Mueller, John : Astaire Dancing - The Musical Films

"Fred Astaire is considered to be one of the greatest American dancers. His major career was in films and so has been preserved. Mueller, professor of film studies, attempts to show Astaire's brilliance through a combination of stills and frame enlargements (more than 2400) from his musical films, 1933-68. He uses a system of keys that link the text decribing the dances and music to the corresponding pictures. He also presents the plot and production history of each film chronologically and provides an overview of Astaire's career, personal life, and ideas about filmmaking, especially the filming of dance numbers. This is a meticulously written and entertaining work; though it cannot rise above the inherent limitations of depicting dance through words and pictures, it will appeal to those interested in dance and cinema history and is recommended for general collections."