The fifth sublime teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, SWING TIME is regarded by many as their finest film. The tenuous plot, which mainly serves to connect the brilliant dance numbers, concerns John "Lucky" Garnett (Astaire), a gambler and professional dancer. When Garnett arrives late to his wedding, his prospective father-in-law implements a punishment, insisting that Garnett raise $25,000 before he can marry Margaret Watson (Betty Furness). Still in tails, he hops a freight for New York, where he gets involved in a scrape with dance instructor Penny Carrol (Rogers). After following her to the dance studio, Lucky poses as a neophyte in need of training. Penny's boss Gordon (Eric Blore), happens to witness Lucky's incompetence, in the "Pick Yourself Up" number and is about to fire the young woman for nonperformance when Lucky launches into a dazzling display of terpsichorean skill. Impressed, the studio owner offers to get them an audition at the famed Silver Sandal nightclub. Arguably the peak of the Astaire-Rogers partnership, the dancers' nearly perfect blending of song, dance, wit, and decor only improves with time. Especially memorable are the subtly erotic tempo shifts of "Never Gonna Dance" and the coruscating technical command of "Bojangles of Harlem," a tribute to the great African-American tap dancer.
A musical comedy featuring the incomparable Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Dancer Lucky Garnett is all set to marry his sweetheart, but the girl's father calls a halt to the nuptials until Lucky proves he can stop his compulsive gambling and earn some real money. Lucky heads to the Big Apple to make his fortune -- and ends up finding his dream partner in dance teacher Penny Carroll.
Released September 4, 1936.
Songs include: "Pick Yourself Up" "The Way You Look Tonight" "Waltz in Swing Time" "A Fine Romance" "Bojangles of Harlem" "Never Gonna Dance"
Additional credits: George Marsh (sound cutter), Nathaniel Shilkret (music director), and John Harkrider (sets & costumes).
Additional cast: Ralph Byrd (Hotel Clerk), Charles Hall (Taxi Driver), Jean Perry (Roulette Dealer), Olin Francis (Muggay), Floyd Shackleford (Butler), Ferdinand Munier (Minister), and Joey Ray (Announcer).
Film was originally called "I Won't Dance."
The Turner videocassette is part of the "RKO Collection."
Excerpt: "Have you really made up your mind to leave me just to marry some girl you happen to know?" (Pop to Lucky Garnett)
"How could I fall in love with a common gambler?" (Penny to Mabel)
DVD Features:
Region (unknown)
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.37
Audio:
Mono 1.0 English
Additional Release Material:
Featurette - The Swing of Things: Swing Time Step by Step
Audio Commentary - Commentary by John Mueller, Author of Astaire Dancing
Musical Short Hotel a la Swing and Classic Cartoon Bingo Crosbyana
Distributor Notes: It's Swing Time anytime Fred and Ginger slip on their dancing shoes. Here, Fred's a gambler with a fiancee back home...but one look at Ginger and all bets are off! He pursues, she resists, and it's all tied together by a series of breathtaking dances. "Bojangles of Harlem," a tribute to hoofer Bill Robinson, has Astaire tapping with three giant Astaire shadows. The sly "Pick Yourself Up" features Ginger teaching the supposedly flub-footed Fred how to dance. Other highlights from the splendid Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields score include "A Fine Romance," "Waltz in Swing Time," and the Academy Award(R) winning "The Way You Look Tonight." George Stevens directs.
Year: 1936
Director: George Stevens
Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick
Source: Warner Home Video
Director of Photography
David Abel:
Production Designer
Van Nest Polglase: Art Director
Review 1:
"[F]eaturing glorious Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields songs..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.47 08/26/2005
Shopping Cart:
