Yolanda & The Thief (1945)

a slight correction

The numerous revues already appended essentially cover most of the ground I'd address, so I'll offer a correction to the lady from Tempe, Arizona, who made the point that this particular film was one of the few in which Astaire wasn't responsibly for choreographing his own routines.

In actual fact, Astaire rarely choreographed his own work, unlike Gene Kelly - he could hardly have appeared in as many films, and danced so many numbers, had he been saddled with this extra burden.

The reality is that Hermes Pan choreographed most of Astaire's work, and their collaborative work on such fine films as 'Top Hat' is what most readily springs to mind when people think of classic Astaire dance numbers. Astaire trusted Pan implicitly, and the two were legendary for the amount of time and effort that they'd put in to rehearsals - those seemingly effortless solo routines were the product of hours and days of hard work, sweat, and fine tuning. Not for nothing did Astaire go through hundreds of pairs of dance shoes! January 27, 2007

MGM AND TURNER NEED TO JOIN THE MILLENIUM

Its time for Turner MGM/Warner to get with it and put anything with Fred Astair on Dolby Digital Re-mastered DVD immediately... These movies deserve to be seen in the best possible light and now is the time!! May 6, 2006

Yolanda And The Thief

Fred Astaire is the thief of the title, namely Johnny Riggs, a dapper con-man travelling the mythical South American land of Patria. Lucille Bremer co-stars as Yolanda, a naive, sheltered young woman, and heiress to the wealthiest family in the land.

Their paths cross when Johnny overhears Yolanda's plea for a guardian angel and introduces himself as the answer to her prayers. With the aid of fellow rogue Victor Trout (Frank Morgan, the lovable Wizard of Oz himself), the two attempt to enrich themselves-at the expense of Yolanda. Their scheme to steal her fortune proves successful until Yolanda steals Johnny's heart instead! When Johnny is forced to choose between ill-gotten wealth and the love of a beautiful woman, love wins out--in true MGM musical tradition.

Astaire and Bremer, reunited from their success in The Ziegfeld Follies, step out in two glamorous dance numbers: "Will You Marry Me?" and "Coffee Time." Mildred Natwick, as Yolanda's dotty but delightful Aunt Amarilla, and Leon Ames as the mysterious Mr. Candle, round out the star-studded cast. Produced by Arthur Freed and brilliantly directed by Vincente Minnelli, Yolanda and the Thief will surely steal your heart! March 15, 2006

A Little Slice of Heaven

In my opinion (for whatever that's worth) it's impossible for any movie starring Fred Astaire to be bad. So, I wasn't surprised when I viewed Yolanda and the Thief for the first time and found myself thoroughly enjoying this unusual musical. Unfortunately, this was not the general consensus of the movie going public when Yolanda premiered in November of 1945. Even under the masterful direction of Vincent Minnelli, the film was an enormous flop, costing MGM millions...and for all intents and purposes...destroying Lucille Bremer's career. Once relegated to virtual cinematic obscurity until Turner Classic Movies came along and resurrected it, Yolanda has attained "cult classic" status and is finally earning the aprreciation it deserves in spite of its flaws.

The movie features Fred Astaire, as charming conman, Johnny Parkson; Lucille Bremer as the virginal and incredibly rich, Yolanda; Frank Morgan as fellow conman, Victor Budlow Trout (Is that a great name, or what?); Mildred Natwick as Yolanda's match making aunt, Amarilla; and Leon Ames as the mysterious Mr. Candle.

The plot revolves around Johnny Parkson(Astaire) who, in order to to get the innocent Yolanda's (Bremer)huge fortune has hatched a plot to convince her that he's her guardian angel. Having spent her entire life in a convent, Yolanda is easily persuaded that he is indeed the angelic being he presents himself as and gives Johny every reason to believe his scheme will succeed without a hitch. Soon, however, Victor Trout (Morgan) must try and keep the con game going when it becomes obvious that Johnny is falling in love with Yolanda and may be faltering in his quest to get her millions. Yolanda is also doing battle with her less than pure thoughts. After all, it's a no-no- to fall in love with an angel, or so she assumes. All the while, Aunt Amarilla (Natwick) unaware of her niece's belief in Johnny's angelic nature, does her best to get the two together in a very human sort of way. While all of this is unfolding, the mysterious cigar smoking, Mr. Candle (Ames) keeps appearing and always at the most inopportune moments, making Johnny and Trout's scheme even more difficult to pull off. But, in a fanciful twist near the close of the movie, we discover that when it comes to understanding an angels heart, no one can hold a candle to Mr. Candle, giving us...as in all fairy tales (as this indeed is) the expected happy ending.

Now, plot aside, this is after all a Fred Astaire musical and this is where things get dicey. One of the primary reasons this film had difficulty taking off at the box office is its surrealistic look and feel. Scene after scene has the intentional appearance of a Salvador Dali painting, the most notable being a 15-minute ballet sequence in which Astaire confronts his conflicted feelings for Yolanda. Absolutely gorgeous to look at in all its brilliant Technicolor glory, it was just too far out for the movie going public of the mid 1940s to accept. Fans of Fred wanted classic Astaire and this was anything but. To add to the mix, this was one of the few times when someone other than Astaire did his choreography...and although Eugene Loring was one of the best choreographers in Hollywood at this time, his style was quite different from Astaires and it shows. Having said this, Astaire's dancing is still breath taking, as is Lucille Bremer's and they compliment each other perfectly. A relative unknown at the time, Yolanda was only Bremer's second movie, having played Judy Garland's older sister the previous year in another Vincent Minnelli classic, Meet Me in St. Louis. Now, I've read other reviews that criticize Bremer's acting ability, calling it wooden and stilted. But, give the gal a break here. She's playing an unworldly, virginal young woman who has been raised by nuns, for God's sake (no pun intended). Her acting abilities were less than award winning, I grant you, but not bad by half considering she was trained as a singer and dancer and had acted in only one other major role. As for the music, I love it. The words and music were written by Harry Warren and Arthur Freed, and all of it memorable, with the best musical number by far being "Coffee Time". This particular dance sequence is absolutely hypnotic and not just because of the music either. Wait until you get a load of the optical illusion style floor they dance on!

With costumes by Irene, set design by Cedric Gibbons, direction by Vincent Minnelli and of course the incredible artistry of the master, Fred Astaire, this is a "must see" movie. And once you're done watching, you won't feel halfway about it either. You'll either love, or hate it. My bet is on love. And even if I'm wrong in my assumption, a film that can generate such strong feelings in either direction is a film worth watching. If you are reluctant to buy Yolanda right now, at least do yourself the favor of renting it, or seeing when Turner Classic Movies is running it again. It's well worth the effort. November 20, 2003

A wonderful film, great musical!

This is a must see musical. It is one of the best in my opinion.
Lucille Bremmer is so talented, and beautiful in it. She is one of the best dancers ever. Fred Astaire is great and so talented as the crook impersonating her gurdian angel, in order to get her money. The costumes and scenery are so beautiful. It takes place in Mexico. The storyline is great romantic, fun, and entertaining. March 7, 2003

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