Easter Parade (film)

Easter Parade is a 1948 American Technicolor romantic musical film directed by Charles Walters, written by Sidney Sheldon, Frances Goodrich, and Albert Hackett from a story by Goodrich and Hackett, and starring Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford, and Ann Miller. The film contains some of Astaire's and Garland's best-known songs, including "Easter Parade", "Steppin' Out with My Baby", and "A Couple of Swells", all by Irving Berlin. Gene Kelly was originally cast opposite Garland, but broke his ankle. The part was then offered to Astaire, who had retired two years earlier. Very eager to work again, Astaire consulted Kelly about the offer, and Kelly supported his decision to take the role. Garland and Astaire were a successful team, and Astaire was restored to his status as a top MGM star. A critical and commercial success, Easter Parade was the highest-grossing musical film of 1948, and the second-highest grossing MGM musical of the 1940s, after Meet Me in St. Louis.