MOVIES

 Eugene Curran Kelly was born 100 years ago on August 23, 1912, a Pittsburgh native of Irish descent. Enrolled in dance courses by his mother at an early age, Kelly initially rebelled, but is said to have gotten back into dance at age 15 as a good way to get girls. Educated in economics at first, Kelly dropped out of law school to pursue dance full time—first at his family’s studio, but ultimately in New York where he moved for work on Broadway. His leading role in a 1940 production of Rodgers and Hart’s Pal Joey resulted in the offers from Hollywood that would make him a full-fledged star by decade’s end.

XANADU

Dir. Robert Greenwald, USA, 1980, 93 min., PG, 35mm

Gene Kelly's final feature film appearance is in this phantasmagoric '80s musical that blends rollerdisco, big band dance numbers, Greek mythology, street art, and the transformative power of dance. As impresario Danny McGuire, Kelly becomes involved in a plan to reawaken an old dance hall with the new sound and swing of rollerdisco. With the help of actual Muse Olivia Newton-John and The Warriors' Michael Beck, the decades will mesh, and the Pleasuredome of old shall live again. With songs by ELO and The Tubes, animation by Don Bluth, and a glorious, classic Hollywood heart. Come, then, to a place where nobody dared to go...