The Belle of New York (1952) on Netflix
Approved19521h 22mComedyMusicalRomance
In turn-of-the-century New York, playboy Charlie Hill falls for Angela Bonfils, a Bowery mission house worker. He is engaged to sharpshooter Dixie 'Deadshot' McCoy, a match he does not want.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb6.1/101,238 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Angela Bonfils works at a mission house in the Bowery, and Charlie Hill, the playboy nephew of the wealthy Mrs. Phineas Hill, falls in love with her. Charlie is engaged to Dixie 'Deadshot' McCoy, a sharpshooter, though he has no wish to marry her. Angela tells him that a man truly in love would rise off the ground, and he pictures himself dancing high above the city. When Charlie asks to join her temperance movement, she is doubtful and says he must first put in an honest day's work. Job after job ends badly for him, each time because Angela crosses his path at her office. By night he takes work as a streetcar driver.
Cast
- Ed Haskettas Supper Club Patron (uncredited)
Show all 20 cast
- George Boyceas Bowery Bum(uncredited)
- James Conatyas Supper Club Patron(uncredited)
- Jean Corbettas One of Frenchie's Girls(uncredited)
- Charles Crossas Bowery Bum(uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Belle of New York (1952)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Fred Astaire was reluctant to star and had retired in 1946 after completing Blue Skies at Paramount Pictures, but he had promised Freed he would star in The Belle of New York should he ever come out of retirement.
- Roger Edens suggested Fifi D'Orsay for the part of the aunt, Mrs. Hill, and director Charles Walters wanted Mae West, but she wanted too much money, so the role went to Marjorie Main.
- Judy Garland was at one point meant to co-star with Fred Astaire in The Belle of New York, but she dropped out during rehearsals.
- For the "Seeing's Believing" number, in which Astaire dances atop the Washington Square Arch, art director Jack Martin Smith shot against a blue backing with the floor and building sides painted blue and used springboards, landing mats and trampolines for Astaire's jumps from cornice to cornice.
- Director Charles Walters asked for a sabbatical when he agreed to direct Judy Garland in her first appearance at the Palace Theatre in Manhattan; with Freed's permission, production shut down for eight days, from August 17 to 26, 1951.
- Filming began on June 18, 1951, the same day Singin' in the Rain started production; a horseshoe made of hundreds of flowers arrived on set wishing the cast luck from that film's directors, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen.
- Marge and Gower Champion, a husband-and-wife dancing team, were once announced as the leads of The Belle of New York, but Freed instead paired Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen.
