Royal Wedding is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell. The film’s music was written by Burton Lane, and the lyrics were written by Alan Jay Lerner. The story takes place in 1947 London, during the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. It follows an American brother and sister who are both dancers. The brother falls in love with a female dancer, and the sister falls in love with a poor but well-connected nobleman. This film was Stanley Donen’s second movie as a director. In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title Wedding Bells.

Royal Wedding is one of several MGM musical films that entered the public domain because the studio did not renew the copyright registration 28 years after the film was first published.

Plot

Tom and Ellen Bowen, brother and sister, are the stars of the popular Broadway show Every Night at Seven. They are invited to take the show to London, taking advantage of the upcoming royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. During the voyage, Ellen meets and quickly becomes fond of Lord John Brindale, a poor but well-connected man. While preparing to cast the show in London, Tom develops feelings for dancer Anne Ashmond and helps her reunite with her separated parents. He asks his agent to find Anne's supposed fiancé in Chicago, only to learn that the fiancé is already married, leaving Anne free to make her own choices.

Inspired by the emotions of the royal wedding, the two couples decide to get married on the same day. With the help of Tom's London agent, Edgar Klinger, who knows someone in the archbishop's office who can simplify official procedures and has a friendly minister ready to assist, the couples are married.

Cast

• Fred Astaire as Tom Bowen
• Jane Powell as Ellen Bowen
• Peter Lawford as Lord John Brindale
• Sarah Churchill as Anne Ashmond
• Keenan Wynn as Irving Klinger and Edgar Klinger
• Albert Sharpe as James Ashmond /

Production

Former dancer Charles Walters was the film's original director. Stanley Donen and Jane Powell were not part of the film's original crew or cast, and June Allyson was originally chosen to act alongside Fred Astaire. Allyson became pregnant and was replaced by Judy Garland, despite Walters' objections. Walters had spent one and a half years helping Garland prepare for her role in her earlier film, Summer Stock. Garland began missing work, saying she was sick, as filming was about to begin. Her behavior led Freed to replace her with Powell. According to Garland's biographer Gerold Frank, Garland felt sad about her career and personal life and asked MGM to end her contract. MGM agreed, and the contract signed in 1935 was canceled on September 28, 1950. Principal photography happened from July 6 to August 24, 1950, with additional scenes filmed in mid-October.

The scene with the song "You're All the World to Me" was filmed using a set built inside a rotating barrel and a special camera setup created by MGM's John Arnold for this film. The "Revolving Camera Mount" allowed the 35mm camera to turn 360 degrees around its lens, as well as move side to side and up and down. Astaire danced inside the barrel set, appearing to dance on the walls and ceiling. This scene inspired Lionel Richie's song "Dancing on the Ceiling" and the music video showing Richie performing a similar dance.

Music

The songs in Royal Wedding were written by Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics). The dance moves were created by Nick Castle.

• "Ev'ry Night at Seven": The film’s opening number shows Astaire and Powell performing in a "play within a play" Broadway musical that their characters are taking to London.
• "Sunday Jumps": Astaire dances with a hat rack in a ship’s gym, imitating his own style. In 1997, after Astaire’s wife, Robyn, allowed Dirt Devil to use a digitally altered version of this scene in a commercial, his daughter, Ava, said the use "tarnished his image" and was "the opposite of everything my kind father stood for."
• "Open Your Eyes": Powell sings this waltz at the start of a romantic dance scene with Astaire in a ballroom on a ship crossing the Atlantic. A storm hits the ship, turning the dance into a funny routine as the dancers move with the ship’s shaking. This scene is based on a real event that happened to Astaire and his wife during a trip to London in 1923.
• "The Happiest Days of My Life": Powell’s character sings this song to Lawford while Astaire plays the piano.
• "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life": This song has the longest title of any song in MGM musical history.
• "Too Late Now": Powell sings her third ballad, expressing her love for Lawford.
• "You're All the World to Me": Astaire dances on the walls and ceiling of his room because he has fallen in love with a woman who also loves to dance.
• "I Left My Hat in Haiti": This number, created mainly by dance director Nick Castle, includes Powell, Astaire, and the chorus in a song-and-dance routine with a Caribbean theme.

The songs were published by MGM on a 10-inch long-play record.

Reception

In a recent review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "The actors do not risk being outshone by a film that is only somewhat enjoyable, with one standout musical number based on the world's longest-titled song. However, this is the case with 'Royal Wedding'—one standout number, a few that are good, and some moments that are funny. The film includes colored newsreels of the British royal wedding and ends with a farewell. Mr. Astaire has performed better in his career and has also performed much worse."

Critic Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "The film is excellent in its songs and dances, average in its story, and especially enhanced by the presence of Fred Astaire and a new Jane Powell. 'Royal Wedding' provides enough entertainment to please most moviegoers. The production can be described as both interesting and pleasing, with popularity largely due to the work of its two main stars."

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,548,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,354,000 in other countries, which led to a profit of $584,000 for the studio. The film was listed by Variety among the top box-office hits of 1951.

Awards

The song "Too Late Now" was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song at the 24th Academy Awards. It lost to the song "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," written by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, from the movie Here Comes the Groom.

The film was included in two lists created by the American Film Institute:

• 2002: AFI's 100 Years…100 Passions
• 2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals

Home media

In 2007, Warner Home Video included the movie Royal Wedding in a DVD collection called Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory.

The song "Sunday Jumps" was mentioned in the movie What Women Want by Mel Gibson and in the concert film Stop Making Sense by David Byrne. This song was also imitated in a humorous way by Kermit the Frog in the movie The Great Muppet Caper.