Royal Wedding

Released Mar 23, 1951

1 hr. 32 min.

Musical

List

92%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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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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Steve D

Thinner than even these kinds of films normally are.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/24/23

Full Review

CodyZamboni

Film is charming, amusing, with three standout musical highlights. with the Astaire's gravity defying ceiling dance being the best. Both stars shine, but the supporting cast are not as charismatic. Jane Powell is very attractive and radiant, especially in Technicolor.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The plot is generic and uninteresting for the most part but the movie is saved by one fantastic dance by Fred Astaire. If you somehow didn't know it was coming like me, I won't spoil it for you here.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The best musical romance movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

jean h

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.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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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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Richard Brody

New Yorker

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

Nov 14, 2016

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

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

Aug 6, 2008

Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

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

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

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

Rated: 6/10

Dec 29, 2018

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

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

Rated: 6/10

Jul 5, 2014

Full Review

TV Guide

When all is said and done, Stanley Donen's first solo directorial assignment, after his work with Gene Kelly, is a lovely bit of frou-frou.

Rated: 4/4

Apr 4, 2012

Full Review

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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
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: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Loew's Inc.
Genre: Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 23, 1951, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 2, 2014
Sound Mix: Mono

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