Swing Time (1936)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Howard Lindsay (screenplay) and
Allan Scott (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 October 1936 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

A glorious songburst of gaiety and laughter!

Plot:

A performer and gambler travels to New York City to raise the $25,000 he needs to marry his fiancée, only to become entangled with a beautiful aspiring dancer.

Plot Keywords:

Dance | New York City | Dancer | Gambler | Blackface

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Lucky Garnett
Ginger Rogers	...	Penny Carroll
Victor Moore	...	Pop Cardetti
Helen Broderick	...	Mabel Anderson
Eric Blore	...	Gordon
Betty Furness	...	Margaret Watson
Georges Metaxa	...	Ricky Romero

Also Known As:

I Won't Dance (USA) (working title)
Never Gonna Dance (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #2273)

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

44th American President Barack Obama referred to a quote from the movie in his inauguration acceptance speech on 20th January, 2009.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the shadow dance, the shadow behind Lucky is visible through him.

Quotes:

John "Lucky" Garnett: Now, eh... how did you say that last step went? Eh... oh, yes!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fred Astaire: Puttin' on His Top Hat (1980) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)

Happy-Go-Lucky

SWING TIME (RKO Radio, 1936), directed by George Stevens, marks the sixth screen teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and if not their masterpiece, their best collaboration together. Aside from the predictable storyline that succeeds in presenting itself as an original screenplay, its their most lavish and stylish production, with the most memorable songs ever scored for a motion picture, compliments of Jerome Kern. Yet it's richness in sets and costumes makes one forget that this very expensive looking film was done at the height of the Great Depression.

The story begins with John "Lucky" Garnett (Fred Astaire), a professional dancer finishing up with his stage performance, and about to leave the theater and marry Margaret Watson (Betty Furness), his childhood sweetheart. Because his friend, "Pop" Cardetti (Victor Moore) feels his marriage would be a mistake, he succeeds into getting Lucky (whose biggest weakness is gambling) into a game of cards with his colleagues while others "arrange" to take time and have a tailor fix his pants by having cuffs put on them, while in reality his pants don't need cuffs. Sometime later, Lucky suddenly remembers that he has to go to his wedding. Lucky rushes out, only to find that he is hours late, with the guests and preacher long gone. Lucky manages to persuade Margaret and her angry father (Landers Stevens), who disapproves of dancers, that if he can make $25,000 for his professional dancing and prove himself a good provider, he will return to Margaret and claim her as his bride. The old man readily agrees to this idea and all is forgiven. Lucky and Pop train ride to New York City where while walking down the streets, a misunderstanding occurs between them and a young lady (Ginger Rogers) involving a lucky quarter belonging to Pop, in which a policeman (Edgar Dearing) enters the scene and sends the lady on her way, thus, taking the side of the two gentlemen, causing the lady to become angry, calling the cop a "cossack.". Trying to square himself, Lucky follows the girl, Penelope Carroll, to the place where she works, which happens to be a dancing school. He pretends to enroll in a class and has Penny as his teacher. When Penny is found insulting her pupil, whom she finds unbearable and unable to learn to dance, she is fired by her employer, Mr. Gordon (Eric Blore). Lucky redeems himself by showing Mr. Gordon how much Penny has taught him. Amazed by the accomplishment in only one easy lesson, Gordon arranges for Penny and Lucky to dance professionally at the Silver Scandal Night Club. Along the way, Lucky gambles his way to success, by winning a game of cards to obtain an orchestra leader, Ricardo Romero (Georges Metaxa), who loves Penny but is jealous of her dancing partner, while Pop finds middle-aged love with Mabel Anderson (Helen Broderick), Penny's co-worker, best friend and roommate. Problems arise when Margaret returns to the scene and Ricardo wants to marry Penny.

SWING TIME's perfection mainly relies on the comic timing supplied by both its stars and character supporters, as well as the production numbers that surpass anything Astaire and Rogers have done in their previous outings. The score by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields include: "Pick Yourself Up" (sung by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers); "The Way You Look Tonight" (sung by Fred Astaire, later reprised by Georges Metaxa); "The Waltz in Swing Time" (instrumental dance by Astaire and Rogers); "A Fine Romance" (sung by Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire); "Bojangles of Harlem" (sung by chorus/ performed by Astaire); "Never Gonna Dance" (sung by Astaire/ danced by Astaire and Rogers, along with "The Way You Look Tonight" and FINALETTE: Astaire and Rogers singing "A Fine Romance" and "The Way You Look Tonight." Of the songs mentioned, "The Way You Look Tonight" won the Academy Award as best song of 1936. Prior to the first song and dance to "Pick Yourself Up," the movie opens with Astaire and other dancers performing on stage. This is performed briefly, making this appear as if this dance sequence were a cut number that opens towards the end before going into the storyline and plot development.

Of the musical highlights, "Bojangles of Harlem," Astaire's solo number and his only blackface number, is an immediate classic that can be seen over and over again without any loss of interest. Reportedly a tribute to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Astaire manages to make what would be offensive to today's society entirely watchable and entertaining. Unlike the traditional blackface performers of Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson, Astaire avoids using the whiteness around his lips and presents himself in a complete tanned facial makeup, dressed in derby and spotted jacket. And when he dances in front of three shadows of himself on the wall, this has to be seen to really be appreciated. This is possibly the best eight minutes of musical screen time ever recorded on film. In the days of commercial television of decades ago, TV stations would have to be crazy or ignorant to delete the "Bojangles" number, which, for what I've seen, they never did. However, I do recall that the ten minute sequence that leads to "A Fine Romance," sung by Rogers, would sometimes get the axe in order to fit in more commercial breaks in a two hour time slot for this 103 minute movie. After seeing "Bojangles of Harlem," one would wonder how would Astaire ever top this? Well, he does, with "Never Gonna Dance," in which Astaire and Rogers dance on the glittering dance floor and finish by dancing separately up a flight of two staircases. In the excellent documentary, FRED ASTAIRE: PUTTIN' ON HIS TOP HAT, for PBS in 1980, narrator Joanne Woodward mentions that this memorable dance sequence was perfected after its 48th take, way past midnight, by which then Rogers' feet were actually bleeding through her shoes. And the effort these two stars put into the movie is phenomenal.

SWING TIME brings back Helen Broderick, of TOP HAT (1935) fame, for the second and final time supporting Astaire and Rogers, once more delivering wisecracks in her deadpan manner. This also marked her first of several roles opposite Victor Moore. As with each passing movie, Ginger Rogers has groomed, moreso here, into an attractive young lady. And by now, her singing voice has matured, no longer the high-pitch girlish singer she once was in FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933). Also seen in the supporting cast are Pierre Watkin, Gerald Hamer, Donald Kerr and Frank Jenks in smaller roles. Eric Blore, a regular in five Astaire and Rogers musicals, is given less screen time here than in his other collaboration with them. Unlike the other films, Blore supports a mustache and doesn't play a waiter or a butler.

SWING TIME is currently available on video cassette and DVD, and plays on cable television's American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies. To watch this movie for the 50th time is like watching it for the first. In other words, highly recommended, particularly during the late hours or during a cold, snowy afternoon, particularly since snow covers a lot of ground during the latter portions of SWING TIME.