Fred and Ginger - in order

[charliechaplinfan]

It's a bit ghoulish with all those masks whatever way I look at it. Still once he discovers his Ginger the dance is really quite nice. I love the roller skates and I've never heard a better rendition of Let's Call The Whole Thing Off and I've heard many different versions.

Thinking of Ginger, her outfits and hairstyles are as much part of these films as anything else, I prefer the clean lines and smoother hair on her, sometimes she has a tendency to look too fluffy. She looks especially good in Let's Face the Music and Dance and the end dance in Roberta.

[knitwit45]

I remember seeing an interview with her many moons ago, and she stated that she had a huge input in the design of all her outfits, especially the long dance gowns. She was a bit prickly about it, I think people had a tendency to dismiss her as "Fred's Partner" and nothing more. I think my favorite of all their numbers together, all movies combined, is still the Pick Yourself Up number from Swing Time, followed closely by Let's Face the Music and Dance number from Follow the Fleet.

[charliechaplinfan]

Nancy, we must be twins, that's what I would have said

[knitwit45]

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[JackFavell]

My favorite numbers would be Night and Day, Never Gonna Dance, Pick Yourself Up, Let's Face the Music, and my absolute favorite is Isn't this a Lovely Day? from Top Hat.

Alone, just Fred, for some reason I like Fancy Free. I feel like it captures his whole personality perfectly, and I think this is the first of his great single numbers. I love how tenderly he dances in the second section for Ginger, patting the floor, as she looks up and breaks into a smile.

[charliechaplinfan]

I watched Carefree today, it'a a departure in a few way, it's a screwball comedy with songs, rather than a musical with comedy. One the dances is in a dream, Fred actually kisses Ginger and it's very romantic and Ginger does the chasing and Fred for once is not a dancer but a doctor. It's completely delightful. The number in a dream is I Used To Be Colour Blind, danced in slow motion, it's so very romantic and ends with the lingering kiss. Ginger chases Fred after she over comes her initial dislike of him, he gives her an anaesthetic at one point then leaves her, silly man as she's hustled away to her radio perfromane and behaves like Sue Sue Applegate being delightfully naughty, a ploy she can use to keep Fred in line as he's responsible for her. A great song and dance routine The Yam with Ginger getting Fred and then everyone else up, a fun dance with demonstrations of other dance steps, The Yam looks really fun to do and although it's delightfully silly Fred still looks utterly debonair. Change Partners and dance with me is so utterly romantic sung to Ginger by Fred when he realises that he does actually love her even though he's put her in a trance and convinced her he's a monster, the dance they dance to this is very romantic. Finally fred manages to undo his trance and all ends happily ever after for everyone apart from poor old Ralph Bellamy, who must have made a whole career at this point in his life of being the other guy in screwball comedy. Nice to see Jack Benny.

I had watched Carefree before and I'd completely forgotten just how good it is, it's refreshing, jiggling the formula without removing the heart and soul of the partnership, it's the most romantic as the comedy is in the situation rather than the silly people around them, I like this Fred the professional, he's not the over confident song and dance man sure of winning his girl. Ginger I tend to forget is one of the best screwball comediennes, this is most definetly her film.

Now I have the last two to watch which I don't feel as excited about, somehow they don't fit the pattern but watch this space.

[intothenitrate]

Great review, CCF. Yes, "I Used to be Color Blind" is sheer magic. And I love it when Ginger makes up a bunch of crazy stuff to convince Fred that she's neurotic early in the film.

Good point too about Fred as a clinician. When I was first developing an appreciation for these films, I would find Fred's cockiness rather off-putting, almost to the point of not enjoying the film. He's much better "reeled-in."

[knitwit45]

In that same interview with Ginger that I mentioned, she talked about that kiss at the end of the movie. Everyone but Fred was apparently in on the joke. The kiss was extended by movie magic, to be much longer than filmed.

[charliechaplinfan]

He didn't like kissing on film and thankfully his dancing is such that the kisses aren't needed, however it's really lovely to see them kiss in Carefree.

Fred's personality can be a bit too cocky, for me the moment when he meets Ginger in Shall We Dance when he is Petrov with all accent and mannerisms is the cockiest that he gets. For years too my hubby has always said that Fred Astaire reminds him of Stan Laurel and now I can narrow it down to just one expression but he's right there is a resemblance.

I hope that Ginger appreciated the fact that we appreciated her just as much as Fred, I may be wrong but I always got the impression that she was a bit jaded about the films, perhaps unsurprisingly when she had contributed so many other good films that these are what were remembered. She does do everything Fred does but backwards or sideways and in high heels and she never looks like she's anything but his absolute equal.

[JackFavell]

I think what makes Ginger his best partner is the fact that when she is dancing, she is also thinking all the time. She resists, but throughout the song we see her change, soften and fall for him. I somehow don't ever feel that his other partners had the facial expressions as well as she to match their dance moves.

[charliechaplinfan]

I've noticed Ginger's ability to reflect the songs that Fred sings to her, to me reacting to a song that is being sung by the other performer is quite a skill and the fact she manages to have this ability when she dances too makes her for me his best partner.

I don't know if I've mentioned my love of Fred being able to put over a song, he has a good voice, not the best by Hollywood's standards but he really knows what to do with these numbers by Berlin, Gershwin and Porter, his ability to cajole, yearn or just simply persuade is a joy to listen to, I quite regularly listen to his songs for the pleasure alone.

[JackFavell]

So do I, Alison. He's got such style, but also has heart and soul too. I was looking up which songs Fred had written, and came across an article that said that Berlin and Porter, Gershwin too, all chose Fred as their number one presenter of their new songs. They felt he "got" them, better than anyone else.

[charliechaplinfan]

I knew they'd written for him but not that they all chose Fred as their favourite singer of their songs. You put it well, Fred has heart and soul and makes us believe every note, even when his character thinks a lot of himself, his delivery is faultless and always wins Ginger over. Change Partners and Dance is wonderful.

[Fossy]

BS On Youtube

My son sent this link to me, supposedly 92 year old Ginger Rogers dancing with her 29 year old great grandson. Ginger had no children, so could not have had a great grandson. Also she died at age 83 years.
I believe that the dancers are 72 years old Paddy Jones, an Englishwoman and dancing teacher “Nicko”, a Spaniard.


This is Ginger at age 83, just 9 months before her death. Note the mode of transport.

[Midge]

Fossy, thanks for sharing the links. It was sad to see Ginger in a wheelchair, knowing what a wonderful dancer she had been when she was younger. The birthday greetings were touching and sweet.

charliechaplinfan, I've enjoyed your perceptive, insightful reviews of the Fred and Ginger films. You were saying that you haven't seen any Shirley Temple films. In addition to those already mentioned upthread, I wanted to mention that Stowaway (1936) may be of special interest to you. That's because there is one number in which Shirley, competing at a talent contest, does comic impersonations of several then-popular entertainers, including Fred and Ginger. She twirls around the stage with a male dummy in black tie and at one point coyly exclaims, "Oh, Freddie!".