The Gay Divorcee (1934)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | aunt | dancer | dance | password | 

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Taglines:

The King and Queen of 'Carioca'

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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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

The jumpsuit that Betty Grable wears in the "Let's K-nock K-nees" dance number was a garment previously worn by Dolores del Rio in Flying Down to Rio.

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Goofs

When Tonetti and Guy are tied together after the night in the hotel room, they make a number of moves where they try to go in opposite directions, but are unable to because they are tied together. When the doorbell rings a final time Tonetti goes to answer the door and Guy goes to comfort Mimi, they are no longer tied together.

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Quotes

Mimi Glossop: Please don't ask me to stay.
Guy Holden: All right, I won't. Don't go!

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Connections

Referenced in De-Lovely (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Let's K-nock K-nees"
(1931)
Music and Lyrics by Mack Gordon and Harry Revel
Song performed by Betty Grable (uncredited) and Edward Everett Horton (uncredited)
Dance performed by Betty Grable (uncredited), Edward Everett Horton (uncredited), chorus

User Reviews

Sensational

Following an apparently accidental teaming in 1933's Flying Down to Rio (a fun Dolores Del Rio vehicle), Fred and Ginger got their first starring feature a year later. It was based on J. Hartley Manners' play 'The Gay Divorce'. The Hays Office insisted on shoving an 'e' on the end, for how could a divorce be so trifling as to be gay? Some UK prints still run with the original title. RKO assembled a sparkling ensemble cast of top-flight farceurs, bringing together (in ascending order of sublimity) Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton and Erik Rhodes ("Are you a union man?"). Mark Sandrich directs the thing with a maximum of fuss and style. Hermes Pan helped Fred choreograph the numbers.

The plot is suitably - and delightfully - trivial. Musical star Guy Holden (Fred) happens upon a girl (Ginger), falls desperately in love with her, then spends the rest of the picture trying to free himself from marvellously silly plot threads and Everett Horton's exquisite quadruple-takes.

Keeping just one song from Cole Porter's original score, the timeless 'Night and Day', and adding only four others, The Gay Divorcée is more a comedy with songs than it is a musical comedy. But what comedy - and what songs! 'Looking For a Needle in a Haystack' is a masterpiece of economy: Fred a whirlwind of frustrated, lovestruck energy as he spins around his hotel room lamenting his missing love in peerless style. "Men don't pine," he memorably concludes, "Women pine. Men ... suffer." Everett Horton's rare excursion into song-and-dance territory is a breath of hysterical, liberating ludicrousness, as he knocks knees with a young Betty Grable. 'Don't Let It Bother You', performed by a chorus of dancing girls (and dolls), then spectacularly reprised by a tapping Astaire, is another treat. 'The Continental', the film's vast production number is peculiarly edited but sporadically fine and offers a fitting climax.

It's exceptional fluff, the sort of heady, heightened escapism that you don't come close to very often. An extravagantly mounted, joyous comedy played to perfection by two stars at their irresistible peak. Unmissable.