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Fred Astaire + Ginger Rogers

Empyrium

One of the Regulars
Messages
175
Location
Land of the Rising Sun
No wonder nobody can beat them in dance or as actors.
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imoldfashioned

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,979
Location
USA
Thanks for reminding me of these two. My favorite numbers are:

Night and Day from the Gay Divorcee (great button at the end)

Pick Yourself Up from Swing Time (probably my all time favorite Astaire/Rogers number; Fred pretending he doesn't know how to dance and Ginger's dress is adorable)

"Let's Call The Whole Thing Off": "They Can't Take That Away from Me" from Shall We Dance (Ginger's face during the latter song is so expressive)

"Let's Face the Music and Dance" from Follow the Fleet (wonderful song)
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
Couldn't download the clip here at work,I'll do it later.
What I always loved about Ginger Rogers was the way she listened. As dopey and artificial as a number might be, she was always totally responding.
And they both always convey such joy in their dancing. Even if their pedal extremities are mangled and bleeding, you'll never know it.
 

Sefton

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,132
Location
Somewhere among the owls in Maryland
Empyrium said:
Someone could explain me what is that?[huh]
CARIOCA

Say, have you seen that Carioca
It`s not a foxtrot or a polka
It has a little bit of new rhythm
A blue rhythm that sighs

It has a meter that is tricky
A bit of wicked, wacki, wicky
But when you dance it with a new love
There`ll be true love in her eyes

You`ll dream of the new Carioca
It`s theme is, a kiss and a sigh
You`ll dream of the new Carioca
When music andlights are gone
And we`re saying good bye
instrumental
You ll dream.............

Sorry,I was a bit mistaken about the exact lyrics of the song. "Carioca" was the song featured in the first movie that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together "Flying Down To Rio" (1933). Love or hate "Carioca" the movie is lots of fun especially the "arial" dance number. And then there's Dolores Del Rio:)
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
"Roberta"

I caught the last half hour or so of "Roberta", the second Astaire-Rogers movie, the other night. I hope they show it again soon. Very different from other A/R stuff. They're the second banana romance, to begin with. The leads are Randolph Scott (pre cowboy era) and the fabulous magnificent wonderful Irene Dunn. The music is by Jerome Kern ("Showboat") and Dorothy Fields (daughter of Lew Fields of Weber and Fields). It's basically a musical fashion show, and if you keep your eyes open you'll see Lucille Ball as a fashion model in the final scene. But what really makes me want to see this flick is that the Astaire character, Huckleberry Haines, was played by Bob Hope in the Broadway production (1933), and "Roberta" is what made Bob Hope a star. I just want to imagine what Hope would have done with it.
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,119
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
If you like Roberta (and I do too, with the exception of Irene Dunne's overdone Kansas-City-British singing) you'll love "Flying Down To Rio," the first Astaire-Rogers teaming, with Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond as the leads. The plot is musical-comedy foolishness, but the musical numbers are both sublime and outrageous, especially the title number, performed by scantily clad chorus girls wired to the wings of biplanes. Don't miss it!
 

shindeco

A-List Customer
Messages
377
Location
Vancouver (the one north of M.K.)
The early ones are great. (But, then, the later ones aren't all that bad, either)

I got all 10 Astaire/Rogers movies not long ago in two boxed sets at...Costco! I couldn't believe it. I think the whole set cost me $60.
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
Yes, I got quite charge out of the flying scene, as if standing on an airplane wing was just like water skiing. And as if all those bodies wouldn't have any effect on the airflow, etc., etc. And as if one fell off they'd just go splash in the water. And also, of course, as if anyone on the ground could see them up there anyway. The general populace didn't quite understand aerodynamics in 1933 the way we do now. There's a similar scene in an old 1937 British mystery flick called "New York Non-Stop", where they're on a flying boat, and they stand on a little outdoor deck watching the sky go by as if they were at a ship's railing.
 

CharlieH.

One Too Many
Messages
1,169
Location
It used to be Detroit....
I love Astaire-Rogers films. I got the first set on my 19th birthday and it's wonderful. Even though it's not on the set, my favourite film of the series has to be The Gay Divorcee. If it weren't for the reel markers I would've never guessed that The Continental ran 20 minutes! (A good chunk of that number can be had here)
 

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