The Belle of New York (DVD)

The incomparable Fred Astaire teams with lithesome and beguiling Vera-Ellen in this lavish turn-of-the-century musical delight. Cast as a free-spirited playboy, Astaire narrowly escapes marriage to a showbiz siren before chancing upon a delectable Bowery mission worker (Vera-Ellen). This time, buoyed by the wings of "true love," he finds himself literally dancing on air -- up, up and away above the city rooftops and onto the Washington Square Arch! To prove his worth to this skeptical Daughter of the Right ("It's the uptrodden who need saving these days," he tells her), Astaire goes to work, first as a streetcar conductor, then as a song-and-dance waiter at a fancy restaurant. While trying to resolve their differences, the stars perform dazzling dance routines to Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren's warmly nostalgic score. Among the highlights are a spectacular sequence inspired by colorful Currier and Ives artwork, Vera-Ellen's steamy "Naughty but Nice" and Astaire's knockout "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man."

• musical
• romance