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Busby Berkeley is a Actor, Director, Co-Director, Music Director and Choreographer American born on 29 november 1895 at Los Angeles (USA)

Busby Berkeley

Busby Berkeley
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Birth name Busby Berkeley William Enos
Nationality USA
Birth 29 november 1895 at Los Angeles (USA)
Death 14 march 1976 (at 80 years) at Palm Springs (USA)

Busby Berkeley, born Busby Berkeley William Enos, (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berkeley's works used large numbers of showgirls and props as fantasy elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances.

Biography

Il a principalement laissé son nom pour avoir créé, dans les comédies musicales américaines des années 1930, de stupéfiants tableaux visuels jouant sur les contrastes forts entre le noir et le blanc de la pellicule. Par le nombre des danseurs, leurs positions et leur synchronisation, les changements de décors à vue et de savants jeux d'ombres ou de reflets, Busby Berkeley a pu composer un grand nombre de ses chorégraphies sur des formes géométriques et des transitions parfois très complexes. Ses mouvements de caméras préférés étaient faits de plongées verticales depuis le plafond des studios les plus hauts et de longs plans-séquences en travellings. Des déplacements rapides de caméra sur câbles lui permettaient de débuter en plan large et lointain pour finir souvent, sans montage visible, sur le détail d'un visage ou les paillettes d'un décor.
Parfois réalisateur de seconde équipe, il lui arrivait d'éclipser, en un seul tableau, tout le reste du film, son intrigue et même ses acteurs vedettes. Il sera, à ce titre, appelé à venir "racommoder" de coûteuses productions qui semblaient, sans une intervention énergique, vouées à l'échec.
Son passé de sous-officier instructeur dans l'armée américaine permet de mieux comprendre la minutie d'un metteur en scène qui, grâce à une autorité souvent redoutée, pouvait composer à la perfection de savants mouvements kaléïdoscopiques mêlant hommes, femmes, accessoires fluorescents et décors mouvants. Son habileté à tirer le meilleur parti des contraintes du noir et blanc lui aura permis d'égaler les plus grands réalisateurs et d'être ainsi l'un des promoteurs d'un style " Art déco" qui disparaîtra bientôt avec le Technicolor.

Best films

Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
(Director)
Strike Up the Band (1940)
(Director)
Romance on the High Seas (1948)
(Director)
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
(Director)
42nd Street (1933)
(Director)
Lady Be Good (1941)
(Director)

Usually with

George Amy
George Amy
(10 films)
Orry-Kelly
Orry-Kelly
(14 films)
Dick Powell
Dick Powell
(12 films)
Perc Westmore
Perc Westmore
(8 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Busby Berkeley (54 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Gold Diggers of 1933, 1h36
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers
Roles Call Boy (uncredited)
Rating76% 3.844943.844943.844943.844943.84494
The "gold diggers" are four aspiring actresses: Polly the ingenue (Ruby Keeler), Carol the torch singer (Joan Blondell), Trixie the comedienne (Aline MacMahon), and Fay the glamour puss (Ginger Rogers).
Footlight Parade, 1h44
Directed by Busby Berkeley, Lloyd Bacon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd
Rating74% 3.7447853.7447853.7447853.7447853.744785
Chester Kent (James Cagney) replaces his failing career as a director of Broadway musicals with a new one as the creator of musical numbers called "prologues", short live stage productions presented in movie theaters before the main feature is shown. He faces pressure from his business partners to constantly create a large number of marketable prologues to service theaters throughout the country, but his job is made harder by a rival who is stealing his ideas, probably with assistance from someone working inside his company. Kent is so overwhelmed with work that he doesn't realize that his secretary, Nan (Joan Blondell), has fallen in love with him, and is doing her best to protect him.
Palmy Days
Palmy Days (1931)
, 1h17
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Musical films
Actors Eddie Cantor, Charlotte Greenwood, George Raft, Barbara Weeks, Spencer Charters, Charles Middleton
Roles Fortune Teller (uncredited)
Rating68% 3.441283.441283.441283.441283.44128
Dans une fabrique de gâteaux, le professeur de gymnastique du personnel féminin rend visite à son voyant, un escroc, pour savoir quand elle rencontrera l'homme de sa vie. Il lui prédit une rencontre éminente et lui envoie son assistant.

Director

The Blue Veil, 1h53
Directed by Busby Berkeley, Curtis Bernhardt
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Jane Wyman, Charles Laughton, Joan Blondell, Richard Carlson, Agnes Moorehead, Don Taylor
Rating71% 3.5817353.5817353.5817353.5817353.581735
Following the death of her newborn baby, war widow LouLou Mason accepts a temporary two-week assignment as nursemaid to the infant son of corset manufacturer Frederick K. Begley, who lost his wife in childbirth. She ingratiates herself with the family and eventually becomes a permanent fixture. When she declines Frederick's proposal, he marries his secretary Alicia Torgersen, who fires LouLou following her honeymoon.
Annie Get Your Gun, 1h47
Directed by Busby Berkeley, George Sidney, Charles Walters, John Waters
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Action, Musical, Romance, Western
Themes Circus films, Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Musical films, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals
Actors Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Benay Venuta, Louis Calhern, Edward Arnold, Keenan Wynn
Rating68% 3.447443.447443.447443.447443.44744
Annie Oakley (Betty Hutton), jeune fille extrêmement douée avec sa carabine est remarqué par Buffalo Bill (Louis Calhern) et intègre le Wild West Show. Pour le spectacle elle est confrontée à Frank E. Butler (Howard Keel), la star du tir à qui elle vole rapidement la vedette. Malgré la rivalité professionnelle, une histoire d'amour naît entre les deux tireurs.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game, 1h33
Directed by Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Sports films, Baseball films, Musical films
Actors Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin, Edward Arnold
Rating66% 3.3490453.3490453.3490453.3490453.349045
Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a period piece set in 1908. The plot revolves around a fictional American League team, the Wolves, and two of its players, Eddie O'Brien (Gene Kelly) and Dennis Ryan (Frank Sinatra), who are also part-time vaudevillians.
Romance on the High Seas, 1h39
Directed by Michael Curtiz, Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Doris Day, Oscar Levant, S.Z. Sakall
Rating69% 3.4962353.4962353.4962353.4962353.496235
Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) and her husband Michael (Don DeFore) suspect each other of cheating. For their wedding anniversary, Elvira books an ocean cruise to Rio de Janeiro but her husband claims that unexpected business will prevent him from going. Seeing an opportunity, Elvira pretends to take the trip alone, but in fact sends singer Georgia Garrett (Doris Day), a woman she'd met at the travel agency, in her place and under her name. By secretly staying behind, Elvira hopes to find out if Michael is indeed sneaking around behind her back. Michael, however, is suspicious over Elvira's supposed willingness to go on the trip alone, and so hires private detective Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) to see if she is sneaking around behind his back.
Till the Clouds Roll By, 2h12
Directed by Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley, Richard Whorf, Henry Koster
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Musical
Themes Dance films, Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Judy Garland, Lucille Bremer, Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Van Heflin, Robert Walker
Rating62% 3.147363.147363.147363.147363.14736
La véritable histoire du célèbre compositeur Jerome Kern. Lors de la première représentation de la comédie musicale "Show Boat" à Broadway, le légendaire compositeur Jerome Kern se remémore avec émotion ses débuts et les différentes étapes de sa prestigieuse carrière...
Cinderella Jones, 1h31
Directed by Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Joan Leslie, Robert Alda, Julie Bishop, William Prince, S.Z. Sakall, Edward Everett Horton
Rating52% 2.6157952.6157952.6157952.6157952.615795
Struggling singer Judy Jones (Leslie) discovers she's entitled to a multi-million-dollar fortune, as long as she can live up to the terms of her late uncle's will. To collect her inheritance, Jones must marry an intellectual genius. Jones ditches her boyfriend, bandleader Tommy Coles (Alda), and matriculates at an elite university for the super-intelligent. On campus, Jones struggles to win the heart of a dashing professor, Bartholomew Williams (Prince).
Cabin in the Sky, 1h38
Directed by Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Fantasy, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Musical films, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals
Actors Ethel Waters, Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne, Rex Ingram, Oscar Polk, Mantan Moreland
Rating70% 3.54473.54473.54473.54473.5447
Little Joe, a man killed over gambling debts, is restored to life by angelic powers and given six months to redeem his soul and become worthy of entering Heaven—otherwise he will be condemned to Hell. Secretly guided by "The General" (the Lord's Angel), Little Joe gives up his shiftless ways and becomes a hardworking, generous, and loving husband to his wife Petunia, whom he had previously neglected. Unfortunately, demon Lucifer Jr. (the son of Satan himself), is determined to drag Little Joe to Hell. Lucifer arranges for Joe to become wealthy by winning a lottery, reintroduces Joe to beautiful gold-digger Georgia Brown, and manipulates marital discord between Joe and Petunia. Little Joe abandons his wife for Georgia, and the two embark on a life of hedonistic pleasure. As Little Joe and Georgia celebrate at a nightclub one evening, Petunia joins them, determined to win Joe back. Little Joe fights with Domino for Petunia and she prays for God to destroy the nightclub. A cyclone appears and leaves the nightclub in ruins, as Joe and Petunia lie dead in the ruins after being shot by Domino. Just as it appears that Joe's soul is lost forever, the angelic General informs him that Georgia was so affected by the tragedy that she has donated all the money that he had given her to the church. On this technicality, Little Joe is allowed to go to Heaven with Petunia. As the two climb the Celestial Stairs, Joe suddenly wakes in his own bed. He had not been killed in the initial gambling-debt fracas—he had only received a concussion, and all his supposed dealings with angels and demons were only a fever dream. Now genuinely reformed, Little Joe begins a new, happy life with his loving Petunia.
The Gang's All Here, 1h43
Directed by Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Children's films
Actors Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Eugene Pallette, Edward Everett Horton, Jeanne Crain, Charlotte Greenwood
Rating65% 3.2927153.2927153.2927153.2927153.292715
Wealthy businessman Andrew J. "A. J." Mason, Sr. takes his nervous partner, Peyton Potter, to the Club New Yorker for a celebratory evening with his son, Sgt. Andrew J. Mason, Jr., who is about to report for active duty in the Army. A. J. and Andy enjoy the show, which features master of ceremonies Phil Baker and dancer Tony De Marco, while Potter worries about what his wife Blossom would say if she knew he was there. While Potter is trapped into dancing with Brazilian sensation Dorita, Andy becomes intrigued by entertainer Eadie Allen. Phil warns Andy that because Eadie dances at the Broadway Canteen between shows, she will not go out on a date with him, but Andy follows her to the canteen and tells her that his name is Sgt. Pat Casey so that she will not be intimidated by his wealth. Despite her insistence that she cannot date servicemen outside the canteen, Eadie is charmed by Andy and agrees to meet him later when he pursues her to the nightclub. Eadie and Andy spend the evening talking and falling in love, and the next day, Eadie bids him farewell at the train station and promises to write every day. Andy distinguishes himself in battle in the South Pacific, and is granted a furlough after being awarded a medal. A. J. is thrilled and plans to throw a welcome home party for Andy at the Club New Yorker. Phil cannot accommodate his plans, however, as the club is closed for two weeks while the company rehearses a new show. Munificent as always, A. J. invites the performers to rehearse at his and Potter's homes, where they can throw a lavish garden party and war bond rally to welcome Andy. Potter is perturbed about the arrangements when he learns that Blossom knows Phil from her former days as an entertainer, and his chagrin grows when Tony's partner cannot perform and he asks Potter's daughter Vivian to dance with him. Hoping to persuade the stodgy Potter to allow Vivian to perform, Blossom tells him that Phil has threatened to reveal her wild past if Vivian is not in the show. Potter acquiesces, but his problems grow when he is pursued by the romantic-minded Dorita. When not chasing Potter, Dorita learns that Vivian has a boyfriend named Andy, and that he and Eadie's "Casey" are the same man. Complications arise as Dorita tries to keep Vivian and Eadie from discovering Andy's deception. When Andy and the real Pat Casey arrive at the club, however, Eadie learns the truth. Andy proclaims that he wants to marry her and not Vivian, but Eadie insists on breaking off their relationship, as she believes that Vivian really cares for him. During the show, however, Vivian tells Eadie that she is going to Broadway to perform as Tony's permanent partner, and reveals that she and Andy were never truly in love. As the show comes to a close, Eadie and Andy reconcile, and everyone joins in the final song.
Girl Crazy
Girl Crazy (1943)
, 1h39
Directed by Norman Taurog, Busby Berkeley, William A. Seiter
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance, Western
Themes Dance films, Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Films about classical music and musicians, Jazz films, Musical films, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals
Actors Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, June Allyson, Gil Stratton, Nancy Walker, Rags Ragland
Rating67% 3.3948553.3948553.3948553.3948553.394855
Le jeune et riche Danny Churchill ne s'intéresse qu'aux filles, au vin et à la musique. Qu'à cela ne tienne, son père décide de l'envoyer dans un établissement scolaire strict où aucune présence féminine n'est tolérée. Mais la rencontre du jeune homme avec la dénommée Ginger Gray va changer la donne.