Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant, and Billie Burke
Directed by Charles Walters
Music by Harry Warren and George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
MGM originally intended to reunite Astaire and Judy Garland in this movie after the success of Easter Parade, but Garland's ongoing problems caused her to drop out. Rogers came in at the last minute. That makes this the the last of the ten movies she and Astaire made together...and one that hit a little close to home, so to speak. How does the story of married dancers who split when the wife wants to do drama look today? The best way to answer that is to go right into our very first number over the credits and see the most famous dancing pair in Hollywood history in action...
The Story: Dinah (Rogers) and Josh (Astaire) Barkley are the toast of New York in their hit show Manhattan Down Beat, but Dinah's tired of Josh criticizing her acting and taking credit for both their successes. She's flattered and interested when French playwright Jacques Barrendout (Jacques Francois) suggests she could be a wonderful dramatic actress. Dinah tries to keep Josh from figuring out her new interest, but he finds the script for Jacques' play and jumps to conclusions. She finally leaves him and the show, but is too nervous to do well in rehearsals. After their grumpy friend Ezra (Levant) tries to help, Josh steps in, playing Jacques on the phone to give her acting tips. It works too well, and now Josh wonders if he's lost his wife and favorite partner for good.
The Song and Dance: Astaire and Rogers have as much fun here as they did the decade before at RKO, with the benefit of MGM's unstinting production. The color in the copy at TCM is glowing, and the costumes are gorgeous, especially Rogers' gowns. It's interesting that the story was originally intended for Garland and Astaire. Rogers gave up doing musicals briefly in the early 40's to focus on drama and get away from her Astaire films, and was a success at it...but she too ultimately returned to musicals.
Favorite Number: We start right off with Fred and Ginger doing what they do best as the credits roll over "The Swing Trot," a big chorus routine with them tapping in the thick of it. Josh tells Dinah "You'd Be Hard to Replace" at their home. They have fun "Bouncin' the Blues" and challenging each other to a delightful duet at rehearsals. "My One and Only Highland Fling" spoofs Scottish courtship as Astaire and Rogers attempt bad accents and swirl around in plaid kilts. They try to convince Ezra that a "Weekend In the Country" would be fun, but he's a creature of the city and is having none of it. Astaire dances a duel with shoes that tap on their own in the nifty special-effects-laden "Shoes With Wings On."
Astaire and Rogers reprise "They Can't Take That Away From Me" from Shall We Dance, this time doing a graceful and thoughtful pas de deux to it as Josh believes he's lost Dinah to drama and Jacques for good. Of all the numbers, it most recalls their beautiful duets from the films at RKO, with their elegant steps and fluid motion.
What I Don't Like: First of all, why not wait until after the credits for "The Swing Trot?" We can barely see it, and it's one of the best numbers in the film. (MGM finally rectified this by showing the number without the credits during That's Entertainment III.) Second, the supporting cast isn't nearly as much fun as their RKO films. Billie Burke is all right as the dithery arts supporter, but Levant can come off as pushy and annoying, and Francois is so dull, you wonder why Dinah's mesmerized by him. And that story can be pretty fluffy at times, despite its relation to the stars' careers.
The Big Finale: The musical numbers alone are enough to make this a must-see if you love the Astaire-Rogers movies or musicals of the 1940's.
Home Media: Like all the Astaire-Rogers films, it's easily found on DVD and streaming; the DVD is currently released by the Warner Archives.
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