FRED ASTAIRE DANCES
If you love good dancing (and I do) there is nothing close to the artistry and exhilaration of Fred Astaire gliding with Ginger Rogers or tapping like a machine gun on speed. If you do not like dancing, do not watch these movies. Take out the dancing and not a one of them is worth seeing. Ah, but if you like the dancing, these are the best movies there are! Mr. Astaire insisted that every dance scene be done in one take, without cutting, which is somewhat akin to working without a net. The results absolutely glow.
Any talk of dance movies should start with Top Hat (1935) with Ginger and Fred. There are at least four great dance numbers, including the famous “feather dress” duet, and Fred’s intricate tap routine to “Putting on the Ritz”. 
Swing Time (1936) features Fred’s solo tap number in sync with his shadow in the background, and the wonderfully romantic duet with Ginger to “The Way You Look Tonight”. There are two other fine dance numbers to enjoy.
The answer to Shall We Dance? (1937) is, of course, “Please.” The finale with Fred and Ginger and a cast of thousands dancing to the title tune is great, as are two other numbers. But the highlight of this one to me is Fred and Ginger’s duet on skates to “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off”. How do they do that?
Ginger Rogers is not Fred’s partner in Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940). Rather we have Fred paired with Eleanor Powell in a great dancing film with six super numbers. Not to be missed is their duet involving sliding down ramps in perfect sync, 
and their closing tap duet to “Begin The Beguine.”
Fred and Ginger are reunited to great effect in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) featuring their duet to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”, a super tap duet, and Fred’s incredible dance with the empty shoes in the shoe shop.
Also worth a look are Fred’s solos in Blue Skies (1946), Ginger and Fred’s first duet in The Gay Divorcee (1934), Fred’s solo tap number with firecrackers in Holiday Inn (1942),  Fred’s solo tap number across the ceiling in Royal Wedding (1951), and Fred’s solo in, over across and upon the bar in The Sky’s The Limit (1943).
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. Many of these films are shown on TV frequently. All are suitable for children of all ages, subject only to attention spans.

                                                          FOOTBALL FILMS
OMG we love football and as I write this we’re wondering if we’ll ever see it again. Football movies take some funny bounces, too. While nowhere near the fertile ground for films that baseball and boxing have been, there are some quite good movies featuring the gridiron game.
North Dallas Forty (1979), faithfully adapted from Dallas Cowboy Peter Gent’s book, is one of the best. It is funny and true; the football part is very well done. Nick Nolte and Mac Davis are just fine as players used and abused by the NFL system. Probably as good a look at the pro game as we’ll ever get from Hollywood.
Brian’s Song (1971) is about the short life and career of Wake Forest running back Brian Piccolo. James Caan as Piccolo and Billy Dee Williams as Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers head a uniformly excellent cast. The football parts are pretty good; the movie as a whole is one of  the best made-for-TV movies ever filmed. A must-see for fans of football and of life.
In The Longest Yard (1974) Burt Reynolds plays a former pro quarterback serving time. There is to be a football game between Reynolds’ cons and the warden’s (Eddie Albert) hand-picked team of semi-pros. The battle comes much closer to a gang war than a football game, but it is hilarious and well done. 
Semi-Tough (1977) features Burt Reynolds at his charming best, Kris Kristofferson as his best buddy, and Jill Clayburgh as their girlfriend in a very funny adaptation of Sports Illustrated’s Dan Jenkins’ novel. There are several incomplete passes and fumbles here, but also some touchdowns. 
Even with headliner Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire (1996) took a huge risk. Millionaire athletes and their millionaire agents aren’t exactly at the top of the hero list for most Americans.  Cruise is a sports agent and his best ( and eventually only) client is a star running back who makes more money per game than you and I will make in the next five years. But Cruise’s star power and the absolutely wonderful (and Oscar-winning) performance by Cuba Gooding, Jr., as the pro footballer, together with a smart and funny screenplay, turn this into a real crowd-pleaser. [Show me the money!] 
Also worth mentioning is Rudy (1993) with Sean Astin dreaming to play for Notre Dame, and The Blind Side (2009) with Sandra Bullock rescuing a very large black kid via football. 
All of the movies in this article are available on  DVD. The last two are suitable for kids. The rest are for grown-ups.