UPDATE: The above was pretty much all I could muster last night on learning of the irreplaceable Charisse’s passing. The news hit me a lot harder than I had expected, but I should have known better—Singin’ in the Rain having been one of my favorite films for as long as I can remember, and her flapper fatale in that picture’s “Broadway Rhythm” sequence having been, for better or worse, my platonic ideal of womanhood for some time. And then there was/is The Band Wagon…
In the interim, a few have waxed suitably eloquent, most notably Dan Callahan at The House Next Door. My friend Karina L. at Spoutblog has some provocative musings. I see that another friend, Ty Burr of the Boston Globe, is on pretty much the same page as I am.
That said, I dearly hope that a certain non-praying expert in, among other things, varied cinematic vintages of the feminine, will be able to weigh in on the divine Cyd.
Not to put any pressure on anybody, of course.
Hey Glenn, thanks for pointing me towards Self Styled Siren, a blog I had not heard of. I clicked your link for a quick look, and 50 minutes later I was still there, lapping up her comparisons of the three Titanic movies and playing the quiz. Magic.
Her “Baby, You Knock Me Out” number from “It’s Always Fair Weather” is, er, um, a real knockout. I watch that sequence over and over. Great movie, as well. Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to be that well known. Cyd, baby, RIP.
@akabob: Fair Weather has been re-appraised in recent years, but it was brutally unpopular when it was released, and has only been available on DVD for about a year and a half.
Rest in peace, beautiful. I used to teach “Singin’ in the Rain,” and those 20-year-old boys raised on Britney’s panties were spellbound. I was nattering on about Gene Kelly at one point and one of my kids (soon to become an Oscar-nominated screenwriter; when will I be thanked?!) interrupted to say, “She was all I could look at.”
A fair enough epitaph.
GK, I’m beginning to think you’re a bit of a curse. Not that there are many left I give a rat’s ass about.
I think this was a very nice appreciation of Cyd (along with a recent photo of her):
http://andthewinneris.blog.com/3229087/
Belated thanks for the link, Glenn – and also for the kind words, from both you and Owain Wilson.