Swing Time (1936)

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.

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Howard Lindsay (screen play), Allan Scott (screen play)

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Lucky is tricked into missing his wedding to Margaret by the other members of Pop's magic and dance act, and has to make $25000 to be allowed to marry her. He and Pop go to New York where they run into Penny, a dancing instructor. She and Lucky form a successful dance partnership, but romance is blighted (till the end of the film at least!) by his old attachment to Margaret and hers for Ricardo, the band leader who won't play for them to dance together.

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Plot Keywords:

card trick | ace of spades | back stage | engaged | squire magazine | 

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Taglines:

Swing It... Baby!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Ginger Rogers' favorite of her films with Fred Astaire.

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Goofs

Mabel sits as Romero leaves after proposing. The position of her foot and crossed legs changes several times.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Hail, Hail, Black and White (1989)

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Soundtracks

The Way You Look Tonight
(1936) (uncredited)
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Music by Jerome Kern
Performed by Fred Astaire
Reprised by Georges Metaxa
Reprised again by Georges Metaxa, Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers at the end
Played in the score often

User Reviews

A Fine Romance!

If you only watch one Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers musical this should be the one. There has long been a debate over which film is their best: Swing Time or Top Hat. In my opinion, Swing Time definitely takes this honor, number two being Top Hat, followed by The Gay Divorcée. All of their films together are excellent, but Swing Time is set apart because it takes a much more realistic look at love and life. This film handles the love affair between Astaire and Rogers' characters in a way that none of the other films did. The romance is touching, sweet, charming - and believable!

The songs are amazing, including "Pick Yourself Up", "The Waltz In Swing Time", "A Fine Romance", "Never Gonna Dance", and "The Way You Look Tonight", which is the greatest love song ever written. The scene where Astaire sings this to Rogers is not to be missed. His reaction to her touch - in this scene, as well as in the "Fine Romance" scene - is priceless. Watch for another not-to-be-missed moment, also in the "Fine Romance" scene, as Rogers uses every feminine trick in the book to try to get Astaire to respond.

Although this goes without saying, the dancing in "Swing Time" is superb. I hardly know words that are sufficient to describe the beauty that is the bittersweet dance number "Never Gonna Dance". The emotion in this scene is phenomenal. It is absolutely exquisite. If Fred & Ginger had, indeed, never danced - before or after - to any other number, this alone would have made them famous. It is the most beautiful dance ever recorded in motion picture history. Every time I re-watch this film, I'm always caught off guard by the sheer beauty of this one scene. For this reason alone, "Swing Time" is definitely a "must see" film.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

12 October 1936 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

I Won't Dance

Filming Locations:

La Grande Station, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$886,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,961

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1