It was just one week ago today that the royal wedding of William and Kate, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, captivated the world, mixing history and pomp in a regal, fairy-tale setting.
And part of the day’s charm was conveyed in coaches, carriages and cars that carried a bit of history and many memorable moments — along with its special passengers.
Carriages and royal weddings actually have quite a history, and this timeline lays out many of these special occasions, all the way back to 1879 and the Madrid wedding of Alfonso XII, King of Spain, and Archduchess Marie Christine of Austria.
All of those magical moments and historical vehicles got me thinking about some of the movie world’s memorable scenes featuring coaches, carriages and similar conveyances.
Famous film rides
So, come along for the film ride as we review a few favorite special vehicles:
• We’ll start with the most famous — the luxurious coach featured in the timeless 1950 Disney fairy-tale favorite, “Cinderella.” This “limited-edition” coach — good for only a few hours — is the handiwork of Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, who offers a special high-speed, assembly-line spell known as “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.” As she explains, those words are “the thingamabob that does the job.”
• The beautiful Central Park scene from 1953’s “The Band Wagon” featuring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in “Dancing in the Dark.”
• John Ford’s classic 1939 Western “Stagecoach,” which featured a young John Wayne and a much rougher ride.
And there are two New York carriage rides without available film clips of the scene:
• Kermit and Miss Piggy’s pre-wedding coach ride in the 1984 film “The Muppets Take Manhattan.”
• And the carriage ride when Richard Dreyfuss tries to win the heart of Quinn Cummings, the screen daughter of Marsha Mason in Neil Simon’s 1977 film “The Goodbye Girl” — another of my many favorite romantic comedies.
And there are two classic Americana rides from two of the best all-American musicals:
• “Wells Fargo Wagon,” from the 2003 TV movie version of “The Music Man.”
• “The Surrey With the Fringe on Top,” from the 1955 film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein groundbreaking musical “Oklahoma!”
… And a royal wedding
We’ll wrap up with two numbers from — what else? — the 1951 film “Royal Wedding” — with some more Fred Astaire.
• Here he is with Jane Powell, performing the great duet “How Could You Believe Me (When I Said I Loved You When You Know I’ve Been a Liar All My Life).”
• And his famous dancing-on-the-ceiling scene — and the video that shows how he accomplished the screen magic.
