Busby Berkeley

This was long past Berkeley's heyday, and he no longer garnered the extravagant, almost bottomless budgets for elaborated dance numbers that he had a decade or more previous. Those type of prop-laden & set-heavy numbers with several dozen dancers were considered far too overblown, overdone, old-fashioned and out of style in these more budget-conscious post-war productions.

Looking at his credits, "Romance" and its lack of "kaleidoscope" choreography is intriguing. Berkeley's career apparently was in high swing during the early 40s, when he directed several pictures at MGM starring Judy Garland (he did a number on her, demanding take after take, exhausting her).

Then suddenly, he switched to 20th Century Fox, where he continued his style, most notoriously when creating the "Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat" number for Carmen Miranda in "The Gang's All Here" (1943).

THEN he - or at least his credits - suddenly jump to 1948 and Warner Brothers, with "Romance"and, as you note, nothing distinctive regarding his choreography.

Later, during the 1950s, Berkeley would return to MGM and stage numbers for Esther Williams and Ann Miller, returning to his classic style (e.g., Ann Miller's memorable tap dance "I Gotta Hear That Beat").

He must have pI$$ed someone off at MGM, and then at Fox, too. One can only guess why and how he finally was able to return and find (limited) success on the MGM lot...

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"