I don't know that I've ever seen a film that has less plot than "The Gay Divorcée." It's like one of those "Three's Company" episodes where everything revolves around a misunderstanding, except with even less substance.
I don't know why I'm surprised though, given the other Astaire/Rogers films I've seen. This one set the mold for a formula that needed no revision, since audiences ate it up again and again. If anything, this one feels more like a trial run -- the dancing duo would make better films later in the decade. But they have their usual kinetic chemistry; Rogers especially looks adorable in this. Character actress Alice Brady plays the dotty matron role that Helen Broderick would assume in "Top Hat" and "Swing Time." Astaire/Rogers regulars Edward Everett Horton and (my favorite) Eric Blore are also on-hand and do what they're asked to do. Every one of these films has a big production number that serves as the film's centerpiece. Here it's "The Continental," and it seems to go on forever.
Also with Erik Rhodes, who plays a silly and outrageous Latin lover.
Grade: B+
I don't know why I'm surprised though, given the other Astaire/Rogers films I've seen. This one set the mold for a formula that needed no revision, since audiences ate it up again and again. If anything, this one feels more like a trial run -- the dancing duo would make better films later in the decade. But they have their usual kinetic chemistry; Rogers especially looks adorable in this. Character actress Alice Brady plays the dotty matron role that Helen Broderick would assume in "Top Hat" and "Swing Time." Astaire/Rogers regulars Edward Everett Horton and (my favorite) Eric Blore are also on-hand and do what they're asked to do. Every one of these films has a big production number that serves as the film's centerpiece. Here it's "The Continental," and it seems to go on forever.
Also with Erik Rhodes, who plays a silly and outrageous Latin lover.
Grade: B+