This is a long shot, and super random, but if it all possible, I need help finding a movie that features a very specific kind of scene, for a script I'm currently working on. I've searched and searched, but no luck so far. That said, my 1950s movie knowledge is lacking, and I know I haven't even scratched the surface. But it needs to a movie - any movie - that came out between 1955 and September 1960. It can be a year or two earlier than '55, but it can't be any later than September 1960. And the scene is basically this...

I need a man to approach a woman, hold his hand out, ask her to dance, she accepts, and they slow dance. That's it. Any location. No specific scenario other than that. And it doesn't even have to be exactly that. It can also be *just* slow dancing, though the former scenario is preferred.

The closest comp I could find is this scene from 1998's Great Expectations, in which Ethan Hawke's character asks Gwyneth Paltrow's character to dance, which opens this video montage of dance scenes I found...

https://vimeo.com/86339657

I'm not asking anyone to go research themselves, I'm just wondering if anyone *happens* to know of a scene like this that comes close to fitting the criteria above. I thought it'd be fairly easy to find a scene of characters slow dancing in a late-'50s movie, but man, no such luck so far.

For context, the main character in the script is watching this movie at a drive-in, sees this scene, and then asks the lead female character to dance in much the same fashion at the end of act one. I've had this scene written for ages, and right now I'm using The Apartment, which shares some thematic elements, but a movie with a dance scene like the one I'm talking about would set-up this big moment at the end of act one so much better.

Any help would much appreciated. Thanks!

Does it have to be a movie?

Wasnt there at least one dance scene in Casablanca?

dcAg said:

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Wasnt there at least one dance scene in Casablanca?

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He's really specific on the dates and Casablanca is from the 40s.

To get super specific, the scene takes place on Friday, August 26, 1960. So it needs to be a movie that could conceivably be playing at a drive-in that night. The movie takes place in Odessa, and a while back I found the actual movie listings from that night, but none fit the bill. And while most of them came out in 1960, there are a couple that came out in the second half of the '50s, which is why I feel comfortable with that general date range...

C@LAg - Yeah, Funny Face is probably little too whimsical, and Picnic is not *quite* the right vibe, but definitely closer. Either could potentially work if nothing better pops up, though. Thanks.

The other trick is the movie needing to be something that both high school guys and high school girls would be watching, at a drive-in. Super specific, I know, but I'm not quite sure a full-on musical will work. But maybe?

Bruce Almighty said:

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Does it have to be a movie?

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That's in the ballpark, but yeah, it has to be a movie at a drive-in.

Yeah, you're probably right. Granted, since musicals were so popular in that era, I'm sure high school guys went to see them as well, especially if on dates, so it's probably ok.

I love a good google challenge.

Best I could find was 1954 Sabrina

There is a scene where William Holden does a "shall we dance" to Hepburn, walks a bit, then dances. No clip, but you can watch it for free on crackle.

It doesn't have to be period specific. Drive-in theaters aren't exactly known for having the latest releases playing.
You might be better if finding an older movie that fits the themes of your movie as some background symbolism. Similar to The Shining playing at the drive-in during Twister.

The prince and the showgirl has a dance scene, but might not be the vibe you want. But towards the end of this scene there is a coordinated waltz which might be useful.

The King and I (1956) hits the date range, but is also a musical and doesn't exactly have the guy offering his hand like you're looking for.



Remember the Night (1940) fails due to the year of release and the fact that the female asks the male to dance. Check the 23 minute mark here.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21pst9

This is fun though.

There's several that I can think of that has a dance scene like the one you describe within the time period but not sure if it would fit your vision....
Roman Holiday(River scene)
An Affair to remember
The king and I
Sabrina

West side story has a good one but it's 1961.

It's not exactly him offering his hand for a dance, but it is onthe playbill you posted in the lower left hand corner.
That Certain Feeling

If you're making a movie, can't you just create the scene you want? And then you can get exactly what you need.

Another random observation from that ad. Check out the ad for Psycho: "No one will be admitted to the Theatre After Start of Each Performance!"

Psycho was one of the first movies to post start times and not let people in late. It was a good marketing gimmick to build suspense, and so that you experience the misdirect of the first 20 minutes of that movie. Before then it was common to show up halfway through a movie and watch the second showing until you caught up to where you came in.

Not a drive in but on a barge. Roman Holiday, 1953.

The dance part is very short. The fight scene is much longer.

Beware of Doug said:

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I love a good google challenge.

Best I could find was 1954 Sabrina

There is a scene where William Holden does a "shall we dance" to Hepburn, walks a bit, then dances. No clip, but you can watch it for free on crackle.

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Yeah, I saw a short clip from Sabrina in that link I posted in the OP. Will be an excellent backup if I can't find exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks!

Quad Dog said:

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It doesn't have to be period specific. Drive-in theaters aren't exactly known for having the latest releases playing.
You might be better if finding an older movie that fits the themes of your movie as some background symbolism. Similar to The Shining playing at the drive-in during Twister.

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True. I'm just trying to stick as close to real life as possible, and the vast majority of the movies playing that night were from 1960. But yeah, maybe it ultimately doesn't matter and I can go way earlier. It just needs to make sense that the drive-in lot is packed full of cars, and I don't know that a ton of people would show up for a 15-year-old movie, but maybe so.

oragator said:

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The prince and the showgirl has a dance scene, but might not be the vibe you want. But towards the end of this scene there is a coordinated waltz which might be useful.

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No bad. Another decent backup. Thanks!

PDWT_12 said:

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The King and I (1956) hits the date range, but is also a musical and doesn't exactly have the guy offering his hand like you're looking for.



Remember the Night (1940) fails due to the year of release and the fact that the female asks the male to dance. Check the 23 minute mark here.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21pst9

This is fun though.

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Re: The King and I - is Yul Brenner supposed to be playing Asian? If so, I could see its inclusion considered "problematic," but whatever. That could work, since it's literally just a dance scene between two people and really hammers the "dancing" idea home. (Fun Fact: I worked for Yul Brenner's daughter for three years, and she very much gave off a Meryl-Streep-in-The Devil Wears Prada vibe.)

Re: Remember the Night - that's not bad, and I don't mind the woman asking the man. Probably too old of a movie, though.

maxag42 said:

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There's several that I can think of that has a dance scene like the one you describe within the time period but not sure if it would fit your vision....
Roman Holiday(River scene)
An Affair to remember
The king and I
Sabrina

West side story has a good one but it's 1961.

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Will check out the first two this afternoon. Thanks!

Quad Dog said:

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It's not exactly him offering his hand for a dance, but it is onthe playbill you posted in the lower left hand corner.
That Certain Feeling

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Missed that one on the playbill. Not quite the vibe I'm looking for, but at least it's accurate, down to the exact night, and could potentially work. Thanks.

expresswrittenconsent said:

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My early review 2yrs from now

"Really great movie. I loved the charisma between the two leads and the plot and pacing made the time fly. Would recommend. One small nitpick, the drive in scene was historically inaccurate and so I deducted the rating by one star.
2.5*"

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Exactly what I'm trying to avoid!

Probably not what you're looking for, but was the first thought that popped into my head. 1953's War of the Worlds.