An American dancer comes to Britain and falls for a model whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.
(101 mins.) Released 1935-08-12
Director: Mark Sandrich
Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Helen Broderick
Hermes Pan ... ensembles stager, choreographer (uncredited); Oscar nom'd, see below Fred Astaire ... choreographer (uncredited)
Comedy | Musical | Romance
This is largely the same cast as in The Gay Divorcee (1934), except Helen Broderick instead of Alice Brady. (Bit parts: Lucille Ball as flower clerk, Dennis O'Keefe as elevator passenger, dancer.)
In NO musical so far, and this is #84 in my journey, has there been more than one, perhaps 2, songs that are now considered standards. Here we have these Irving Berlin gems, none used in prior films. [These are only movie soundtrack credits, not TV, shorts, documentaries, etc.]:
- Scene 4: No Strings (I'm Fancy Free) [in 2 films since 2000]; Fred solo in the great white hotel room above Ginger
- Scene 9: Isn't This a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain)? [in 2 films since 1998]; duo in a gazebo in the rain
- Scene 14: Top Hat, White Tie and Tails [in 4 films since 1982]; Fred with male chorus on stage in performance
- Scene 20: Cheek to Cheek [also in On the Avenue and Alexander's Ragtime Band (both Fox, 1938), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) and 40 other films]; here is the famous feathered dress, duo
- Scene 27 of 28: The Piccolino [only here]; grand ensemble, again edited as though not fore-planned, then duo
Oscar nomination: Best Dance Direction, Hermes Pan for "Piccolino" and "Top Hat". Dave Gould won; nominees.
The dvd featurette shows a time map of how Fred and the director made sure the balance of plot, comedy and dancing was proper. You can see by the scene numbers that they got the ratio of song/dance to speaking right.
I've had my primary account on IMDb since Nov '03. This is the second movie I rated, after The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). Of the 3400+ movies I've rated, only 10 earned a 10. (I may need to bump Gay Divorcee up to a 9.)
