■ SPECIAL THEME: BUSBY BERKELEY
TCM, beginning at 8 a.m.
Catch a Classic! Turner Classic Movies’ final Monday celebration of the work of legendary musical choreographer/director Busby Berkeley concludes with today’s 14-film lineup that runs the gamut from some of his earliest big-screen work to the last films featuring his contributions. First up is the 1932 romantic adventure drama Bird of Paradise, on which Berkeley was an uncredited choreographer for a dance scene. This is followed by three films on which Berkeley served as the overall director: the musical comedies I Live for Love (1935), led by Dolores del Rio, and Bright Lights (1935), starring Joe E. Brown and Ann Dvorak; and She Had
to Say Yes (1933), a drama starring Loretta Young that marked Berkeley’s directorial debut. Next are two short films that include highlights of notable Berkeley-staged dance numbers: Three Cheers for the Girls (1943) is a 16-minute showcase of six production numbers from various Warner Bros. musicals, while the 19-minute Calling
All Girls (1942) shows the process that Warner Bros. used to select women for the chorus line in movie musicals, presenting as examples clips from 1930s Berkeley production numbers. Moving back into feature film territory, the lineup continues with Born to Sing (1942), featuring a finale with a musical number directed by Berkeley, followed by two early 1950s productions that he choreographed: Two Weeks With
Love (1950) and Two Tickets to Broadway (1951). Beginning in primetime and continuing into early tomorrow morning are five films from Berkeley’s later career as a film choreographer: Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), starring Esther Williams; another Williams-led musical, Easy to Love (1953); Small Town Girl (1953), featuring Jane Powell, Farley Granger and Ann Miller; Rose Marie (1954), with Ann Blyth and Howard Keel; and Billy
Rose’s Jumbo (1962), based on the Rodgers and Hart stage musical, and starring Doris Day, Jimmy Durante and Martha Raye, which was Berkeley’s final film as choreographer.