The Boy Friend Twiggy performer Tune, Tommy performer Hale, Georgina performer Ellis, Antonia performer Bryant, Sally performer Film 1971-12-16 MGM Ken Russell's film adaptation of the Broadway musical comedy of 1954 by Sandy Wilson, (directed by Cy Feuer and chor. by John Heawood 9/30/1954-11/26/1955 Royale Theatre, NY; revival 4/14/1970-7/18/1970 Ambassador Theatre dir. Gus Schrimer, chor. Buddy Schwab, starring Julie Andrews as Polly), setting in 1926 in Nice, France. Polly Browne (Twiggy) the assistant stage manager of a small time theatrical company is forced to understudy the leading lady (Rita) at a matinee performance at which an illustrious Hollywood director (Cecil B. Dethrill) is scouting for actors to be in his latest all-talking, all-dancing, all-singing extravaganza. Polly in the process of the script's narration falls in love with the leading man and imagines several fantasy sequences in over the top visuals. Tommy Tune plays Polly's boyfriend Tommy, a long-legged tap dancing Tiny Todd the Tapping Tom who can't stop tapping his way through conversations and spaces. A tap dance dream conceived by someone who adores tap dancing, from soft-shoe to Busby Berkeley-inspired designs for the chorus to Tommy Tune solos in fur coats. The film is filled with tap dancing sequences: 1. French maids wearing heels dancing a soft-shoe and breaking into noisy chorus routine in "Perfect Young Ladies"; 2. "The Boyfriend" a musical tap production number 3. "Any Orion" in which Tune in tap narrates his life story "As a kid I was kicked in the head and when I came to..." 4. "Won't You Come Dancing with Me" a beautiful Charleston tap with Maisie (Antonia Ellis) 5. "I Could Be Happy With You" a duet with Twiggy and her dream boyfriend that is set on a spinning 78 rpm record 6. "Everybody's Doing the Riviera" Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Billman, Larry: Film Choreographers and Dance Directors: An Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia, 1893-1955. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland (1997). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html Tommy Tune (biography) loc.music.tdabio.180 tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.275