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From the hush before a championship free skate to the glare of studio lights, figure skating has long delighted audiences. The Lights, Camera, Axel! hub gathers blogs and deep dives into the many ways skating has been portrayed on film and television - from classic Hollywood films to made-for-TV specials, documentaries and broadcast milestones.
Where To Watch Classic Sonja Henie and Belita Films
Olympians Sonja Henie and Belita Jepson-Turner achieved may have achieved success as competitive figure skaters, but they achieved far more on the silver screen. Whether you're in the mood for the jollity of "Sun Valley Serenade" or a film noir like "Suspense", this guide will help you find how to watch these classic Hollywood films.
Topics: figure skating films, Sonja Henie, Belita Jepson-Turner, Suspense, Sun Valley Serenade, skating movies, Hollywood and skating
A Fond Look Back at Canadian Figure Skating TV Moments
If there's one thing we've done well here in Canada over the years - it's a good old-fashioned TV skating. This blog looks back at a handful of the many great Canadian figure skating TV moments that you might have missed.
Topics: figure skating on television, Canadian television history, Planet Ice, Dreamweaver, Rita MacNeil and Anne Murray's Christmas specials, The Bursary Fund Gala, The Golden Age of Canadian Skating, Ice Time
Strawberry Ice: Toller At His Very Best
Olympic Medallist and artist extraordinaire dazzled audiences as an amateur, but his greatest successes in skating were as a professional. Toller's award-winning television specials delighted audiences and showed how far a little creativity could go in elevating the art of skating to the next level. His best known special was Strawberry Ice.
Topics: figure skating television specials, Strawberry Ice, Toller Cranston
Blades of Courage
Less than a year before The Battle Of The Brians and Liz Manley and Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall's medal winning performances at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, a CBC made-for-television movie called Blades of Courage capitalized on Canada's figure skating fever.
Topics: figure skating movies, Skate!, Blades of Courage
Figure Skating Meets Television: The Ice Palace and Stars on Ice
In the 1970s and 1980s, a different kind of television skating special emerged - the weekly variety show-style skating television series. From the short-lived series The Ice Palace to the long-running and popular series Stars on Ice, hosted by Alex Trebek, these series delighted television audiences with their colour, choreography and charisma.
Topics: figure skating television specials, The Ice Palace, Stars on Ice, Alex Trebek
One In A Million
One in a Million was the Hollywood debut of Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie. Produced by 20th Century Fox, the musical-comedy follows a talented young skater whose rise to fame mirrors Henie’s own stardom. Blending light romance with lavish ice spectacles, the film showcased her athletic skill and screen charm, becoming a major box-office hit and establishing the template for her later ice musicals.
Topics: One In A Million, Sonja Henie films, Hollywood history, figure skating films
Axels and Applause-O-Meters: The History of Audience-Judged Figure Skating Competitions
In the height of the professional figure skating craze of the 1990s, producers in France, Germany and the United States presented an entirely new concept for television - live figure skating competitions were television audiences could have a say in the outcome.
Topics: Trophée Lalique d'Or, Rowenta Masters on Ice, The Great Skate Debate, audience-judged figure skating competitions, television in the 1990s
All The Best, Belita
Belita Jepson-Turner was a British Olympic figure skater who turned her elegance on the ice into a Hollywood career in the 1940s. Billed as an "ice skating sensation," she starred in Technicolor showcases like Silver Skates and Lady, Let's Dance, later branching into dramatic roles in Suspense, The Hunted and The Gangster.
Topics: Belita, Belita Jepson-Turner, 1940s in Hollywood, British figure skaters, figure skating films, film noir
