Jun 9, 2008

Monday Serenade: Dearly Beloved



Though she was most famous for playing the Gilda-style vamp, Rita Hayworth was even more appealing in musicals. She started her career as a dancer, and while she wasn't in the top ranks of hoofers, her fluid, graceful style is deserving of more attention. However, she didn't sing, that's Nan Wynn on vocals.

In this scene from You Were Never Lovelier (1942), one of the two appealing musicals she headlined with Fred Astaire, she sings Dearly Beloved. Her younger sisters watch her hopefully, for if her love leads to marriage, their father will give them permission to marry their boyfriends as well.