Royal Wedding

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Royal Wedding

1951,

1h 32m,

Musical

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Watchlist

90%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

American sibling song-and-dance team Tom (Fred Astaire) and Ellen Bowen (Jane Powell) are in London in 1947, when all of England is in a tizzy over the impending nuptials of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Ellen falls head over heels for the dashing Lord John Brindale (Peter Lawford), and Tom becomes equally smitten with the elegant Anne Ashmond (Sarah Churchill). The film features one of Astaire's most legendary dance performances, dancing across the ceiling of a hotel room.

Critics Consensus

Vintage MGM musical stuff, characterized by Stanley Donen's fleet direction and some amazing dance performances from star Fred Astaire.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Nov 14, 2016

Almost wall-to-wall dancing, with a vengeance.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Aug 6, 2008

This is an engaging concoction of songs and dances in a standard musical framework, brightly dressed in color to show off its physical attributes.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

A pleasant enough score by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner, helped out by Donen's stylish direction.

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Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

Dec 29, 2018

6/10

...for just a moment in Stanley Donen's Royal Wedding we believe that love can make us weightless.

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Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

Jul 5, 2014

6/10

It looks like a million bucks, and it's easy to like, and for [producer Arthur] Freed, that was what mattered.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Jul 26, 2011

B+

The plot of this Stanley Donen musical is slender, but it doesn't matter as it features some of Astaire's best dancing, including a number in which he dances on the walls and ceiling.

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Luke R

Feb 13, 2019

Absolutely dreadful. These dancing guys were strange, to say the least. A 50 year old man with a 20 year old sister?? Really? I guess that's better than the typical treatment of them falling in love. Usually these tip toe men are dancing perverts on screen: attacking the youngest and best looking teenager they can find. However, Astaire is much better than Gene Kelly, who is self-absorbed and arrogant. Astaire seems to be a decent guy at least. As to the hyped "dancing on the ceiling"...are you kidding? This is another Hollywood trick that anyone could do. No talent required. Why hype this as something great and special? 1951 was not that backward. As to Astaire's choices of clothing, let's all just groan. Like Gene Kelly, he is hopelessly unstylish and ridiculous in attire. Jane Powell is gorgeous and has class and talent. She is the star of this film.

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Feb 2, 2019

The best musical romance movie ever made!

Hagrid R

Aug 14, 2017

Thankfully, you can skip through the parts that just don't hold up. In my case that's every time someone sings without dancing. Don't miss the ship board dance on the rolling sea. Remember, when they fall down, there are no stunt doubles. My favorite number is "How can I believe you when you've been a liar all your life," involving the tricky business of singing, dancing and chewing gum at the same time. Of course we all love the dancing up the walls bit, which holds up even now. The plot is so weak it's completely maddening. By the way, the official blurb for this movie doesn't even get it right. They don't actually attend the Royal Wedding. Fred Astaire's love interest is the daughter of a pubkeeper. I guess no one paid or pays attention to the plot, then or now.

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Harry L

Jul 13, 2017

dancing on the ceiling is a must-watch, even if you eon't like musicals!

Kylo L

Jun 30, 2017

This wonderful little Astaire rom-com immediately felt like a cozy blanket that's always been with me. My knowledge is admittedly limited, but it's my favorite of Freddy's films: a familiar but appealing story, quick screwball dialogue ("How could you believe me when I said I love you when you know I've been a liar all my life?), great chemistry between the brother-sister leads, all peppered with randomly colorful and impressively catchy musical numbers. Top-notch, fluffy Hollywood entertainment.

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Stanley Donen

Director

Fred Astaire

Tom Bowen

Jane Powell

Ellen Bowen

Peter Lawford

Lord John Brindale

Sarah Churchill

Anne Ashmond

Keenan Wynn

Irving Klinger

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Synopsis

American sibling song-and-dance team Tom (Fred Astaire) and Ellen Bowen (Jane Powell) are in London in 1947, when all of England is in a tizzy over the impending nuptials of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Ellen falls head over heels for the dashing Lord John Brindale (Peter Lawford), and Tom becomes equally smitten with the elegant Anne Ashmond (Sarah Churchill). The film features one of Astaire's most legendary dance performances, dancing across the ceiling of a hotel room.

Director: Stanley Donen
Producer: Arthur Freed
Screenwriter: Alan Jay Lerner, Alan Jay Lerner
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Take 2 Video, Madacy Entertainment Group Inc. [us], Bridgestone Multimedia, UAV Entertainment, Hollywood Classics, Reel Media International [us]
Production Co: Loew's Inc., Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 23, 1951, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 2, 2014
Runtime: 1h 32m
Sound Mix: Mono

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