Ein Walzer aus Amerika

If you only watch one Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers musical this should be the one. There has long been a debate over which film is their best: Swing Time or Top Hat. In my opinion, Swing Time definitely takes this honor, number two being Top Hat, followed by The Gay Divorcée. All of their films together are excellent, but Swing Time is set apart because it takes a much more realistic look at love and life. This film handles the love affair between Astaire and Rogers' characters in a way that none of the other films did. The romance is touching, sweet, charming - and believable!

The songs are amazing, including "Pick Yourself Up", "The Waltz In Swing Time", "A Fine Romance", "Never Gonna Dance", and "The Way You Look Tonight", which is the greatest love song ever written. The scene where Astaire sings this to Rogers is not to be missed. His reaction to her touch - in this scene, as well as in the "Fine Romance" scene - is priceless. Watch for another not-to-be-missed moment, also in the "Fine Romance" scene, as Rogers uses every feminine trick in the book to try to get Astaire to respond.

Although this goes without saying, the dancing in "Swing Time" is superb. I hardly know words that are sufficient to describe the beauty that is the bittersweet dance number "Never Gonna Dance". The emotion in this scene is phenomenal. It is absolutely exquisite. If Fred & Ginger had, indeed, never danced - before or after - to any other number, this alone would have made them famous. It is the most beautiful dance ever recorded in motion picture history. Every time I re-watch this film, I'm always caught off guard by the sheer beauty of this one scene. For this reason alone, "Swing Time" is definitely a "must see" film.

I agree that George Stevens contribution to Swing time is noteworthy however it is the brilliance of Jerome Kern that truly stands out from this production. Kern's beautiful melodies:- 'Pick Yourself Up', 'A Fine Romance' and the 'The Way You Look Tonight'had left an indelible effect on my conscience, because programmers had been clever enough to utilise their qualities in advertisements and TV sitcoms in the UK in the 70's & 80's. But when I learnt recently that these numbers all originated from the same production I was surprised.

I had the pleasure of seeing this picture for the first time over the Christmas holidays (2004) and was entranced by the execution of these compositions in their original form. Of course much of the credit goes to Dorothy Field's lyrics - perfectly delivered by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. No wonder Irving Berlin and George Gershwin also wrote for them. We should remember that Astaire the vocalist is the equal of Astaire the dancer! Notwithstanding Kerns's melodies - which like Mozart's piano concertos are pure and simple but undoubtedly the work of a master - it is also the sexual chemistry of Astaire and Rogers that is expertly conveyed by Stevens and far ahead of its time! Forget Mike Nichol's Closer (2004) it is George Steven's Swing Time (1936) which suggests the leading players and their companions have an interesting private life and are far nicer people than Closer's protagonists too!

There's something special about all of the Astaire-Rogers movies, and "Swing Time" is no exception. Directed by George Stevens, it tells the story of a dancer and a gambler - not seen as much of a catch by his future father-in-law - who, after he misses his wedding, goes to New York. He promises his fiancée's father that he will return, solvent, and ask again for his daughter's hand in marriage. Once in New York, he falls for Ginger Rogers, who was never prettier than in this film. One thing leads to another, and the wind up as dance partners.

Eric Blore, Helen Broderick, and Victor Moore supply able support, and the film has a beautiful Jerome Kern score: "Pick Yourself Up," "The Way You Look Tonight," and "A Fine Romance" being a few of the numbers.

There are two knockout pieces in this film - Astaire's tribute to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is one of the most stunning numbers Astaire ever did. He manages to wear blackface and not have it be offensive, as it's very light makeup to suggest his portrayal of Robinson. The number, with its accompanying huge dancing shadows, is magnificent. And the final number - "Never Gonna Dance" surely is one of their top dances ever, with that incredible deco set, the double curving stairways, and Ginger in that glorious dress.

It's hard to sum up how their dancing lifts you up and out of whatever ails you. Definitely their smoothness, footwork, chemistry, and glamor reach out to my soul every time I see them.

Aside from the perfection of "Top Hat" the previous year, this one is my next-favourite of the Fred and Ginger collaborations. The songs are excellent Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields ones (A Fine Romance, The Way You Look Tonight, Pick Yourself Up, Never Gonna Dance) and the dance sequences are good, especially the one not far from the end with those huge staircases as backdrop; the ad-hoc tap at the dance centre, and Bojangles of Harlem, with its shadow play dancers behind a screen.

In support Helen Broderick and Eric Blore is back (although sadly Blore's appearance in "Swing Time" is brief), and Victor Moore plays a card sharp magician who slowly becomes tedious viewing. There's a recurring joke about trouser cuffs which both sets off the plot and ends it, and Fred and Ginger have the usually sparking repartee which ran through most of their work together.

This was, in many ways, the zenith of the Astaire-Rogers 10-film saga. And it manages to reveal a perfectly cohesive story (as well as a marvelous musical score) without one frame of mistaken identity or a misunderstanding which takes an hour-and-a-half to resolve. (Spoiler-ish) Astaire is initially betrothed to society girl Furness, but goes out into the world to raise a wedding dowry and ends up meeting, dancing with, and falling in love with Rogers instead. (If it reads like it all happens too fast, by all means acquaint yourself with the rest of the A-R film series.) The plots ultimately didn't matter- only the duo's ravishing dance duets, which were their love scenes. Probably no more thrilling dances have ever been presented on film: the tap routine "Pick Yourself Up" which first introduces the couple to each other; the 'lovely Waltz in Swing Time' (a happy duet which sort of marks the Act 1 finale); and the dramatic "Never Gonna Dance." This number is stunning for two reasons: it's a dance of a break-up, and it's the dance which may have been their most difficult to film. Because Astaire's mantra was uncut (or nearly uncut) dance numbers, his duets with Rogers were usually all done in one unbroken camera shot. In "Never Gonna Dance," the action travels from one dance floor up two curved staircases to another, cutting only one time, to a final 2-shot showing Rogers gloriously spinning in and out of Astaire's arms several times before making a dramatic exit. The shoot, history says, lasted from mid-morning until about 4 a.m. THE NEXT DAY, as take after take of the dance was spoiled with one problem after another (cameras bumping into walls, lights crashing, Astaire's toupee flying off his head!). Eventually, Rogers' feet bled into her high heels, but neither she nor Astaire wanted to stop until they got it right- and they finally did on take number FORTY-EIGHT. Now that's entertainment.