Great Film overall

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Invitation to the Dance is often dismissed as a failed experiment; I must disagree. In my eyes Invitation to the Dance is a masterful achievement. I find many anthology films tend to be hit and miss with their segments but all three segments presented here are gems. A pure representation of Gene Kelly's artistry as seen in ballet sequences in previous Kelly musicals. Invitation to the Dance was made in 1953, when Kelly was at the height of his powers, however due to the film's lack of commercial prospects. It wasn't released until 1956 when the movie musical had dropped in popularity due to their lack of commercial viability from the rise of television.The film's title says it all; this is a film which tried to make dance more accessible to all and not just some Gene Kelly vanity project. A film to show that dancing isn't for "sissies"; it can be masculine and bad ass. Originally Kelly was only going to appear in one segment with the rest starring the greatest dancers in Europe; however the studio wouldn't allow this and demanded he appear in all the segments. Regardless I still feel the film succeeds in feeling like an inclusive experience with its array of dancers including a young child whom appear alongside Kelly and are all given their moment in the sun.The first segment "Circus" offers a slice of early 20th century European culture with beautiful array of sets full of eye pleasing colours which still manage to feel authentic; somewhere that's been used and lived in. All three segments in Invitation to the Dance are devoid of dialogue but Circus really does call back to silent cinema with its melodramatic love triangle premise. In his role as a mime, Kelly gets to express the full range of his physical talents and uses his face to convey all his emotion. Circus is a fine piece of tragic, visual melodrama with an emotionally gutting finale. The second sequence "Ring Around the Rosy" is the section of the film most reminiscent of the MGM musical in the 1950's with its use of impressionistic backgrounds as seen in the ballet sequences of Kelly's musicals. I never do tire of these backgrounds as they're always a pleasure to behold; an aesthetic and atmosphere which really characterised musicals of the era. I do love the humour present in the segment such as the femme fatale with the exaggerated Veronica Lake hairstyle which constantly had to be pulled back in order for her to even see, to the singer whose voice is the sound of a trumpet which causes the dames to swoon and faint.The finale segment "Sinbad the Sailor" is the most impressive on a technical level in which Kelly dances alongside animated characters in a dazzling piece of Arabian Nights inspired fantasy. Famously Kelly had previously danced alongside Jerry the Mouse in Anchors Aweigh (1945 ) however Sinbad the Sailor takes this to a new level in which Kelly occupies a fully animated environment. The integration and interactions with the animated world and its characters is largely seamless and more than impressive for the time, with the dance steps of the animated characters being on synch with Kelly's steps. Likewise he is also joined by a live action child and only Kelly himself could dance that well with a child. During this segment Kelly also finds a love interest with an animated Middle Eastern girl and the two even engage in a kiss: An early example of an inter-racial kiss in cinema, even if it is between a live action man and an animated woman.

"Invitation to the Dance" is a personal film project by Gene Kelly. It consists of several different stories which are set to music and dance and there is no dialog. As for the stories, they are very broad and told through pantomime and dance. They consist of: "Circus"--A story filled with pathos about a clown (Pedrolino from the Italian Commedia dell'Arte--played by Kelly) who is in love with a pretty dancer at the circus. But she barely notices him. So, he does something really stupid and the audience is supposed to be brought to tears. I hate pathos."Ring Around the Rosy"--A rather cynical look at a faithless wife. The husband gives her a bangle for their anniversary and she soon gives it to her lover. He gives it to his model and folks keep passing it around until ultimately it makes its way back to the husband--who, inexplicably, takes it all in stride. Kelly is in this one less than the other segments."Sinbad the Sailor"--A sailor is on leave in a stereotypically olde tyme Arabian village. There he finds a genie--one that looks like a little boy. He has the boy magically don a sailor suit like himself and the two have a merry dance together. Later, they magically transport themselves into a picture book and more dancing ensues amidst a cartoon world. The kid, by the way, was an incredibly good dancer. Of all the segments, this one is probably the most approachable for the average viewer.I can easily see why "Invitation to the Dance" failed at the box office. While the quality of the dancing in this film is among the finest you'll ever see in a movie, there is no real plot. So, unless you are insanely devoted to modern dance, most potential viewers wouldn't bother seeing it in the first place. Then, if you did get someone to watch it who wasn't a dance-o-phile (like me), he would be bored to tears by it (once again, like me). While I can respect all the work that went into it, I cannot see it having much of an audience. This might explain why it so seldom is shown on television

In what must have been a daring move in the 1950s, Gene Kelly created a film which was pure dance - three sequences (Circus, Ring Around The Rosy, Sinbad the Sailor).Although not a great grosser in its day, time has been kind to this film and although it is not that well known, this film should be as it has a large amount of charm.The first section, Circus, is a story about a clown and his unrequited love for the leading lady. A common love triangle presented in ballet, this is bittersweet and watchable.In Ring Around The Rosy, a bracelet is lost and found and there is a charming duet to watch ... while Sinbad the Sailor includes a mix of real life and animation in the story of the sailor and the genie.As good as any of Kelly's other work, this should be seen a lot more than it is.

This is the result of many years of effort on the part of Gene Kelly to create an all-dance film. Since he was a major-studio rather than an indie production child, Kelly convinced his home studio, MGM, to finally take on the project.The final results, unfortunately, are mixed. The movie is simply average, with long stretches of off-timed and miscalculated action and uninspired choreography. Were Kelly to have collaborated in the writing, choreographing and direction departments, rather than taking everything on himself, things might have gone better.The project was simply too great a task for Kelly; with other imput he might have made a film with greater perspective and flair. The story in "Circus" is only fair, and there's more pantomime than dancing for Kelly as Pierrot. Unfortantely, Jacques Ibert's music doesn't help either. "Ring Around the Rosy" suffers from disjointed continuity, with awkward bridges and motivations. Too, the fine Tamara Toumanova as the Streetwalker provides a clash of styles when paired with Kelly as the Marine. Physically, their types don't match well, try as they will. Nor was this Andre Previn's finest compositional hour.Finally, Roger Eden's adaptation of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's score for "Sinbad the Sailor" makes for the most effective music in the film. Kelly at last gets to display his distinctive dancing manner, and does some impressive work (at age 44) in the interesting cartoon sequences. It's not Kelly at his best, though, and "Inviation to the Dance" remains an interesting curio, earnest on effort and short on realization. Both dance fans in general and Kelly fans in particular will value this video in their collectiona.