Spring, the Sweet Spring
from Summer’s Last Will and Testament by Thomas Nashe (1600)
from Summer’s Last Will and Testament by Thomas Nashe (1600)
Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king,
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
The palm and may make country houses gay,
Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day,
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,
Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit,
In every street these tunes our ears do greet:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to witta-woo!
Don Hewes (Fred Astaire), a Broadway star, is out buying Easter presents for his sweetheart, starting with a hat and some flowers ("Happy Easter"). Then he goes into a toy shop, and buys a cuddly Easter rabbit, after persuading a young boy to part with it and buy a set of drums instead ("Drum Crazy"). He takes the gifts to his dancing partner, Nadine Hale (Ann Miller). She explains that she has had an offer for a show, which would feature her as a solo star. Don tries to change her mind, and it looks as if he has succeeded ("It Only Happens When I Dance With You"), until an old friend of Don's, Johnny (Peter Lawford), turns up. Nadine reveals that she and Don are no longer a team. It becomes obvious that Nadine is attracted to Johnny.
Meanwhile, Nadine's show opens, and Don goes to see it ("Shakin' The Blues Away"). He is the only member of the audience who seems unimpressed. Hannah goes to dinner at Don's, only to have him suggest a rehearsal. She is upset and tells him that he's "nothing but a pair of dancing shoes" and that he doesn't see her as a woman, but as a dancing aid. Hannah is particularly annoyed that Don doesn't notice her new clothes and all the effort she has made for him. She turns to walk out, but Don stops her as he finally realizes that he loves Hannah and they embrace. The couple take part in a variety show, with a solo by Don ("Steppin' Out With My Baby"), and then the most famous number in the film ("A Couple of Swells"), in which Don and Hannah play a pair of street urchins with vivid imaginations.
She ends up at the bar where she and Don first met. There she pours out her troubles to Mike, the bartender ("Better Luck Next Time"). Later that night, Don tries to explain that he was forced to dance with Nadine, but Hannah will not listen. She thinks Don used her to make Nadine jealous and win her back. Don tells her that he'll wait all night for her to forgive him, but just as Hannah opens the door, Don is kicked out of her building by the doorman, who has heard his yelling. Eventually, Don's apologies reach her and she arrives unexpectedly at his house the following morning, as if the argument had never happened. She brings gifts as well, including an Easter rabbit inside a new top hat. Don is a little confused by this turn of events, but is persuaded by his valet that he should just listen to Hannah and go out. As they walk in the Easter parade, photographers, echoing a scene with Nadine from the beginning of the film, take their pictures and Don proposes to her ("Easter Parade").
Other films include: “New Toys” (1925), “The Dark Corner” (1946), “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College” (1949), “Cheaper by the Dozen” (as efficiency expert ‘Frank Gilbreth’), “For Heaven's Sake” (1950), “Elopement” and “Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell” (1951), “Dreamboat” and “Stars and Stripes Forever” (as ‘John Philip Sousa’) (1952), “Mister Scoutmaster” and “Titanic” (1953), “Three Coins in the Fountain” and “Woman's World” (1954), “The Man Who Never Was” (1956), “Boy on a Dolphin” (1957),“The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker” and “Holiday for Lovers” (1959), and “Satan Never Sleeps” (1962). He never married and lived with his mother until her death in 1960. Clifton Webb died of a heart attack on October 13, 1966 in Beverly Hills, California at age 76. 
