the story is wonderful, dancing superb and the acting excellent. i first saw this 40 years ago; i was 30 and have seen it many times over all those years. why has this not been put on a DVD? it truly is a masterpiece. i wonder if anyone is imaginative enough to see that this gets another release at a movie house or community centers including senior centers. i viewed it on you tube this time. try it, you will like it!

I was enchanted from the start. The music gave an air of wonderment that one could only expect to carry throughout the rest of the film. Main character, Bea, was a very sweet woman who was truly loved by her family, even her in-laws.Bea's first song, after her husband had died, was so moving. "Who am I going to cook and clean for ... who's going to balance the check book." It showed so beautifully, how a long married couple can come to rely on each other even for the simple things; even just to be there. Her voice, too, was so weak and shaky, which made it strike an even deeper chord, one that a clear, perfect voice never could have.Then Bea gets whisked off to the Stardust Ballroom by her friends and meets a very interesting man, who seems totally in love with her, if a bit pushy. But, Bea, ever so endearingly old-fashioned keeps him at arms length and sends him home to be sure nothing improper would take place. He's still enchanted. Awwww, how sweet.Ha! That's when everything quite quickly changes, taking every bit of enchantment, beauty and old-fashioned sweetness out of the rest of the film. Bea invites her new beau, Al, up to her bedroom.That may be excusable, and I may move on and still enjoy the remainder, but then the same Al who pursued Bea and got her into bed casually announces he's married and Bea decides they just won't discuss it. Ugh! They go on with their affair and she even tells her family, including grandchildren, that the man she's seeing is married.This was all totally out of character. Taking him to her bedroom was unbelievable in the first place, but when you throw in Al's spouse it is unforgivable. It taints the entire movie and because of this disturbing and completely unnecessary twist I would not recommend it to anybody. The rest of the film would have been infinitely better without Al's wife.

Love in the autumn years is examined in this tender, yet matter-of-fact, TV-movie that is presented as a quasi-musical. Stapleton plays a widow, used to catering to her husband's needs instead of her own, who begins to blossom under the mirror ball of a local dance hall, The Stardust. Reluctant at first to take part in the festivities, she is approached by sweet-natured mailman Durning and coerced into dancing. Soon, she has revitalized her life and herself, sometimes to the consternation of her sister Rae and her two grown children Sanders and Brandon. She and Durning strike up a late in life relationship that includes an unforeseen challenge or two. Stapleton, an actress who can say more than a lot of other ones with merely a glance or a faraway stare, does an excellent job throughout. The nature of the teleplay forces her to speak-sing a couple of numbers and this takes some getting used to, but once that conceit is adjusted to, it becomes less jarring. Durning, who is excellent as well in an atypical role for him, also has to do an internalized number and, like Stapleton, overcomes the obvious lack of a truly strong musical theatre voice. They make a charming and believable pair worth rooting for. Brandon, in a smallish role as Stapleton's long-haired, caring son, establishes a nice rapport with her. Sanders and Rae are on hand to offer some mild antagonism. The ballroom offers a wide array of amusing types, mostly past-their-prime folks who take pleasure in gussying up and tripping the light fantastic with one another. The dancing sequences (which aren't particularly elaborate, but are appropriate) were staged by no less than Marge Champion! In late 1978, this material was reworked a little (most of the songs replaced and new ones added, including the stunning "Fifty Percent") into the one-act Broadway musical "Ballroom", which starred Dorothy Loudon and Vincent Gardenia and was helmed by Michael Bennett. Compared to the smashing success of Bennett's prior "A Chorus Line", the show was deemed a disappointment and closed after 116 performances.

I haven't seen this film in over 20 years and yet I still recall scenes from it quite vividly. The performances by both Stapleton (who I was researching now when I saw this film in a list of her credits) and Durning are both wonderful. The characters seemed very "real"...even more so when the film came out, as back then middle aged+ characters were *very rare* as romantic leads in a movie. And it's also quite touching. I recall crying quite a bit near the end on the 3 occasions I saw this movie on TV years ago. Bravo to Stapleton and Durning for this one!