Eleanor Powell dances the hula in the 1939 movie Honolulu.

Описание: Honolulu, an MGM Production, was filmed at 10202 West Washington in Culver City, California in 1938 and released on February3, 1939. The main cast consisted of Eleanor :Powell, Robert Young, Gracie Allen and George Burns. In this short clip from the film, Eleanor performs her version of the hula and is accompanied by Andy Iona and His Islanders Orchestra.
Eleanor was from Springfield, MA and got her start when she was chosen at age 11 to be a performer in the Vaudeville Kiddies Review and by age 17 was on Broadway. She first appeared in a movie in 1935 which she considered to be a disaster and was totally unimpressed with the whole Hollywood experience. When MGM came courting her for their studios she made totally unrealistic salary demands plus artistic control demands to get them to go away and leave her alone. MGM accepted. She delighted the 30s-40s audiences with her stunning dancing and it was her numerous successfuk films that saved MGM from bankruptcy. In Broadway melody of 1940, she and Fred Astaire danced to Cole Porter's Begin the Beguine which is considered by critics to be one of the greatest tap dance numbers ever performed. She married actor Glen Ford and continued to perform until the early 1950s when she became an ordained minister of the Unity Church.
Andy Iona, born in Hawaii was that state's most influential musician, composer, songwriter and was on staff at KHS in Honolulu. He toured with Sonja Henie for 12 years and was married to Leimoma Woods with whom he had 3 children.