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The Sensational Belita

Movie Reviews by Susan Austin

<-- Return to Belita

 

"Silver Skates" 1943

"Silver Skates", Belita's first movie includes close to 45 minutes of skating. Belita and Eugene Turner are the featured skaters. Eugene is smooth and elegant with long sweeping edges, simple jumps and spins. Belita is truly a dancer on the ice with great extension, rhythm and execution. Her numbers stylistically range from ballet to modern to jazz. Some of her moves include the headless spin, battement rond de jambe, interesting moves that take her into the ice, chaines, split half lutz and a series of multiple axels. Together Belita & Eugene skate two duets that truly approach Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers on the ice.

Also included in the film is a complete act by Frick and Frack, a young boy and girl who solo and partner together and large ensemble and precision numbers.

 


"Lady Let's Dance" 1944

The first four movement scenes are dance not skating. This movie gives us a chance to see Belita as dancer. She does some excellent partnering scenes with numerous lifts and dance rhythms. One number displays her classic vocabulary where she dances on pointe and is backed up by 12 dancers also on pointe.

Another number featuring Belita blends both off and on ice with men in top hats and tails. She moves between the two groups of men where she begins with a long black skirt that is removed as the music turns to jazz. As she skates she is backed up by 12 men.

The movie closes with Belita skating in front of the Statue of Liberty to Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony". It is very dramatic performed in a modern/ballet style. All of her signature moves are in the number and this time it has seven axels in the end.

Frick and Frack are featured in two numbers and there are two skating scenes with couples skating in a pond scene.

 


"Suspense" 1945

Belita's best known movie, "Suspense" has two great skating ensemble scenes featuring Belita that are jazzy, steamy and sexy. One number ends with an axel landed in a back split on the ice, wow! In the middle of the movie is a beautiful, dramatic modern/ballet solo with nymph like quality. It shows a more serious side to Belita and her adagio qualities.

The famous scene of her lutz split jump through the swords is quite remarkable. Belita herself said she only did the scene one time. When the director asked to shoot it again she told them that once was all they were going to get.

 


"The Hunted" 1948

"The Hunted" is the last of the films where Belita skated. There is only one dramatic solo in this movie that is dimly lit with a couple of spots.

 

 

 

 

 



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