(110 min) Released 1936-02-20
Director: Mark Sandrich
Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard Nelson
Hermes Pan ... ensembles stager
Comedy | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027630/
I was surprised when I saw I'd already rated this an 8. But I rated 150+ films on 2 Jan 2006, so it likely was not a considered opinion having just watched the film.
Next time, try watching only the musical numbers first. The movie suffers from many problems:
- high expectations given Top Hat (1935) and The Gay Divorcee (1934), but remember the other 2 weren't as great.
- lack of comic support. No one like Eric Blore, E.E. Horton or Helen Broderick here.
- too many couples. Harriet Hilliard pursues Randolph Scott pursues Astrid Allwyn. Yeah, Randolph Scott, who pursued Irene Dunne in Roberta (1935). And F&G, of course.
- lack of glamorous clothing. Only the last number, Let's Face the Music and Dance, has Astaire in tux (and Rogers in one of her best ever gowns. The dance has pauses to let the gown wind and unwind around her legs. Great!) There were other good gowns here, but Ginger dances in a satiny sailor suit outfit, shiny fringy audition/rehearsal clothes, and casual street clothes. Fred is always in a sailor uniform, except LFtMaD.
- characters played by F&G already knew each other before the film began. I didn't like that in Roberta either. Their best dances are the seduction scenes, where she resists him but his dancing persuades her. Dancing like buddies is nice, but the transition from no to yes is best.
- lack of glamorous settings. The dime-a-dance hall is likely prettier than similar places, real or imagined, especially since ALL clientele are sailors. And Ginger & Harriett's home is amazing for a dance hall hostess and a music teacher. Plus we visit Astrid's mansion. But the ship is naval, not luxury cruise. This is the least glamorous of the first 5 F&G films.
- Betty Grable appears too briefly.
- Fred chews gum too much. Did he watch a camel to get the technique?
- It's kinda long (1:50).
The positives:
- F&G do a lot of dancing, each alone, and together, and it's spread throughout the film
- Lucille Ball acts. She's a fellow dance hall hostess, and speaks many lines. Plus she mugs like you'd expect of someone in her profession, and we get to see the upper lip double curl that she used to so well in I Love Lucy and elsewhere. Both she and Grable appear on the cast title card, Grable in the middle, Ball at the end. Obviously not based on screen time in the final cut.
- Harriett sings a couple of songs. Not the greatest voice, but good stuff.
- All songs are by Irving Berlin.
- We Saw the Sea (FA)
- Let Yourself Go (GR)
- Get Thee Behind Me, Satan (HH)
- Let Yourself Go (F&G)
- I'd Rather Lead a Band (FA)
- But Where Are You? (HH)
- I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket (F&G)
- Let's Face the Music and Dance (F&G)
Tony Martin supposedly appears as a sailor. He stars in the 1955 remake, Hit the Deck.
Because of Let's Face the Music and Dance, I'll give it a 7.
RKO, dir. Sandrich, 7
