It comes through on screen and in the interview. Pure class.

I loved her in brigadoon. It is my favorite musical ever.

How wonderful to share this. She was phenomenal and this exudes onscreen.

Wow you were so fortunate!!!

There were many tales of Cyd high-hatting colleagues and underlings at Culver City. Her predecessor as Metro's #1 dancer, Eleanor Powell, had been a sweetheart. The contrast was felt. Cyd seems to have relaxed after her movie heyday, responding to the warmth given off by live audiences. She knew she was not a singer or a good actress (except when playing a haughty, cold character in 'Silk Stockings', tellingly enough) and the 'I'm a prima ballerina' attitude that MGM people resented may have been down to nerves. In motion she came alive, though as late as 'Meet Me in Las Vegas' she remains a tiny bit condescending. This was also a 'breaking down the cultural snob' role. It wore off in the end, or mutated into gracious reminiscence. Tony Martin, a laid-back fellow, may have helped to defrost her.

you bet! I was born in 1935 .- so I was 15 in 1950 and watched the premieres of all those gorgeous films! happily we can see them again now through the magic of computers - and Marxism is bullsh* beyond doubt

I found an old program from when I saw her with the family in "No No Nanette" in Melbourne. I had forgotten I had seen her in it.

@@BabyFaceBren Amazing! Tku

Really, I have to watch a clip of her EVERY day!!

She did not sing, she had ghosts. Most critics would not rate her hughly as an actress. Her pluses were beauty and sexiness, though her dancing generated more heat than warmth. Moviegoers were in awe of her, but she did not inspire affection like Ginger Rogers or Ruby Keeler, and nary a spark flies with Kelly in 'Brigadoon'; so little that in 'It's Always Fair Weather' there is no romantic duet for them. Cyd always seemed to be cast as a dream girl on a pedestal, unless Fred was lifting her and putting her on the ground, in 'The Band Wagon' and 'Silk Stockings'. Kelly was too self-absorbed to pitch woo as elegantly.

How does one insure a pair of legs? When can one make a claim and collect the insurance on a pair of legs?

JACK ANTHONY Go read Wikipedia about CID Charisse under “Later Years” and it says she had a $5 million policy taken out on her legs. She was featured in the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records for having the “Most Valuable Legs”. I guess it the same as all the athletes taking out insurance policies in case of a career ending injury.

@@wcn111 Yes, I see the correlation. But all movie actors are insured before production begins. If an actor is uninsurable then they cannot be hired. For example, I read that Lindsey Lohan is uninsurable for movie acting because of her drug history.

That was Betty Grable.

Elizabeth Anderson go to Wikipedia under “Later Years” and it tells about the insurance policy. And yes, Betty Grable had nice legs too. It says her studio insured her legs for $1 million as a publicity stunt.

Two pieces of Cyd trivia I didn’t know. Thanks

She had a very special magic that you can't define. I hate to admit it but I'd I had ever actually seen her for real, my knees would have buckled and my heart exploded.

If you're on Amazon Prime "Silk Stockings" is a free movie. I believe KZfaq has earlier movies of Cyd with Ricardo that could be free too.

Agreed

My thoughts exactly.

And someday.. you will inspire someone to dance!

That's great. I wish you every success.

Yep, beginning when she was just a kid.

I don't know about Cyd Charisse being a magnificent singer as her singing voice in films was usually dubbed by India Adams as Miss Adams will attest to. Cyd was marketed primarily for her dancing. As far as her acting is concerned, when the dancing musicals were over, Cyd had very few takers for her dramatic abilities. After Cyd's contract with MGM was over in 1958 Cyd's film career became practically non-existent. However she reinvented a new career for herself in nightclubs.

@@jackanthony976 By 1960, the heyday of the grand Hollywood musical was over...even for Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Astaire was very successful going over to television making several wonderful specials that garnered him numerous Emmys. Kelly gave up dancing to successfully go into movie and television dramatic acting and especially directing. So Cyd's career paralleled those two awesome men's...as well as all the other fantastic musical stars of that era. They all had to go into dramatical or comedic roles more and more as time went on to be relevant.

@@jackanthony976 A book called 'The MGM Girls' asserts that ladies such as Cyd, Debbie, Ann and Jane Powell made far more money in cabaret or starring in stage shows than under contract to Mayer and Schary. Roadshow tours such as 'Mame' and 'Hello Dolly' did SRO business with film fans who remembered the classic era of musicals.

@@esmeephillips5888 Yes, It makes sense that these ladies would make more money starring in stage shows. It seems that former musical film audiences shifted their attendance from movie theatres to stage shows. In the late 1960's Frank Sinatra once remarked how he could command huge salaries in Vegas and pack the house every night but those same audiences won't go see his movies or even buy his records any more but they will travel and pay to see him in Vegas.

I love your trivia, Jack.

Did you know the film was eventually made as "Move Over Darling"? Sorry if that's in the documentary, it's been a while since I saw it. Doris Day, James Garner and Polly Bergen starred and it's a good film (imho) but I still prefer the original ("My Favorite Wife"). With Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. It quite eerie seeing that swimming pool scene with Doris after seeing the aborted film version with Marilyn. Also interesting watching "My Favorite Wife" and then "Move OVer Darling". Many scenes are duplicated almost exactly (like Grant's/Garner's double-take as the elevator doors close as he sees his "late" wife)

@@BabyFaceBren I was just going to say My Favorite Wife came first! 😂😂 1940. I love Cary Grant and Irene Dunne; they made a few movies together. It’s funny how there are very few original plots, so many movies resembled each other, spoofs and remakes, like “Matt Helm” vs “James Bond”, same concept.

But would he have left her for Marilyn????😳🇬🇧

translation: "I admire you. The choreographies are exceptional. Your lifestyle is wonderful. VAT Rosa Blanca Gray from General Roca Río Negro North Patagonia Argentina"

You aren't alone. Of all the TCM snippets I have uploaded, the "lovely and talented' Cyd EASILY gets the most comments!

Cyd died in 2008, so I'd think her legs have done the opposite.

BabyFaceBren Well damn, lol...

Rude and childish

Hmmm, leaving that one alone

Thank you for the hearted comment. Do you know of a Hollywood Actress of today that may compare with Miss Charisse? Best regards: DRS / RVN Vet.

An unsubstantiated story. Admittedly Madame Ambassador herself told it, but there were no witnesses and AFAIK Freed was never accused of such behavior by other actresses, though he had a tentative go at Lucille Bremer. By and large MGM, from Mayer downward, was not a casting-couch hellscape- unlike 20th and Columbia, where the fish stank from the head.

@@esmeephillips5888 So Temple lied just to sell books and Freed just had 'a go at" Lucille Bremer. Riggghhhht.

@@DDumbrille Yes, that is a fair summary of probabilities. Happy to have convinced you.

Translation: "A beautiful woman!!!"

nice

translation: "The most beautiful and elegant ballerina in the world. There is no one better than her yet".

👍😊 ​@@BabyFaceBren

Think it's more that the music has changed. No more beautiful love songs, clever lyrics or real melody. Today, it's all just beat. There are plenty of singers today with good voices, but they can't get anywhere in the business unless they sing today's music. Styles change, but many of us were lucky to enjoy real musicality, grace, and people who trained for years to improve their natural talent.

No, she passed in 2008 or so. I believe this interview was in the late 90s.

Sorry, I don't know. Definitely pre-June 2008.

Late 90s...Cyd was in her mid 70s then

пожалуйста!

Dunno. Tula Ellice Finklea? Maybe it would've been too many lights for her name in lights?

You're welcome

World War II made strange bed-fellows of us all. Much like 1943's The North Star, I suspect those two latter-produced movies were intended to drum up support for our Russian Allies. The intent somewhat backfired in later years, but eh, they tried their best.

@@alleviation91 A favorite of mine in that corner of Hollywood is 'Days of Glory' with Gregory Peck, the future star of 'The Boys from Brazil', as a heroic commissar. Which were worse: the pro-communist films of the mid-Forties or the Red-bashing ones which immediately followed?

"hive of leftists" is Hollywood today