Top Hat (1935)

An American dancer comes to Britain and falls for a model whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.

Director:

Mark Sandrich

Writers:

Dwight Taylor (screen play), Allan Scott (screen play)

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred Astaire	...	Jerry Travers
Ginger Rogers	...	Dale Tremont
Edward Everett Horton	...	Horace Hardwick
Erik Rhodes	...	Alberto Beddini
Eric Blore	...	Bates
Helen Broderick	...	Madge Hardwick

Storyline

Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.

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Plot Keywords:

mistaken identity | tap dancing | based on play | flirting | marriage | 

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Taglines:

A gay, glad, glorious romance...with scenes of lavish splendor...and lovely girls enough to send you home a nervous wreck! (Print Ad- Daily Times, ((Rochester, Penna.)) 2 October 1935)

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview with Lee Server for the book "Screenwriter: Words Become Pictures" (Main Street Press, 1987), screenwriter Allan Scott said that Fred Astaire was "a helluva snob" who could be "perturbed very easily by the wrong reference." Scott said he would deliberately put in "wrong" lines for Astaire to spot and carp about in order to distract him from lines the writers did not want to lose.

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Goofs

The opening scenes shows Fred already seated in the lounge of the club. No gentlemen's club, at least a London club, to this day allows guests to be seated in the lounge before their sponsor arrives and vouches for them.

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Quotes

Jerry Travers: I think I feel an attack coming on. There's only one thing that can stop me.
Dale Tremont: Why, you must tell me what it is!
Jerry Travers: My nurses always put their arms around me.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998)

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Soundtracks

Isn't This a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain)?
(1935) (uncredited)
Words and Music by Irving Berlin
Song performed by Fred Astaire
Dance performed by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Sung a cappello a bit by Ginger Rogers

User Reviews

The real star of the movie

When whipping up the froth of a musical comedy most creators and commentators forget that fateful second word . . . COMEDY. Not to take away from Astaire & Rogers' beautiful balletic grace, but no one ever gave more comedy more modestly yet more professionally than Edward Everett Horton. His triple-barreled name alone suggests haughty dignity and sniffing puritanism, and his role in this film, as in so many others, gives him ample scope to screw up his mouth in petty disdain, look aghast at social blunders, and sputter in disbelief over the foibles of others while generously ignoring his own idiocies. Horton is a reactor, one which boosts a fairly pedestrian plot to the Moon & beyond. Like Margret DuMont with the Marx Brothers, there is something about the pernickity Horton that begs us to tilt his top hat and fling a banana peel his way just for the delightful reaction we are sure of getting. Perplexed or chagrined, the hatchet-faced Horton is a monument to the lost art of supporting clown -- those dumb bunnies and prissy busybodies that used to inhabit movies and give them life & breath even when the big-shot stars were off the screen. Horton had impeccable timing in delivering a line or flashing a double-take -- you feel he could just as easily count the nano-seconds between the neutron pulses of an atom. If he seems to intrude too much into the musical numbers of this movie it's simply because the director/editor must have been overly fond of his coy mugging. I recommend that music lovers rewatch this film and concentrate on Edward Everett Horton. Your attention will be well-rewarded with deep chuckles and an abiding affection for this New England zany.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

6 September 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

The World by the Tail

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$609,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 81 min (re-release) (re-edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1