Sunday, February 1, 2015

Family Movie Night: Top Hat

Title: Top Hat
Director: Mark Sandrich
Original Release: 1935
Choice: Mine
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
via Wikipedia
Dancer Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) and fashion model Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) are falling in love.  The only problem is that Dale mistakenly believes Jerry to be Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton), husband of her friend Madge (Helen Broderick).  Screwball comedy ensues.

Who am I kidding?  This is a Fred & Ginger picture.  Story's just a garnish.  This movie's all about the dancing.  80 years after this, their most successful film together, Astaire and Rogers are still the most famous dance partners in Hollywood history.  The pair made ten movies in total and Top Hat is generally considered to have the strongest story.  Astaire, often frustrated by the way his dancing was filmed, appreciated Top Hat for the full body shots.  Too often, his dances were only filmed from the waist up - ridiculous for a tap dancer.  Irving Berlin wrote the songs, "Cheek to Cheek" being the most famous.


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6 comments:

  1. SallyFebruary 2, 2015 at 6:43 AM

    That is just perfect. I love that clip, I could watch it all day. In April the local theatre (20 minutes drive away) is bringing the West End stage show of Top Hat. Myself and a group of friends (hubby is not inclined to go) are anticipating going to that. It should be wonderful.

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    1. The Armchair SquidFebruary 2, 2015 at 7:23 AM

      Sounds like fun. Big tap shoes to fill for the dancers!

      Delete
  2. Linda KayFebruary 2, 2015 at 10:43 AM

    Love those old musicals!

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    1. The Armchair SquidFebruary 2, 2015 at 11:41 AM

      Me, too! The genre owes a great deal to this pair in particular.

      Delete
  3. angryparsnipFebruary 2, 2015 at 2:12 PM

    Me too !

    cheers, parsnip

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