Swing Time (1936)
Swing Time is one of the most delightful old movies, and certainly my favorite Fred and Ginger musical. It’s funny, sweet, charming, romantic, and irresistible. No matter how many times I watch it, it never fails to warm my heart, restore my faith in romance, and remind me that old movies are far superior to modern ones.
Fred stars as “Lucky”, a professional dancer and gambler. He gets so caught up in a spontaneous dice game that he actually misses his own wedding! His ex-future father-in-law is very angry and says he wouldn’t let Fred marry his daughter unless he had twenty-five thousand dollars to his name to prove he’s changed and serious. Off Fred goes to the big city with his faithful sidekick, Victor Moore, to earn his fortune.
Enter Ginger. She’s “Penny”, a dance teacher with an oppressive boss and an irritating boyfriend. She has no room for other nuisances, but a young man follows her back to her studio and signs up for a beginner’s private dance class – and he’s terrible! He doesn’t know his right foot from his left, he falls over, and when she says, “Listen, no one could teach you to dance in a million years. Take my advice and save your money!” her boss overhears the conversation and fires her. Her student tells the boss Ginger is the best teacher in the world, and to prove it, he starts the music and whirls her around the dance floor. You guessed it: her student is Fred.
If you’re smiling at the description of their meet-cute, you will love this movie as much as I do. Fred and Ginger have an adorable chemistry that blends hostility with undeniable attraction, and you keep wanting to tell them to forget about the love interests on the sidelines and rush into each other’s arms. Iconic songs like “The Way You Look Tonight” and “A Fine Romance” come from this movie, as well as the even sweeter, less famous “Pick Yourself Up” and “Never Gonna Dance”. The dance number accompanying the latter is one of my favorites. It’s part of the Fred and Ginger signature to let the choreography tell the story (and to also film the number with one or less cuts in the film) and “Never Gonna Dance” is the quintessential Fred and Ginger dance number. She’s in a gorgeous gown, he’s in his tails, and they try to mend their relationship through dance.
One thing, though: you’re going to have to remember the time period. Back in 1936, the way for Fred Astaire to show his admiration for Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was to imitate him in a dance number. It’s extremely difficult to believe now, but it wasn’t supposed to be or considered offensive for him to don blackface and dance in Robinson’s style. He was paying tribute to the great dancer. If you really hate it, though, you can just fast-forward the number. Don’t hold it against the rest of the movie.
The rest of the movie has a fast-paced, hilarious screenplay and classic stock character actors filling out the supporting roles. Helen Broderick and Victor Moore are very funny, and there are so many great quotable lines from the film that won’t make any sense to the average person but will have you in stitches when you repeat them in your everyday conversations. “Those trousers!” is fabulously dated, “Look out for that great big ditch…” managed to make it past the censors, and “How do you like my dress?” is an adorable lead-in to a kiss. Still not sure if you should rent it (or, let’s face it, buy a copy to watch over and over again)? Ginger Rogers, despite doing so many takes of “Never Gonna Dance” that her shoes filled with blood, said Swing Time was her favorite movie.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Fred Astaire movies here!
Fred stars as “Lucky”, a professional dancer and gambler. He gets so caught up in a spontaneous dice game that he actually misses his own wedding! His ex-future father-in-law is very angry and says he wouldn’t let Fred marry his daughter unless he had twenty-five thousand dollars to his name to prove he’s changed and serious. Off Fred goes to the big city with his faithful sidekick, Victor Moore, to earn his fortune.
Enter Ginger. She’s “Penny”, a dance teacher with an oppressive boss and an irritating boyfriend. She has no room for other nuisances, but a young man follows her back to her studio and signs up for a beginner’s private dance class – and he’s terrible! He doesn’t know his right foot from his left, he falls over, and when she says, “Listen, no one could teach you to dance in a million years. Take my advice and save your money!” her boss overhears the conversation and fires her. Her student tells the boss Ginger is the best teacher in the world, and to prove it, he starts the music and whirls her around the dance floor. You guessed it: her student is Fred.
If you’re smiling at the description of their meet-cute, you will love this movie as much as I do. Fred and Ginger have an adorable chemistry that blends hostility with undeniable attraction, and you keep wanting to tell them to forget about the love interests on the sidelines and rush into each other’s arms. Iconic songs like “The Way You Look Tonight” and “A Fine Romance” come from this movie, as well as the even sweeter, less famous “Pick Yourself Up” and “Never Gonna Dance”. The dance number accompanying the latter is one of my favorites. It’s part of the Fred and Ginger signature to let the choreography tell the story (and to also film the number with one or less cuts in the film) and “Never Gonna Dance” is the quintessential Fred and Ginger dance number. She’s in a gorgeous gown, he’s in his tails, and they try to mend their relationship through dance.
One thing, though: you’re going to have to remember the time period. Back in 1936, the way for Fred Astaire to show his admiration for Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was to imitate him in a dance number. It’s extremely difficult to believe now, but it wasn’t supposed to be or considered offensive for him to don blackface and dance in Robinson’s style. He was paying tribute to the great dancer. If you really hate it, though, you can just fast-forward the number. Don’t hold it against the rest of the movie.
The rest of the movie has a fast-paced, hilarious screenplay and classic stock character actors filling out the supporting roles. Helen Broderick and Victor Moore are very funny, and there are so many great quotable lines from the film that won’t make any sense to the average person but will have you in stitches when you repeat them in your everyday conversations. “Those trousers!” is fabulously dated, “Look out for that great big ditch…” managed to make it past the censors, and “How do you like my dress?” is an adorable lead-in to a kiss. Still not sure if you should rent it (or, let’s face it, buy a copy to watch over and over again)? Ginger Rogers, despite doing so many takes of “Never Gonna Dance” that her shoes filled with blood, said Swing Time was her favorite movie.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Fred Astaire movies here!