The Gay Divorcee

19341934
ApprovedApproved
1h 47m

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Official Trailer

Play trailer1:17

Comedy Musical Romance

A woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.A woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.A woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.

Director
- Mark Sandrich
Writers
- Dwight Taylor(from the book by)
- Kenneth S. Webb(musical adaptation)
- Samuel Hoffenstein(musical adaptation)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 5 nominations total

Videos1

The Gay Divorcee

The Gay Divorcee

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Lois Lindsay in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Erik Rhodes in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire, Edward Everett Horton, and Paul Porcasi in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Guy Holdenas Guy Holden

Mimi Glossopas Mimi Glossop

Aunt Hortenseas Aunt Hortense

Edward Everett Horton

Egbert 'Pinky' Fitzgeraldas Egbert 'Pinky' Fitzgerald

Rodolfo Tonettias Rodolfo Tonetti

The Waiteras The Waiter

Singer - Continental Numberas Singer - Continental Number

Charles Coleman

Guy's Valetas Guy's Valet

Cyril Glossopas Cyril Glossop

Dance Specialty - Knock Kneesas Dance Specialty - Knock Knees

Undetermined Roleas Undetermined Role
(uncredited)

Undetermined Roleas Undetermined Role
(uncredited)

Undetermined Roleas Undetermined Role
(uncredited)

Danceras Dancer
(uncredited)

Chorus Girlas Chorus Girl
(uncredited)

Danceras Dancer
(uncredited)

Night Club Patronas Night Club Patron
(uncredited)

Porteras Porter
(uncredited)

Director
- Mark Sandrich
Writers
- Dwight Taylor(from the book by) (musical play "Gay Divorce")
- Kenneth S. Webb(musical adaptation)
- Samuel Hoffenstein(musical adaptation)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

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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. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

screwball comedy black and white black and white film based on broadway musical 1930s 65 more

Taglines
- The Whole United States is Whistling Its NEW Enchanting Tunes! The music marvel of the stage, ten times as gorgeous on the screen! (Print Ad-Daily Kentucky New Era, ((Hopkinsville, Ky.)) 7 February 1935)
Genres
Certificate
- Approved
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
The musical number "The Continental" lasts 17 1/2 minutes, the longest number ever in a musical until Gene Kelly's 18 1/2-minute ballet at the end of An American in Paris (1951) 17 years later. It is also the longest musical number in all of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' films together.

Goofs
At one point, as Guy and Mimi are on the balcony, shot from inside the hotel suite, the top of the set wall above the double doors is visible, and above that a whole raft of Klieg lights, pointed down at the balcony.

Quotes
Tonetti: [unable to remember his passphrase "Chance is a fool's name for fate," Tonettie repeatedly muffs it] Chance is the foolish name for fate. / Give me a name for chance and I am a fool. / Fate is a foolish thing to take chances with. / I am a fate to take foolish chances with. / Chances are that fate is foolish. / Fate is the foolish thing. Take a chance.

Alternate versions
In the version of The Gay Divorcee released in Brazil in the 1930s, the Brazilian actor Raul Roulien sang in the musical number "The Continental".

Connections
Edited into Joan of Paris (1942)

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

Top review

10/10

Sublime dancing, hilarious comedy, Art Deco time capsule

It's astounding that this all-time classic doesn't get a better average score.

Nureyev said Astaire was the greatest dancer in the world, and Astaire is at his best here with his best partner, Ginger Rogers. No need to elaborate, just watch them in action.

Erik Rhodes should have got Best Supporting Oscar. He was also wonderful in Top Hat, but it's here he gets to say the immortal line, "Your wife is safe with Tonetti, he prefers spaghetti."

The clothes and the decor evoke an ideal of courtship as aesthetic rather than as rutting, as it is today. Elegance, grace and wit give even the silliest scenes more dignity than anything, fatuous "talents" can concoct today.

Some call the plot banal, but I think it's funny and inventive. Sure it's mistaken identity, which is indeed a cliché, but so what? It's what they do with it that matters. A professional co-respondent??? Of course it's silly but Hey, that's what farce is. And this musical farce is one of the very best.

helpful•32

4

jacksflicks
Jun 5, 1999

Release date
- October 12, 1934 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Languages
Also known as
- The Gay Divorce
Filming locations
- Santa Monica, California, USA
Production company
- RKO Radio Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $520,000 (estimated)
Gross worldwide
- $6,253

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 47 minutes
Color
- Black and White
Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1

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Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Top Gap

By what name was The Gay Divorcee (1934) officially released in India in English?

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