Lovely Cyd Charisse now lives on only on the big screen.
For those of you who enjoyed this clip, and this one, you might want to read about Cyd from her obit in the New York Times.
Although the Times highlights some other of her more famous movies, I've included another scene that I think is completely fabulous and shouldn't be missed.
(And, if you didn't know that Ricardo Montalban was as gorgeous and as hot as can be--your only recollections of him are from Star Trek II and Fantasy Island--then you are in for a huge Latin treat.)
But perhaps this is the most romantic remembrance of Cyd (I think):
Oh, to be that beautiful and graceful. She was a goddess.
If I was Gene Kelly, and I had a chance to dance with Cyd Charisse, I would go out of my freaking mind. Damn. I lose my mind just watching her. She is a Glorious Technicolor Goddess.
Or maybe it's the haircut.
;-)
She is wearing green Cuban-heeled, backseam stockings. Be still my heart.
*** Actually, I had to post this after reading your comments about the recent hilarious and memory-tripping viewing of Flashdance. Think of this clip as the antidote to that MTV crap. I mean, here's a classic, perfect film (Singing in the Rain) and crazy as it may seem, the principal characters are doing their own dancing. The director actually cast people in dancing roles *gasp* who could dance.
This is just another example of how more contemporary movies will never rise to the level of these classic films, and there are many of them worth watching often. This caliber of talent either never makes it on screen because the Hollywood powers-that-be don't think it will sell to moviegoing audiences, or this kind of talent just doesn't exist anymore. I'd like to think it's the former reason and not the latter. And I just hope that kids today get some sort of exposure to real music and real dancing so it all doesn't become forgotten.
Okay, herein ends the rant. But I know you all agree with me.
So this morning it was raining pretty constantly, and as per usual, I was getting ready to leave the house without an umbrella, and The Boy was running around in his boxer shorts, trying to find an umbrella I could take with me.
But I don't want an umbrella. I like the rain.
The Boy tried to foist the gigantic blue parapluie on me. It's so big it's like walking under a geodesic dome. You could put an entire family under it. I used this monster once on a rainy walk through North Beach and I'm sure I poked someone's eye out with it (not on purpose, of course).
I know this is one of the ways he tries to keep me safe and protect me, which is very sweet and I love that about him. But it's also fun to see him with brow furrowed. He doesn't understand why someone would want to get rained on.
Actually, I'm not too sure myself, except for that this light rain feels nice. And you can't sing this song to yourself if you have an umbrella (and yes, I really did sing it to myself today. You should try it too sometime. It's fun!):
Raindrops keep falling on my head And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed, Nothing seems to fit. These raindrops keep falling on my head They keep fallin'
So I just did me some talkin' to the sun And I said I didn't like the way he got things done, Sleepin' on the job, These raindrops keep falling on my head They keep fallin'
But there's one thing I know, The blues they send to meet me Won't defeat me, Won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me
Raindrops keep falling on my head But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red, Crying's not for me, 'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin' Because I'm free, Nothing's worryin' me.
If it rains harder, next time I'm going to wear a yellow slicker and do Singin' in the Rain instead. I'll just need to find a Gene Kelly to dance with, too.
And in case you haven't seen this before, or haven't seen this for a long time, here is the Tango in the Rain scene from The Tango Lesson, courtesy of Milonga Is Like a Box of Chocolates.
Lovely Cyd Charisse now lives on only on the big screen.
