Shall We Dance has been my favorite Astaire-Rogers film for a long time. That said, it has most of the flaws of the earlier films — a dull plot, uninspired camera work, bad jokes, bad pacing, and interminable mugging from Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore. Except for the dances, it feels tired. And theContinue reading “Shall We Dance (1937)”
Category Archives: Astaire-Rogers
Top Hat (1935)
Top Hat is considered by many to be the best of the Astaire-Rogers films, and for many others it’s second only to Swing Time. I don’t feel that way. I’m not crazy about it and I like it less and less with each viewing. I know that’s very much a minority opinion but it’s myContinue reading “Top Hat (1935)”
Follow the Fleet (1936)
I had an deep affection for Follow the Fleet for many years, but it’s time for me to admit that it’s not very good. There’s no doubt that it’s an unusual and interesting film in the Astaire-Rogers canon but watching it soberly now, it seems uninspired, spliced together with carpet tacks, hastily made and under-rehearsed.Continue reading “Follow the Fleet (1936)”
Swing Time (1936)
Swing Time, the sixth of the Astaire-Rogers partnerships, appears to be the most highly regarded of their films nowadays — or at least equal to Top Hat. The Criterion website even claims it’s the greatest dance movie ever made. I like Swing Time okay, but it’s not my favorite of their films, and I haveContinue reading “Swing Time (1936)”
Fred and Ginger Leave the Mandala
Film historians who are particular fans of the Astaire-Rogers films often write about them as important mediators for changing gender attitudes at the time of the Great Depression. The argument goes like this: Astaire’s characters always treated Rogers’s characters as equals. Astaire never posed as an aggressive male intending to dominate his partner. He appealedContinue reading “Fred and Ginger Leave the Mandala”
Roberta (1935)
The second of the Astaire-Rogers star vehicles, Roberta has its fans. I’m not one of them. Although, admittedly, many of its fans admire the duo’s dances as if the rest of the film did not exist. If those are the terms, then I’m on board, too. The film contains some memorable chemistry between Astaire andContinue reading “Roberta (1935)”
The Gay Divorcee (1934)
The Gay Divorcee was the first true Astaire-Rogers film. Impressed by the way they had stolen the show in Flying Down to Rio the year before, RKO Studios hired them to be marquee stars. They also hired Mark Sandrich, who had directed the dance sequences of Rio, to helm the pictures. Folks differ in theirContinue reading “The Gay Divorcee (1934)”