The washed-out colour on the print I watched does little for a movie that needs all the help it can get. To me Gene Kelly has always been a bad nowhere to Fred Astaire, a carthorse up against a thoroughbred, nevertheless I'm happy to applaud Kelly for this attempt to broaden the appeal of dance and to shepherd this non-commercial labour of love to fruition. At least one person writing here has questioned Kellys' decision to do everything but cater the production himself rather than taking on a collaborator. One-man bands are fine as long as the proprietor is Orson Welles but you don't get too many Orsons to the pound. The first segment, Circus, is ho hum at best, the second, Ring Around Rosy is a blatant rip-off of Max Ophuls' Madame D and the most imagination has been invested in the third, Sinbad The Sailor. Rather like a dog walking on its hind legs it deserves a hand just for effort.
Review of Invitation to the Dance
