Invitation to the Dance

1956
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

Three different stories are told through notably unusual way - no words, just dance.

Play trailer3:27

1 Video

15 Photos

Animation Fantasy Musical

Three different stories are told through a notably unusual way - no words, just dance.Three different stories are told through a notably unusual way - no words, just dance.Three different stories are told through a notably unusual way - no words, just dance.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination

Videos1

Trailer 3:27

Official Trailer

Photos15

Top cast18

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Gene Kelly

The Clown in 'Circus'…

Igor Youskevitch

The Lover in 'Circus'…

Claire Sombert

The Loved in 'Circus'

Tamara Toumanova

The Girl on the Stairs in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

Diana Adams

The Hatcheck Girl in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

Tommy Rall

The Sharpie in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

Belita

The Femme Fatale in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

David Paltenghi

The Husband in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

Daphne Dale

The Wife in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

Claude Bessy

The Model in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

Irving Davies

The Crooner in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

André Previn

The Composer at the Piano in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

Carol Haney

Scheherazade in 'Sinbad the Sailor'

David Kasday

The Genie in 'Sinbad the Sailor'

Luigi Faccuito

Specialty Dancer
(uncredited)

Diki Lerner

Thief in 'Sinbad the Sailor'
(uncredited)

Paddy Stone

Speciality Dancer
(uncredited)

Ian Wilson

Man Exiting Stage Door in 'Ring Around the Rosy'
(uncredited)

Directors
Writer
- Gene Kelly
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Gene Kelly's original intention was to make a film that would educate mainstream audiences about professional dancing in the world. To this end, he wanted to cast the greatest dancers in Europe for the four segments in leading roles. He himself would appear in only one - the Popular Song sequence, which ended up being cut. MGM, however, refused to allow the picture unless he appeared in all of them. Many of the professionals who worked in the film agreed that this was one of the film's great weaknesses.

Goofs
During the "Scheherazade" sequence, the color of the palace guard's costume changes from green to blue.

Connections
Edited into American Masters: Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002)

Soundtracks
Circus
Music by Jacques Ibert
Performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Hollingsworth
Danced by Gene Kelly, Igor Youskevitch and Claire Sombert

User reviews21

Review

Featured review

5/10

Only worthwhile for the dazzling "Sinbad the Sailor" animation...

No wonder INVITATION TO THE DANCE found no audience at the box office. The first two musical sequences, "Circus" and "Ring Around the Rosy" are monumental bores dragged down by pedestrian stories and, in the second one, inept use of camera trickery to speed up the action.

But the third, "Sinbad the Sailor," makes expert use of the Rimsky-Korsakov ballet score and makes dazzling use of animated effects, especially for the dancing between Kelly and a couple of Arabian guards which are highly original, intricate and amusing examples of combining live action with animation. It's the kind of originality sadly missing in the previously mentioned stories.

The "Sinbad" highlight almost makes up for the rest of the film with its own brand of originality--but alas, the first two sequences are enough to turn many viewers away from watching the final segment.

Summing up: Easy to see why this one failed miserably to attract a target audience with either high or low brow tastes.