Royal Wedding

Royal Wedding (MGM) is a 1951 Hollywood musical comedy film known for Fred Astaire's dance performance on a ceiling and with a coat rack. The story is set in London in 1947 at the time of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and stars Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill and Keenan Wynn, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. The film was directed by Stanley Donen. It was his second film and the first film he directed by himself.

Astaire and Powell play a brother and sister song and dance duo, echoing the real-life theatrical relationship of Fred and Adele Astaire. Powell, who was not first choice for the role, surprised her colleagues with her all-round ability. She falls for Lawford, who plays an English aristocrat - mirroring Adele Astaire's romance and eventual marriage to Lord Charles Cavendish, son of the Duke of Devonshire.

Royal Wedding is one of several MGM musicals (another being Till the Clouds Roll By) that have lapsed into public domain. As such it is widely available on Video and DVD, but the quality of these versions varies. In 2007, however, Warner Home Video issued a restored version of Royal Wedding in a DVD set along with The Belle of New York. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia.

Plot

The rather thin story sees brother and sister Tom and Ellen Bowen as stars of a show "Every Night at Seven', a Broadway success. They...
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