People who lived in the golden time of Cyd's career are lucky. They could watch her films in theaters and also had the chance of see her dance live (at the height of her abilities). I think she was not only a great dancer with pretty legs but also a great, unexploited actress. The fact is that the first time I saw her was in the film Twilight for the Gods (1958), which had no excuse for showing her legs. I said to myself, "Who is this beautiful and excellent actress?" I read the credits and since that day I have been interested in the career of Cyd Charisse.

Later I saw her in Silk Stockings (1957), the Ninotchka (1939) remake, and it was wonderful. Until that day, I didn't like musicals. The songs weren't translated into Spanish and I was a kid then. This means I didn't understand almost half of the film and found it boring; I hope you'll understand. I saw in this film something that I had never seen till then - the dance-like narrative technique - and it changed my mind about the musicals (usually the dance is only shown as spectacle but the Freed unit at MGM changed this concept). The elegant undressing musical number ("Silk Stockings") is the best I have ever seen; she moved so effortlessly that it didn't seem like dancing. It was as though she dressed this way every morning of her life. It is the best of Cyd Charisse - all is natural.

About her acting. Many people say that she is inexpressive and isn't a good actress. But I know that one experiment was performed concerning the best kind of acting: First, a visibly glad man looked at a meal dish; then a sad man looked at a meal dish; then a man simply had a meal dish near him. The people observing them said that the hungriest man who was the third, beacuse more was left to the imagination. I'm talking by memory so perhaps this experiment isn't exactly like I have said but the meaning of it is just, right and sure. Cinema is not real but imaginary - feelings in motion - and Cyd Charisse creates feelings with things beyond that which you can see.

Other people says that she overplays, like in Two Weeks in Another Town (1962), or she makes for an unbelievable Vicky Gaye in Party Girl (1958). I think she does very good work in both films. As for overacting in Two Weeks in Another Town, perhaps people don't look at the personality of her character, an affected and histrionic woman. So people may mistake overplaying with the personality of the character. About the Party Girl film: Sorry, but I can't find any defect. It's an absolute masterpiece. Recently I have read an article saying that many of the films in which she played were "saved" by just one thing: Cyd's performance in them. An example is The Wild North (1952).

What about the opinion that she dances better alone than with a partner? I think so and many others agree. She was free to feel and move her body. Her mind was liberated. But I don't mind if she dances with a partner; her best dance partner, Fred Astaire, when offered the chance to dance with her said that he would never do it because she was taller than him (This kind of star's requirements are common in Hollywood). Then Cyd said that she would dance without heels and so they did it in The Band Wagon (1953) and again in Silk Stockings (1957). The "best" about this anecdote is that the film career of Fred Astaire was winding down, just like the career of the character
he played in The Band Wagon, and just playing in this film did restore the "health" to his career.

Intentionally, I haven't written about her looks, as obviously that would be a tautology to write about the Cyd Charisse beauty. I think it's the main theme for many people when talking about Cyd Charisse and is mentioned too often. So I have wanted to write some about her as an actress and I hope the readers can tell it.

Thank you to Cyd Charisse for the great moments that she has provided on the screen and that I have enjoyed. She is a part of history and so she is immortal like many of her companions in showbusiness.