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Films: A is for...

April in Paris

Yep, it’s a Doris Day film again, of the sort shown on British TV with such frequency as to make British TV’s parents ask nervous questions about its sexuality after its gone to bed, but hold fast, as this has one doozy of a scene. Ray Bolger, the Scarecrow off of that fruity yellow road flick, is a White House minion in the Oval Office pretending he’s the president, as presumably all White House staff are required to do by law. He gives an imaginary State of the Union address. “The state of each state is greeeeat!” he bellows, then goes into a chirpy song about everything being “bright and breezy”, then the tap-dancing starts and ends up dancing with Washington and Lincoln, who “come to life” in pictures on the wall. There’s the old ‘foot stuck in wastepaper basket but hey, let’s incorporate it into the dance anyway’ bit too. Then he falls asleep on the presidential settee. No authorities on musicals and/or dancing ever mention this scene, so we assume it’s not a classic in the annals of film criticism, but who cares, the mere thought of it puts a grin on our face, and we can’t have seen it ourselves in at least fifteen years. Other things happen in the film, but sod them.

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