“Royal Wedding” is a lavish MGM musical production featuring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell in London at the time of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. Director Stanley Donen (“On the Town” 1949) pulled out all the stops with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, who also penned the screenplay.
The supporting cast includes Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill (daughter of Winston Churchill), Keenan Wynn, and Albert Sharpe. The watchable “Royal Wedding” was a big hit at the box office for producer Arthur Freed and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. “Too Late Now” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.
Judy Garland was the original choice as Astaire’s partner and co-star, but was fired by producer Freed after her many absences. This prompted Louis B. Mayer to cancel her contract with MGM in September, 1950, after fifteen years with the studio.
Royal Wedding (1951)
cinema
My Review
“Royal Wedding” is a lavish MGM musical production featuring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell in London at the time of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. Director Stanley Donen (“On the Town” 1949) pulled out all the stops with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, who also penned the screenplay.
The supporting cast includes Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill (daughter of Winston Churchill), Keenan Wynn, and Albert Sharpe. The watchable “Royal Wedding” was a big hit at the box office for producer Arthur Freed and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. “Too Late Now” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.
Judy Garland was the original choice as Astaire’s partner and co-star, but was fired by producer Freed after her many absences. This prompted Louis B. Mayer to cancel her contract with MGM in September, 1950, after fifteen years with the studio.