The Gay Divorce (1934)
"The Gay Divorcee" (original title)

Mimi Glossop wants a divorce so her Aunt Hortense hires a professional to play the correspondent in apparent infidelity. American dancer Guy Holden meets Mimi while visiting Brightbourne (... See full summary »

Director:

Mark Sandrich

Writers:

Dwight Taylor (from the book by), Kenneth S. Webb (musical adaptation),

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred Astaire	...	Guy Holden
Ginger Rogers	...	Mimi Glossop
Alice Brady	...	Aunt Hortense
Edward Everett Horton	...	Egbert 'Pinky' Fitzgerald
Erik Rhodes	...	Rodolfo Tonetti
Eric Blore	...	The Waiter
Lillian Miles	...	Singer - Continental Number
Charles Coleman	...	Guy's Valet
William Austin	...	Cyril Glossop
Betty Grable	...	Dance Specialty

Storyline

Mimi Glossop wants a divorce so her Aunt Hortense hires a professional to play the correspondent in apparent infidelity. American dancer Guy Holden meets Mimi while visiting Brightbourne (Brighton) and she thinks he is the correspondent. The plot is really an excuse for song and dance. The movie won three Academy nominations and the first Oscar for Best Song: "The Continental", a twenty-two minute production number.

---

Plot Keywords:

divorce | aunt | dancer | dance | password | 

---

Taglines:

Musical Triumph Of Two Continents

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

12 October 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Continental

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$520,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although "Night and Day" is the only song retained from the show "Gay Divorce" (on which the movie is based), the plotline remained basically the same on stage and film.

---

Goofs

When Hortense first meets Tonetti, she is wearing a black cape. When she goes back upstairs to warn Mimi that she might have the wrong man in her room, she doesn't have the cape on. Then when she returns downstairs and talks to Egbert, she's wearing the cape again.

---

Quotes

Waiter: Pardon, you, you uh rang sir?
Egbert Fitzgerald: Who me? Well, my dear fellow, what is there here to ring with?
Waiter: Pardon sir, that's just a figure of speech.
Egbert Fitzgerald: Oh, oh. Uhuh. Well, bring me a... let me have a... eh, there there. You see? Your figure of speech has made me forget entirely what I wanted.
Waiter: Could it have been that you require crumpets?
Egbert Fitzgerald: No no no, I never ring for crumpets.
Waiter: Would you be the kind of man who would ring for a toasted scone, sir?
Egbert Fitzgerald: Scone? Well, now uh, no. no. Try me again.
Waiter: Well, then could you, ...
[...]

---

Connections

Featured in Broadway: The American Musical (2004)

---

Soundtracks

"Don't Let It Bother You"
(1934)
Music and Lyrics by Mack Gordon and Harry Revel
Dance performed by Fred Astaire (uncredited)

User Reviews

Fred & Ginger's first starring role as a team

After their hit dancing of the "Carioca" in "Flying Down the Rio," RKO gave the teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers a star role in "The Gay Divorcée" in 1934. With few exceptions, the plots of the Fred-Ginger films were excuses to get to the important part - the dancing - but the story lines were always pleasant and the casting good. "The Gay Divorcée" was based on a Broadway musical (of which the only number retained is "Night and Day") and it appears that a few of its plot devices were adopted in later Astaire-Rogers films as well. One such plot device is that of mistaken identity. In this movie, Astaire (reprising his Broadway role) is mistaken for a professional correspondent hired to help Rogers get her divorce. Another device is that at first, Ginger is never interested in Fred - that goes here, too. And there's a stock cast in these films, namely, Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore (and of course, he's always the butler and always very funny). Horton plays Rogers' attorney whose major problem is Rogers' aunt (Alice Brady).

What can be said about the dancing except that it's glorious? Fred and Ginger dance to "Night and Day" after Astaire sings it to her. For a supposed non-singer, Astaire could really put over a song - his voice is pleasant and he's so musical - no wonder composers wrote songs for him. Ginger is beautiful and spunky as Mimi, a young woman ducking Fred while she's trying to get a divorce. Betty Grable has a bit that showcases her in the number "Let's K-knock Kneez." There's also "I'm Looking for a Needle in a Haystack" delightfully sung and danced by Fred. Astaire's dancing is fantastic throughout.

It feels as if about half the picture is taken up with the elaborately staged production number, "The Continental." In later films, of course, the dancing would center more around Fred and Ginger, but it's a great part of the movie and certainly solidified these two as a top box office pairing.

For pure enjoyment, there's nothing like watching Astaire & Rogers in these movies.