Editing Fred Astaire (section)

===1948–1957: MGM films and second retirement===
[[File:Astaire, Fred - Daddy.jpg|thumb|In ''Daddy Long Legs'' (1955)]]
Astaire's retirement did not last long. He returned to the big screen to replace an injured [[Gene Kelly]] in ''[[Easter Parade (film)|Easter Parade]]'' (1948) opposite [[Judy Garland]], [[Ann Miller]], and [[Peter Lawford]]. He followed up with a final reunion with Rogers (replacing Judy Garland) in ''[[The Barkleys of Broadway]]'' (1949). Both of these films revived Astaire's popularity and in 1950 he starred in two musicals. ''[[Three Little Words (film)|Three Little Words]]'' with [[Vera-Ellen]] and [[Red Skelton]] was for MGM. ''[[Let's Dance (1950 film)|Let's Dance]]'' with [[Betty Hutton]] was on loan-out to Paramount. While ''Three Little Words'' did quite well at the box office, ''Let's Dance'' was a financial disappointment. ''[[Royal Wedding]]'' (1951) with [[Jane Powell]] and [[Peter Lawford]] proved to be very successful, but ''[[The Belle of New York (1952 film)|The Belle of New York]]'' (1952) with Vera-Ellen was a critical and box-office disaster. ''[[The Band Wagon]]'' (1953) received rave reviews from critics and drew huge crowds. However, because of its high cost, it failed to make a profit on its first release.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Soon after, Astaire, along with most of the other remaining stars at MGM, was dismissed by the studio due to the advent of television and the streamlining of film production. In 1954, Astaire was about to start work on a new musical, ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955) with [[Leslie Caron]] at [[20th Century-Fox]]. Then, his wife Phyllis became ill and died of lung cancer. Astaire was so desolate that he wanted to shut down the picture and offered to pay the production costs out of his own pocket. However, [[Johnny Mercer]], the film's composer, and Fox studio executives convinced him that continuing to work would be the best thing for him. ''Daddy Long Legs'' was only moderately successful at the box office. His next film for Paramount, ''[[Funny Face]]'' (1957), teamed him with [[Audrey Hepburn]] and [[Kay Thompson]]. Despite the sumptuousness of the production and the good reviews from critics, the movie failed to recover its cost. Astaire's next film, ''[[Silk Stockings (1957 film)|Silk Stockings]]'' (1957), in which he co-starred with [[Cyd Charisse]] and his final musical for MGM, also lost money at the box office.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Afterward, Astaire announced that he was retiring from dancing in films. His legacy at this point was 30 musical films in 25 years.