So sing a silly little rhyme and have a cup of coffee

Hello everyone! I'm Sally from Flying Down to Hollywood! I'm doing a spontaneous guest post for Emma today. It's a spotlight on a musical number from a lesser known MGM musical: Yolando and the Thief (1945). The song is called "Coffee Time" and is performed by Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer. I'm currently reading a book about the MGM musicals produced by Arthur Freed (it's a fascinating read by Hugh Fordin) and I learned some things about this number.

found here.

Well, mainly, that the costume designer, Irene Sharaff would often design her costumes with a backdrop in mind. There are pictures of her designs with a doodle of a set in the background. This being the case, she was, in part, responsible for some of the set designs for the films she worked on. When she designed the costumes for this number, she decided to make the principal color cafe au lait. She then decided that the costumes would work best on a contrasting floor and she, herself, sketched the pattern on the floor for the studio painters. How crazy is that? I love that one woman made such a difference in these productions. In my opinion, the floor is a major component in this scene. It makes the whole floor pop and I'm left figuring out whether or not the floor is actually moving like that (it isn't). Anyway, enough of my chatter. Here's "Coffee Time."