“Dancers show us how to live in the face of death--with grace, with joy, with courage. And always with a beat. Dancing in the dark. There were at least three great male movie dancers--Astaire, Kelly, O'Conner--and everybody knows who they are. But there was only one great female dancer--Vera-Ellen--and she has fallen into inexplicable obscurity. Cyd Charisse was occasionally fabulous, and Leslie Caron wasn't bad--but only Vera-Ellen could stand with the giants. Even when she danced with Astaire, or Kelly, or O'Conner, you watched HER! She was a terrific technician, a fabulous acrobat, a ball of energy. Whether it was a dreamy ballet or a hot jitterbug, her moves were fearless, exhilarating. She was incredibly sexy--flirting shamelessly with the camera. And the camera loved her. Most important, because she knew how to play for (and dance with) the camera, she shared her fierce joy in dancing. When she danced, we danced with her--not as her partner, but as herself. From her first tiny part in an obscure Danny Kaye musical (Wonder Man, 1945) to her last starring role (in the charming White Christmas, 1954), she showed us how to face the music and dance. Her sudden retirement, at the peak of her career, has never been explained; there were horrid whispers of an incurable skin disease. But we have her films--and this month we will look at four of them.” --Michael Goodwin
