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If you like lighthearted, fluffy, feel-good films then this movie could be up your alley. The dancing is superb and very creative, and the singing from both Jane Powell and Fred Astaire is wonderful. Jane Powell is amazing in her role, very convincing. Fred Astaire shines as well. The only things wrong with this movie is a) as other people have commented, is the boring love interests. They seem very wooden, there's no chemistry, they don't sing and dance. Basically, they suck and could have been much better casted. The second thing is that a few of the songs are pretty boring, but I loved "Too Late Now" and "How could I believe you.." Very clever. Great dancing, great stars, beautiful costumes, great acting (from Jane Powell and Fred Astaire) and lovely songs! I really enjoyed watching this movie.

Typically enjoyable Fred Astaire vehicle from the 50's and if not on a par with the wonderful "The Bandwagon", "Royal Wedding" certainly deserves a podium position for its vibrant colours (in some scenes, you almost think you're seeing all seven colours of the rainbow in the shot!), fine cinematography (London is faithfully rendered with cobbled streets, red buses and postboxes, even a pea-souper before the "Clean Air" Act was passed later in the decade), topped of course by Astaire's superb dancing. Okay, he's way too old to be Jane Powell's brother and the plot is wafer thin as per usual with Fred's flicks, but his dancing both solo, including the celebrated "Dancing on the Ceiling" scene (later updated by director Donen in the 80's for pop star Lionel Richie's hit song of the same name), but including almost as good scenes dancing with the ship's gym equipment and in another scene, the room furniture, including his hatstand and in concert with the young vibrant Powell, he shines. She can dance by the way... The songs didn't quite connect with me apart from the riotously funny "How Could you Believe Me When I Said Loved You when You Know I've been a Liar all my Life"(surely a country and western song-title from heaven!), but then Fred hasn't the greatest voice and Powell's light operatic warblings don't move me much either. In the minor parts, a young Peter Lawford lords it up, improbably, as an - ahem - English lord, while Sarah Churchill, the great war leader's niece, no less, seems a tad plain both in appearance and her minimal dancing efforts. The humour, centring mainly on the different takes on the languages from the US and UK perspectives, is somewhat forced too but maestro Donen exerts a sure hand at the helm, from the stylish "wedding invitation" titles to the fly-away pan-out shot over London at the close. A pleasant underrated musical comedy with which to while away an afternoon or evening.

Of course, there is Fred Astaire's delightful, legendary, innovative dance on the ceiling and his dance with a hatrack in the gym, both of which are great. But then there are also his delightful partnerings with Jane Powell, playing his Adele Astaire-esque sister and dancing partner. These include the opening number, "Every Night At Seven," their cute little attempt to dance aboard a rocky boat, and the dynamite "How Could You Believe Me, etc." AND "I Left My Hat in Haiti." Powell, known mostly for her operetic soprano that never quite seems to match her speaking voice, (and which can also be heard in a few forgettable songs here) rivals Ginger Rogers in her ability to keep up with Astaire and match him every step of the way. Not to be missed if you love musicals, dancing in musicals, and/or Fred Astaire dancing in musicals.

As for the rest of the film, the plot is thin as expected but breezes along smoothly. The characterizations of the English are silly caricatures. (Alan Jay Lerner wrote the screenplay and lyrics, but remember, this was five years before "My Fair Lady") Keenan Wynn does okay with the double role of an American agent and his British twin counterpart, though. Peter Lawford is Powell's English honey bun. (In real life, Adele Astaire did leave dancing when she married an English lord) And yes, that is Sarah Churchill, Winston's daughter, as about the only romantic partner of Fred's on film that was his own age.

Typical Fred Astaire,in other words great entertainment.Over the years the listing of favorite Astaire numbers has become a favorite pastime of many. This movie contains more than found in any other single show. The dance with clothes tree and using the wall and ceiling are precious. However there is another that is never mentioned that is on my list that delights me no end. How could you believe me when I said I loved you when you know I've been a liar all my life is one of the gems of American entertainment. To borrow an opinion from George Burns. the American musical composers and the theater and movie industry in which they showed their wares is America's greatest contribution to world culture.Royal Wedding is so typical of years of magnificent productions.

Jane Powell (as Ellen Bowen) was a surprisingly adept partner for Fred Astaire for those of us who know her best as a brilliant soprano songstress. She kept up with him, step for step. She's probably best known for her fabulous voice as showcased in SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, but she brought in the wonderful tune, "Too Late Now," here in ROYAL WEDDING. Astaire was his typical debonair self, and his role is reminiscent of that in THREE LITTLE WORDS.

The plot of ROYAL WEDDING is easy to follow and serves as a great backdrop for Astaire and Powell and their respective musical talents. And yes, Sarah Churchill is Winston's daughter. Worth seeing more than once.

So, basically everybody around the globe knows- and has seen the famous dancing sequence with Fred Astaire dancing on the walls and ceilings. But how many people actually know that, that sequence is from this movie? I'm surprised that a movie with such a famous sequence isn't better known.

In essence "Royal Wedding" is your typical MGM musical, with still a couple of extra pluses, that makes this movie distinct itself from the average, formulaic movie musical, from the same time period. Obviously the famous sequence with Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling is one of them but to me it also was the humor. Musicals really aren't best known for the well placed and original humor but this movie does a great job at providing a couple of genuine good and original laughs.

The story is kept simple and formulaic and above all also of course very predictable. The movie doesn't offer an awful lot of surprises but yet the story serves its purpose and that fits the genre just right.

There are a couple of great and likable characters in this movie, that help to make the movie an extra joy to watch. Fred Astaire of course steals the show with his acting and dancing but also Jane Powell as his sister was great. Not too happy about the casting of Sarah Churchill (Winston Churchill's daughter). No offense but she just isn't beautiful enough (she has got her daddy's looks, I'm afraid) for her part and also perhaps a tad too old. It just doesn't fit the genre.

The musical numbers are all well executed, mainly those by Fred Astaire. The sequences were however a bit too 'stagey' for my taste, although I should admit that the musical genre has just never been my favorite movie genre.

All in all an enjoyable to watch typical MGM musical, with a couple of more offerings in it than its fellow genre movies.

7/10

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Royal Wedding may not be one of the classic musicals and everybody involved have been in and done better things, but any fans of great choreography and dancing and Fred Astaire will find plenty to like about it. It does have a good shortcomings, that are thankfully outweighed by the many things that are delightful.

Starting with what didn't come off so well, the story is as thin as a wafer and occasionally loses momentum when there's no singing or dancing. The script is very commonplace, and while it mostly flows well, reads well tonally and has entertaining moments some of the comic moments fall limp and it's cringe-worthingly stereotypical in places(i.e. Keenan Wynn's slang). The songs and choreography are top notch, but the (slightly) clumsily staged finale was an exception. Two performances don't work. Peter Lawford has to work with a dully written character that often felt incidental to the plot, and he brings very little personality or charm to it. Even worse is Sarah Churchill, she is incredibly wooden here and doesn't ever look comfortable with what she's given. Her chemistry with Astaire completely lacks warmth, and veers on non-existent on occasions.

The production values are very colourful however, not quite lavish but very beautiful nonetheless, and the photography shows adept technical skills and very good attention to detail. The songs are great, with three being particularly memorable. One is the Oscar-nominated Too Late Now, which has a lot of emotional resonance and is performed with just as much by Jane Powell(though maybe Judy Garland may have given it more heft if she was cast). Two is How Could You Believe Me..., which benefits from some of Lerner's funniest and cleverest lyric writing and a genuinely easy-going natural chemistry between Astaire and Powell. Last is the infectiously catchy I Left My Hat in Haiti. The choreography is even better, there is so much energy and sparkle to it and the two highlights both feature Astaire and are among his best and most iconic. One being Sunday Jumps, with the most inventive use of a duet with a hat-rack you'll ever find in a film, and the other being his dancing on the walls and ceiling in his hotel room in You're All the World to Me which is the epitome of jaw-dropping.

Royal Wedding may not be perfect in the writing department, but it's not too slow-going(even those bits lacking momentum don't hurt the film that badly) and has an endearingly light-footed, good-humoured(though not always) and warm-hearted quality, in a way also that often entertains and never talks down. So while there are flaws in the writing, the spirit and tone are just right. The characters are not too original and Lawford and Churchill's are not interesting at all, but the rest of the characters are very likable and engaging. Stanley Donen's direction is very accomplished technically and in terms of pacing and balancing everything is very assured also. The performances on the whole are fine, Keenan Wynn is amusing and Jane Powell is a more than worthy partner for Astaire and plays her role with plenty of attractive spunk and graceful charm. But it is Astaire who is the main reason to see the film, he was one of the dance world's greatest and one of the all-time greats at interpreting songs in musicals. While he didn't have the best voice in the world, though it was still an above-pleasant one, his dancing is masterful and he exudes complete confidence.

Overall, has shortcomings and falls short of being great(like it could have been considering it had Astaire and was directed by Donen). But these shortcomings are far outweighed by the good things, and the good things are delightful and a good many. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Tom (Fred Astaire) and Ellen Bowen (Jane Powell) are a brother and sister song and dance act. They travel to London to do a show. They do fall for people along the way, but the story is almost unimportant.

This is most noted for the dancing of Fred Astaire. He did a couple of iconic dances for the ages. In one, he's dancing with a coat rack in the exercise room. It's all about his gracefulness. The other dance happens in his room as it gets rotated. He's literally dancing on the ceiling. These go down in movie dance history. Astaire and Bowen do a pretty good ballroom dance on the ship as the giant floor starts tilting back and forth. It's pretty good but lesser known.

Jane Powell does some real old fashion singing. It's from another age. Although I really liked one song sung by Powell and Astaire, 'HOW COULD YOU BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAID I LOVED YOU WHEN YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN A LIAR ALL MY LIFE'. It's a snappy little ditty.

The film has Astaire's famous "dance on the walls and ceiling" scene, and another nice number with a hat rack. Other than those scenes, there's little of interest here. The songs are uninspired, Jane Powell's singing voice is far too piercing for my tastes, and their love interests aren't interesting.

I wouldn't waste the keystrokes to comment on the trite story in ROYAL WEDDING. Worse, Sarah Churchill can't dance and has no chemistry with Fred Astaire. HOWEVER, Jane Powell is WONDERFUL as Astaire's sister. She's even more impressive here than in the wonderful SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS. And, OH! THOSE DANCE NUMBERS. Astaire's singles numbers are the BEST dancing I've ever seen in a movie. His numbers with Powell are equally marvelous. Great music, great songs. Forget the romance (and weak comedy with Keenan Wynn) and enjoy the music and dance. SUPERFINE!

Just rewatched this public domain M-G-M musical on Netflix Streaming. How disappointing I was to see a close to wretched print there instead of a restored one that I read was available on the Warner DVD. Still, I once again enjoyed seeing Fred Astaire dance on the ceiling in his declaring his love for Sarah Churchill. I loved seeing him dance with a hat rack. And I was overjoyed to see his dances with Jane Powell whether on a ship during a storm making for some hilarious encounters with inanimate objects, pretending to be a king and maid, employing some Latin rhythms in a Haiti sequence, or doing a roaring '20s number to "How Can You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life". And while I've always known Fred to also be a pretty good singer, Powell isn't so bad either though her operatic voice isn't something I'm a big fan of. Keenan Wynn also provides some amusement as both their manager Irving Klinger and his English brother Edgar especially when a split screen is made when they call each other. The romantic subplots involving Astaire/Churchill and Powell/Peter Lawford didn't involve me too much so I'm glad they don't dominate too much of the story. And how awesome to see the footage of the wedding of then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip on this, her Diamond Jubilee year as Queen of England. So on that note, Royal Wedding gets a high recommendation from me. Update-4/5/21: I just watched on Warner Bros. DVD a much better-looking print.

After a successful run on Broadway, sibling musical team Fred Astaire and Jane Powell (as Tom and Ellen Bowen) are invited to play London during "the wedding season." This means participating in the 1947 "Royal Wedding" of Princess Elizabeth and her cousin Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (presently known as Elizabeth II and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh). Romance is in the London air as Ms. Powell meets playboy Peter Lawford (as John "Johnny" Brindale) and Mr. Astaire meets showgirl Sarah Churchill (as Anne Ashmond). Sarah is the daughter of Winston Churchill (who, with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin, was one of the "Big Three" winners of World War II). Churchill's daughter and the actual UK wedding are thematic, but less than overwhelming...

It's a surprise to find so many of MGM's "That's Entertainment!" (1974) showstoppers were from average musicals. However, the soundtrack is grand and includes three of Astaire's best numbers. Without the Astaire highlights, "Royal Wedding" is sub-par stuff. The romances are dull and Powell, while lovely, seems too way young to be Astaire's sister. As reported here and in other sites' trivia, June Allyson was pregnant with Dick Powell Jr., and Judy Garland was bitten by the buzz bug; so, the role went to Jane Powell...

First, watch as Astaire dances with a hat-rack in "Sunday Jumps". This marvelous routine made headlines in 1997 when digitally altered to feature Astaire dancing with a "Dirt Devil" vacuum cleaner. Friends of the deceased star, and many TV viewers, were appalled. Happily, the commercial was removed. Next, watch for Astaire and Powell sing the interminably titled, but delightful, "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?" This song also returned Astaire to the record best-seller lists. Finally, Astaire and MGM's crew get him dancing on the ceiling in "You're All the World to Me". As anyone with a laptop knows, it's not a difficult special effect; but it's really Astaire, not a spinning room, that makes it magical.

***** Royal Wedding (3/8/51) Stanley Donen ~ Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill

I've only seen two other Fred Astaire vehicles: "Top Hat" and "Swing Time", the more recent of which was made 15 years before this. The improvement is remarkable. At some time perhaps in the 1940s Astaire appears to have been given a charm transplant; in "Royal Wedding", instead of coming across, woodenly, as a bit of a cad, he's a perfectly decent fellow, with all of the human impulses it's easiest to like and intelligence to boot. It's as though he'd been taking lessons from Gene Kelly.

If the earlier dance spectacles are not to be judged too harshly for merely marking time between the breath-taking dance sequences – and I concur, they should not be judged too harshly for this – how much less should this one be judged harshly, with at least four sequences likely to get applause (all four DID get applause, at the screening I attended): the bit where Astaire "rehearses" when his partner doesn't show up by dancing with and around the gym equipment (again, this is exactly the kind of thing Gene Kelly would do); the scene in which he dances on the wall, then the ceiling, then the other wall, then the ceiling again – obviously within a set like the one used in "2001", but Astaire disguises this by finding a different, natural-looking transition from surface to surface each time; the over-the-top "I Left My Hat in Haiti" number; and the superbly performed (well acted and sung as well as well danced) "How Could You Believe Me … etc." routine. Any one of these would be reason enough to dust a mediocre film off and watch it at least once.

But this isn't a mediocre film. It's not just that there are four strong numbers and no weak ones; it's that it DOESN'T merely mark time between them. One thing that this has in common with Donen's other films is its desire to entertain at every moment. It's a light film, even a facetious one… yet we can feel for it, too. There's nothing contrived or pointless about the complication that threatens to thwart True Love. (Whether or not this really IS true love is of course beside the point.) Tom likes the lifestyle of a bachelor, Ellen wants to preserve her career; both characters are genuinely torn for perfectly legitimate reasons, and in fact, there's no way for them to resolve their difficulties except by simply choosing, which is why the sudden, simultaneous decision to get married to their respective partners at the end doesn't feel forced.

I go to watch films I've never heard of and expect very little from, all the time. Why? Because every once in a while, I strike gold.

In the decade following his triumphal comeback in 1948's Easter Parade, Fred Astaire played a succession of slight variations on essentially the same character: a lifelong bachelor and a successful Broadway hoofer putting on a show, who finds time for romance with a woman half his age. Here, he and Jane Powell play a brother-sister song and dance act who separately find romance while on tour in London. The parallel romantic story lines are pretty tame and familiar stuff, and anyway, this sort of movie flies or fails on its musical numbers and this movie has a few famous ones. Fred does an elaborate dance number using a hat rack for a partner when his sister fails to show up for a shipboard rehearsal; the two dance on a rocking ship to comedic effect in a parallel to an actual event in Astaire's life; and Astaire dances on the walls and ceiling of his hotel room in the most famous number in the movie. The latter was a technical marvel at the time, requiring the cameras and crew to be bolted to a rotating frame which moved with the room as it rotated, giving the illusion that the room and camera were standing still on the ground as Astaire went up the walls and across the ceiling! A few of the stage numbers are pretty good, too, although the film loses momentum when the dancing stops. Jane Powell holds her own alongside Astaire in their numbers together, although be warned: her song numbers come from the Jeanette MacDonald school of film vocals and can leave your ears ringing from their shrillness. Enjoy the production numbers and don't expect much in between and you will not be disappointed.

Royal Wedding seems to have it all, great dancing and music, a fun plot, and a somewhat great cast. I say somewhat, for reasons I will get into a little later (as if you haven't noticed by the title of my review). Fred Astaire and Jane Powell star as a brother and sister dance team who are tearing Broadway up and down with their ridiculous show 'Every Night At Seven" (What IS that show about anyways?). Soon, London comes calling, and they want their show. Powell leaves her many boyfriends behind and instantly falls for Peter Lawford who is on the ship to London (wouldn't you?). Soon they're in London, and Astaire also falls in love, with a British dame played by Sarah Churchill. Soon, they're wondering if they should get married or not and sacrifice their careers! I mean, it's romantic trifle, but it's GOOD romantic trifle. I'm a little surprised that this movie is in the public domain! This film has two of Astaire's most famous dances on it, the one in the gym and the props, and the one where he's dancing on the ceiling. Both of these are very well done, and just cements further, as if it needed any more cementing, that Astaire was the greatest dancer the silver screen ever saw. Jane Powell is also surprisingly good here as the somewhat trampy sister act. I liked her a lot. The BIG problem I had with this movie though, was just the horsefaced Sarah Churchill as Fred Astaire's love interest. Can't dance, can't act, I mean, how does a guy fall in love with HER? This was the only thing that was keeping this movie down.

ROYAL WEDDING was a colorful and splashy MGM musical that turned out to be one of Fred Astaire's best offerings, despite the initial trouble insuring a leading lady for the project. The film was originally planned for Fred and June Allyson, who had to drop out when she learned she was pregnant. Judy Garland was then approached, as the studio had been anxious to reunite her with Astaire since their triumph in EASTER PARADE, but Judy began her now-famous behavior patterns of showing up late on the set all the time or not at all, and Astaire was not having that, so Jane Powell was finally brought in to take the role. Astaire and Powell play Tom and Ellen Bowen, a brother and sister song and dance team who have been tapped to perform at a royal wedding in London (I believe it's the Queen who has requested they perform), so they take a cruise ship to London. On the ship Ellen meets a debonair playboy (Peter Lawford) and at the London auditions, Tom falls for a dancer (Sarah Churchill)who he casts in the chorus of his show. This breezy plot provides the backdrop for several showstopping numbers, the most famous of which is "You're all the World to Me" in which Astaire, while staring at a photo of Churchill, is so head over heels in love that he dances on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Movie historians have argued for years about how this scene was done and frankly, I don't care...it's such a joyous expression of love through dance that nothing else really matters. Astaire also has a solo called "Sunday Jumps" where his partner is a hat rack and, as always, Fred makes his partner look good. There's also a showstopping duet with Astaire and Powell called "How Could you Believe me when I said I loved you when you know I've been a liar all my life?" which features Fred as a slick gangster and a surprising Powell, as a brunette, gum-chewing floozy. Liner notes from the soundtrack album claim that this song was written by composers Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane in a limo on the way to the studio one day. Despite a wooden performance from Sarah Churchill, daughter of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, this musical is a joy and one of the best from the MGM stable.

This movie features some of the most famous dance scenes by Fred Astaire, such as the one where he dances on the walls and ceiling.

That particularly dance is impressive because the special-effects made it look realistic. Kudos to the filmmakers for doing that in a film that is 55 years old. Astaire also did a clever number earlier with a hat rack and did two entertaining dances with Jane Powell.

The dancing was the only good thing in the film. Most of the story deals with romances between Powell and Peter Lawford and Astaire and Sarah Churchill. The latter look a little old for the normal young-romance type angles viewers are used to seeing in films. Facially, Fred looked like he had been ill. He just didn't look good. Powell looked fine but her soprano voice almost broke my TV tube. It was brutal.

Since those famous Astaire dances can be seen on "That's Entertainment" tapes or DVDs, there was no reason to keep this film.

It's hard to pick one of Fred Astaire's movies as a favorite or as his best! But of course Royal Wedding has to hit the top of the classics simply for the famous "dance on the ceiling".

Jane Powell plays his sister and does a very nice job, considering she and Fred never practiced any dance routines together before shooting the film! A must-see for Astaire fans, and if you're not a fan, watch this film and you will be!

"Royal Wedding" boasts two great dance moments. In the first, Fred Astaire softshoes with a hatrack for a partner. In the other, he literally dances his way completely around a room, from floor to ceiling and back again.

Alas, Astaire's A-game moments aren't enough to distract one from the pitfalls of "Royal Wedding," a thinly-plotted musical with uninspired songs and a cast that ranges from game to gamey. Using the wedding of England's then-Princess Elizabeth as a backdrop, the movie seems to suffer from a terminal case of Anglophilia.

Astaire and Jane Powell are Tom and Ellen Bowen, a brother-and-sister dance team who gladly jump on a boat to escape muggy New York for London, not quite swinging yet but pretty festive what with all this wedding business. Soon, romance is in the air for the dancers as well, as she meets a British lord and he a dancer hopelessly holding out for her fiancé in America.

There's not much else going on here, which is too bad. For while a musical isn't expected to have complex characters or Mamet-style plots, it needs a little something beyond star power to get the audience interested in what's going on. "Royal Wedding" has Astaire and Powell, two terrific performers saddled with bland songs, uninvolving dance numbers, and romantic partners who make incest seem preferable for our heroes.

That's especially true for Peter Lawford, whose last name should have been "Principle" for it certainly applied to him. He plays a caddish lord who sweeps Ellen off her feet. Given that she seems to enjoy the sport of making romantic overtures to men she then abandons, it would probably serve her right to find herself victimized by a non-noble imposter, yet Lawford's character is on the square (he couldn't have played it any other way). Their romance follows a smug and uninteresting course.

Astaire's love interest Anne is played by Sarah Churchill, who dances pleasantly and doesn't look too bad but seems to be cast in an uncomfortably load-bearing role as a nod of American respect to her father Winston, a great man in my eyes but not exactly Michael Redgrave in the actress-siring department.

There's also dull comedy, much of it in the form of Keenan Wynn's dual role as Transatlantic twins who talk past each other in their unconvincing slang. "Dig?" "Pip!" Director Stanley Donan tries to work some humor in the dance routines, but having the Bowens shipboard shimmy shattered by a shaky shipdeck just doesn't work either for laughs or hoofing. Nor do all the nods at stereotypical Brits who say things like "Cheerio" and only seem to live for the chance of waving at the Royal Carriage. While Powell and Astaire do dance well together, the numbers just don't grab you like they should, technically brilliant, perhaps, but unengaging.

No, you basically have just two great solo dance moments in "Royal Wedding." The remarkable thing about the ceiling-dancing number, now that we understand the how of it, is how well Astaire sells it by playing with audience expectation. No sooner are you comfortable with him dancing on one side of the frame then, with a subtle movement to disguise the fact the set has now been turned 90 degrees, he finds another side of the frame to jump upon, looking as natural as Spider-Man in the process. The hatrack dance is even better for my money, an engaging number all the brighter because its presented as a low-key workout even as Astaire manages some more gravity-defying, without the aid of camera tricks this time.

Since one of these numbers later became a vacuum commercial and the other a Lionel Ritchie video, it's nice to see them here as they were originally intended. Even a bad film is redeemed when Astaire gets going, and he does. But otherwise this Royal Wedding is strictly a Camilla rather than a Diana affair.