Swing Time
RKO – 1936
Back in the day, they called a movie “a picture” rather than
a film or a movie. It sort of bugs me,
but I find myself doing it when I talk about old movies, because the actors and
directors themselves did that.
This picture has a funny script and the troupe of comedy
players. Eric Blore and Helen Broderick
are in this one, along with a silly guy named Victor Moore. This is a really watchable, enjoyable movie. It is great.
The script is by Allan Scott. The music for this is by Jerome Kern, with
lyrics by Dorothy Field. Oh, it’s
glorious. It’s worth watching the movie
just to hear Fred Astaire introduce “Just The Way You Look Tonight” to the
entire world. It features Fred at the
piano and is not a dance, and is a rather silly scene, but cute. They will dance to it later, don’t worry.
Fred plays John “Lucky” Garnett, a dancer and gambler who
gets in a bit of trouble in his hometown and heads to New York to work things
out for his future. He takes his
gambling buddy with him, probably not a great idea. Ginger is a dance teacher named “Penny,”
which is a good name for a gambler’s redheaded girlfriend, doncha think? “Lucky” “Penny” – get it? However she’s not his girlfriend just yet.
In her opening scene, Penny loses a quarter. No big deal, right? Nope, during The Great Depression you could
buy 15 pounds of potatoes for that! She
wants her quarter back. Plot ensues.
When retrospectives about the Astaire/Rogers partnership are
compiled, they often use the song and dance “Pick Yourself Up” from Swing Time
as a prime example of their charm and genius.
Rightly so. He is still wearing
the formal clothes from a wedding that just barely didn’t happen in his
hometown. Fred and Ginger have just met,
and she doesn’t know he can dance. This number
tells a great story and is so much fun it makes you think that you could do it
too. When I’ve seen this movie at film
festivals, there is a lot of cheering going on with this one. Watch it twice.
My favorite moment:
Ginger’s face. The entire
time.
There is a fun song that doesn’t include a dance called “A
Fine Romance.” And there is a dance that
doesn’t include a song called “Waltz In Swing Time” to an orchestral piece. It’s a featured performance, and her dress is
spectacular. The dancing is
spectacular. He and she are spectacular, as
usual. It’s a great dance. Love it.
Watch it twice.
Blackface. This was an insensitive theatrical thing at one point in our nation’s history, even into the 20th
century. White men would blacken their
faces to look like black men, then would sing or act in a way that they thought
black men sang or acted. Yes, it appears racist to us now in the 21st century. The dance Fred does in
blackface is actually a 1930s tribute to Bill Bojangles Robinson, a great tap dancer who was black. Taken in its historical context, Mr. Astaire was
not trying to insult Mr. Robinson, but was admiring and acknowledging Bojangles' brilliance. The big triple shadow idea of this dance was
used by Michael Jackson as part of the HIStory concert tour.
Toward the end of this film there is a song and dance called
“Never Gonna Dance” as a lovers’ farewell.
The plot brings the lovers to a sad goodbye, and it’s danced to a medley
of the glorious Kern music of this movie.
We finally get to see them dance to “Just The Way You Look Tonight” and
yet it’s bittersweet. GR’s turns in this
dance, sort of like arcs of chaines
turns done in heels, up on a platform no less (!) (don't spin off!), are epic. EPIC.
Bleeding feet stuff. Watch it
twice.
My favorite moment: Ginger’s
arms, which she uses to dramatic effect.
Those arms are perfect. Arms are funny – they can look so awkward!
Mine, even when I was young and fit and dancing, were too long and too
skinny and too hyperextended to ever look great. Hers are great. I’m jealous.
We have reprises of songs and various surprises at the end
for a satisfying film.
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