Shall We Dance

Absolutely one of the best original film musicals of all time. The cast -- you can't really beat Astaire and Rodgers for a dance team. Their chemistry is perfect in both a romantic and a comedic sense. Their dancing in this film is inspired, as usual. Astaire's character is slightly more aggressive and assertive than some of his more nebbish personifications. Edward Everet Horton gets the most laughs of the supporting cast as Fred's stressed-out producer, who amusingly disapproves of Fred's new career in "wild" jazz music and wants him to stick to ballet. Thankfully we're spared the torture of any prolonged attempts by Fred Astaire to depict himself realistically as a ballet artist. The story -- a pretty standard issue thing, which might seem flimsy to some modern audiences but provides all the necessary stimulus in terms of absurd and uncomfortable comic situations for our stars. Fred plays Russian dancer Petrov while Rodgers portrays cabaret star Linda Keene. He tries to woo her with an elaborate act as a pretentious nobleman, and she doesn't seem to warm up to him upon learning she was put upon. Petrov manipulates events so that they end up on the same ocean liner (amazing how many musical comedies after Anita Loos' play ended up set on ocean liners), but word gets out that the pair are secretly married. A situation very similar to "Gay Divorcée" ensues in which they must be married in order to be divorced and do away with the rumor. The film -- excellent sets and photography, far above the average for RKO but about normal for the A/R series. This one like some of the others has a heavy emphasis on deco stylings, particularly in the segments set at sea. The music -- saving the best for last, this is really George and Ira's film as much as it is Fred and Ginger's, for me anyway. Some of their most enduring hits came out of this one. "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "They All Laughed" and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" are popular for good reasons -- they have excellent lyrics and catchy themes. The lyrics emphasize the attitude Fred's character has in the films -- no matter how ridiculous he makes himself appear to other characters (and the audience), his absolute conviction in his love and his dignity carry him through life. This film also has a slew of somewhat lesser known but high quality Gershwin tunes, most notably "Slap that Bass" which receives full treatment with a synchronized introduction that ties the song's rhythm to the mechanical movements of the ship. With its extreme deco stylings, it's the closest thing to a musical version of "Metropolis" that you'd ever want to see. "Walking the Dog" is an interesting little musical interlude written for the film by Gershwin and arranged by RR Bennett which has sometimes been performed in symphonic settings since the 1980s. All in all, probably one of the top musicals of all time, and certainly one of the best of the 1930s with many exemplary qualities it shares with the best 1930s Broadway product.

What a wonderful time I had watching this film. One of the better Rogers and Astaire teamings. A great score by the Gershwin's. Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore offer hilarious supporting work. I'd write more, but I'm going to go back and watch it again. 9 out of 10

Considered a lesser Astaire-Rogers starring vehicle this slim-plotted musical is still a delight thanks to 3 great Gershwin songs: They Can't Take That Away from Me, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, and They All Laughed. Slap That Brass isn't bad either. Astaire plays a ballet star (!) who wants to dance jazz; Rogers plays a brassy revue star who is bored by men. They have two terrific dance numbers together: They All Laughed and a roller skating dance to Let's Call the Whole Thing Off. Throw into the mix the always fun Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore and you have a smooth and easy musical with great comedy support. Unfortunately the film also has the blah Ketti Gallian who has NO appeal whatsoever and the overblown Harriet Hoctor who was as mediocre as they come. Her ballet number is boring. Jerome Cowan, William Brisbane, and Ann Shoemaker add nothing. Indeed the film looks badly edited as Shoemaker, who gets good billing, has one brief scene aboard ship. Also Cowan has a confederate about halfway thru the film who is never even identified. Still worth seeing for the great Gershwin songs and the matchless Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

Why did I have to watch this 5 times in the last 2 weeks? Well, I can't explain. I guess because this is one of those rare cases where a movie becomes a masterpiece in spite of a (intentionally!) loose storyline; the strength of the choreography, melodies, and the pure delight of dance sequences gives it all. There's Fred Astaire, there's Ginger Rogers, and there's the Fred-Ginger duo - 3 (sic.) distinct personalities! I have watched scores of musicals - but never have I been so bewitched by duet dance sequences unaccompanied by any of the garish excesses characteristic of the Hollywood musical. Just think of the number " Let's call the whole Thing Off"; what grace, what poise of the couple tap-dancing on roller skates! And oh, what wondrous blend of lyrics and melody. And closely follows another number that, in all it's apparent lightness, provides a counterpoint that makes one misty eyed. About the solo dance sequences of Fred - the one in the ship's boiler room, the brilliant choreography of his tapdancing with the "pistons" moving in phase, well - it's superhuman! I shouldn't miss mentioning Edward Everett Horton ("Jeffrey", "Petrov"'s impresserio) - for his misadventures hold the struggling storyline of movie on, just as it was probably meant to be. Eric Blore ("Cecil", the floor manager of the hotel) does his inimitable role as in many other Fred-Ginger musicals; rarely have I seen anything more hilarious than the telephone conversation between Cecil (from jail!!) and Jeffrey. It's unalloyed and delightful entertainment for those who love musicals. Just forget the world and enter into a dreamland for 108 minutes!

Greetings & Salutations! That great African-American actor and comedian Mantan Moreland (1902-1973) certainly added the best comedy relief to this film, am sure the other cast members were quite aware of his presence on the set. He graced no less than 134 films in a 40 year span, that would be quite an accomplishment for any actor or actress, but it is even more astounding because he as an African-American made it in the America of the early to mid-20th century. He certainly should have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

While in Paris, the famous dancer Pete "Petrov" Peters (Fred Astaire) meets the also famous tap dancer Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers) and he makes fun with her pretending that he is a Russian ballet master. He immediately falls in love with her and when he learns that she will travel to New York in an ocean liner, her arranges with his producer Jeffrey Baird (Edward Everett Horton) to travel in the same ship as Linda. In the departure, the annoying dancer and former affair of Petrov, Lady Denise Tarrington (Ketti Gallian), comes to the harbor and Petrov lies to her, telling that he has secretly married Linda, to get rid off Denise. However, Denise sends a telegram to the ship congratulating the couple and the lie turns into a gossip to the press. Now the lives of Petrov and Linda get very complicated with the situation. "Shall We Dance" is another naive film of the couple Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, with delightful confusion and musical numbers. The gags are dated but funny and the film is a pleasant entertaining for cinema and dance lovers. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Vamos Dançar?" ("Shall We Dance?")

The big takeaway on Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is how well they danced together. My big takeaway from "Shall We Dance" is how well they acted. It's one thing to give a good performance in a musical like "Carousel" or "Singing In The Rain", and quite another to deliver amid the creaky jokes, plummy patter, and contrived plot twists that make up "Shall We Dance". But they do, and thanks to them, the show turns out not only okay but rather fine. Astaire is a faux-Russian ballet dancer, Petrov, who dreams of pairing up with celebrated tap dancer Linda Keene (Rogers) both on-stage and off. Linda just wants to retire, but Petrov's earnestness begins to win her over - until she is led to believe he is using her. She leaves him just as word spreads that the two are married (and really spreads, in the form of front-page news stories and radio flashes), forcing them to face a surreal prospect. "We're the only people in the world who don't think we're married!" Linda exclaims. People watching "Shall We Dance" for the first time need patience. Astaire and Rogers don't dance for an hour, their one musical moment all that time involving walking a dog around a ship in time to a musical theme (provided by one George Gershwin, who did the score with his lyricist brother Ira). Matters are too often dominated by Edward Everett Horton's over-the-top eye rolls and leaden asides as Petrov's snooty, disapproving manager. Later on William Brisbane arrives as Linda's rich-guy suitor, adding more overbaked ham to the menu. But Astaire keeps his end up, dancing to a skipping record or later overplaying a mock Russian accent in his first face-to-face with Linda. "You don't want to dance with the great Petrov," he declares, playing up a Slavic superiority trip. "Don't be a silly horse." The way he elongates that last "o" is positively indecent. Some reviewers here say Rogers seems bored in this film. She's playing a withdrawn character, though, and does give off passion when called upon. A big musical moment between her and Astaire, when he declares "They Can't Take That Away From Me", is a remarkable duet despite the fact she doesn't sing a note, just looks off with tear-filled eyes. Yet she gets the song's one close-up, and rightly so. When they have their first performance in front of an audience and he dances up a storm by way of an introduction, the look on her face is priceless. "What am I supposed to do?" she deadpans. Give director Mark Sandrich credit for keeping things light. Too light at times, like when Linda's manager somehow gets a photo of the couple in bed together by using a manikin of her he just happens to have in his closet (better I guess we don't know why he does). Sandrich does make the good scenes better with doses of gentle humor, like the capper to a roller-skating dance that is the movie's best moment. There are some nice dissolves from scene to scene, like a flip-book view of Linda dancing that melts into the real thing. Watching this the first time, the minutes stretched like rubber. The second time things flew much faster, because I knew what I wanted to see and could look forward to its arrival. I guess audiences of the 1930s had that expectation built in, one reason perhaps why these movies were so popular and no one cared when they were a bit inane.

"Shall We Dance" is for this viewer one of the great Astaire-Rogers films, even if some of the comments don't agree. I love it because of the glorious Astaire dancing. One of my all-time favorite numbers of his is "Slap that Bass" in which Astaire dances to the rhythm of machines. Oh, those pirouettes! Amazing. I rewound and watched it twice more. Astaire plays a ballet dancer named Petrov. In real life, Astaire was loathe to do ballet because he was self-conscious about his large hands. Who's looking at his hands? Petrov falls hard for singer Linda Keene (Rogers, who else) and arranges to follow her on the same ship to New York. Everyone has a great time, including the comic relief, Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton, and Jerome Cowan. One of the best scenes occurs as Horton and Cowan smuggle a dummy of Linda (from a number she never did) into Astaire's stateroom to photograph the two together and prove they're married (they're not. And Blore getting arrested and telephoning to get bailed out of the Susquehana jail is wonderful. But "Shall We Dance," like the previous Astaire-Rogers pairings, isn't about the plot, it's about the music and dance. What music, what dance. George and Ira Gershwin's score includes "I've Got Beginner's Luck," and "They All Laughed," both sung by Astaire, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" (sung and danced by the pair on roller skates), "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (sung by Astaire), and the music later becomes a ballet sequence with Astaire and Harriet Hoctor. Astaire and Rogers dance to "Shall We Dance" after Astaire sings the number and the two reprise "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." You can't beat "Shall We Dance" for pure escapism, breathtaking dance, and great songs.

Astaire plays ballet star Pete "Petrov" Peters who falls for Rogers (Linda Keene).He arranges to cross the Atlantic aboard the same ship as Rogers and along the way he sings and dances and they dance together. Edward Everett Horton plays his manager and provides the comic relief. But who cares about the plot. We watch these movies for the songs and dancing and they are good. A highlight is Astaire's solo number in the steam room of the ship as he dances in time to the ship's pistons. There are some classic George Gershwin songs in this one: "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me". This is the 7th pairing of Astaire and Rogers. You can also see Astaire and Rogers in these films: Shall We Dance (1937) Swing Time (1936) Follow the Fleet (1936) Top Hat (1935) Roberta (1935) The Gay Divorcée (1934) Flying Down to Rio (1933)

This is undoubtedly one of the best that Fred and Giner made at RKO in glorious black and white and it's singular inasmuch that one is able to wallow in the melodic melodies and literate lyrics whilst simultaneously marvelling at what Depression audiences would sit still for in terms of credibility. All three writers - Lee Loeb, Harold Buchman 'story' and Ernest Pagano 'screenplay' - racked up dozens of other credits - Pagano worked on four other Astaire movies, Carefree, again with Ginger, A Damsel In Distress, You Were Never Lovlier and You'll Never Get Rich - and presumably wrote all five screenplays in the same colander. Consider: The story opens in Paris; Astaire, dancing star of a Russian ballet troupe, is happy to stay there where he hopes to meet Linda Keene (Rogers) an American entertainer with whom he has fallen in love. Impresario Jeffrey Baird (Edward Everett Horton) wants Petrov (Astaire)to return to New York and dance at the Met but Petrov is adamant. Then, he meets Keene and learns she is sailing the very next day (from Paris, mind you, on a Liner, yet) on the Queen Ann so without further ado he informs Baird that he (Petrov) will sail to NY the next day. Just like that. No advance booking necessary, just turn up with your troupe of Russian dancers and yes, of course, you can have a couple of dozen staterooms at a couple of hours notice. More? Halfway across the Atlantic, Ginger, teed off with Fred, persuades the captain to allow her to leave on the plane that comes to collect air mail for New York. Yes, you heard. A plane lands on a liner in the middle of the Atlantic as a matter of course to collect mail. More? Gee, you're tough to please, but okay. The first real song and dance number occurs in the engine room of the ship and this is an engine room where you could eat off the highly POLISHED floor even as you marvel at the pristine art-deco pistons and other paraphernalia. Forget Gene O'Neill and the realistic engine rooms he was putting on stage a decade earlier in such plays as The Long Voyage Home, The Hairy Ape, etc, THIS is an engine room where grease, oil and dirt are strictly forbidden. More? Listen, there IS more, lots more but enough already. I only mention these little things so I can now say they don't MATTER. This is escapism, pure and simple. A great, great score boasting, in addition to the title song, Slap That Bass, Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, They All Laughed, I've Got Beginner's Luck and the immortal They Can't Take That Away From Me. Eric 'Slow Burn' Blore divvies up the laughs with Horton and a wonderful (but, alas, now lost) time is had by all.