes of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade by the MGM music department team of adapter Roger Edens, conductor Johnny Green and orchestrator Conrad Salinger.
