January 24, 2009

From the 1943 film The Gang's All Here. I am filled with both awe and joy whenever I watch this clip.

The joy is derived from the Ms. Miranda's gleeful performance of this witty little ditty. An audio recording really only achieves in presenting half of Ms. Miranda's charm.

The awe is of Busby Berkeley's direction of the scene. Berkeley is perhaps best remembered for his choreography, but in this scene he proves himself a master at moving the dancers and camera in harmony. His lens swoops, pans and dives- it darts and soars, flies really- for 7 minutes and 20 seconds, chasing a bevy of chorus girls and monkeys- MONKEYS, for cryin' out loud!- across a spacious soundstage, all with a minimum (11 by my count) edits. How Berkeley envisioned this at all amazes me, but that he actually pulls it off blows me away.

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