Ein Fräulein in Nöten

Back when musicals weren't showcases for choreographers, we had wonderful movies such as this one.

Being a big fan of both Wodehouse and Fred Astaire I was delighted to finally see this movie. Not quite a blend of Wodehouse and Hollywood, but close enough. Some of the American vaudeville humour, the slapstick not the witty banter, clash with Wodehouse's British sense of humour. But on the whole, the American style banter makes the American characters seem real rather than cardboard caricatures.

Some inventive staging for the dance numbers, including the wonderful fairground with revolving floors and funhouse mirrors, more than make up for the lack of a Busby Berkley over the top dance number. They seem a lot more realistic, if you could ever imagine people starting to sing and dance as realistic.

The lack of Ginger Rogers and Eric Blore don't hurt the movie, instead they allow different character dynamics to emerge. It's also nice not to have a wise cracking, headstrong love interest. Instead we have a gentle headstrong love interest, far more in keeping with Wodehouses' young aristocratic females.

Disregard the plot and enjoy Fred Astaire doing A Foggy Day and several other dances, one a duo with a hapless Joan Fontaine. Here we see Astaire doing what are essentially "stage" dances in a purer form than in his films with Ginger Rogers, and before he learned how to take full advantage of the potential of film. Best of all: the fact that we see Burns and Allen before their radio/TV husband-wife comedy career, doing the kind of dancing they must have done in vaudeville and did not have a chance to do in their Paramount college films from the 30s. (George was once a tap dance instructor). Their two numbers with Fred are high points of the film, and worth waiting for. The first soft shoe trio is a warm-up for the "Chin up" exhilarating carnival number, in which the three of them sing and dance through the rides and other attractions. It almost seems spontaneous. Fan of Fred Astaire and Burns & Allen will find it worth bearing up under the "plot". I've seen this one 4 or 5 times, and find the fast forward button helpful.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, when I read about Fred Astaire teaming up with George Burns & Gracie Allen in a movie with a script by P.G. Wodehouse and music by the Gershwins. It is definitely worth seeing, but lacks the cohesive quality of the Fred & Ginger movies.

The story would probably be better to read in a Wodehouse book, where the humor comes across better. Some of the acting is downright painful to watch (notably the young boy and the damsel).

But...! The funhouse dance is worth more than most movies. I never knew that Gracie Allen could dance, but boy does she in this movie. Have you ever tried to remain standing on one of those spinning discs in a funhouse? Imagine tapdancing on one in high heels! She keeps up wonderfully with Astaire and adds greatly to the overall quality of the picture.

Several nice songs, particularly fun are Nice Work if you Can Get It and Stiff Upper Lip.

Recommended for fans of Astaire, Burns & Allen. I had to go back and re-watch the funhouse dance as soon as the credits rolled.

Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joan Fontaine. A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS (1937) may seem like a curiosity piece, but it's really a great, lesser-known movie. It's a fun comedy/musical in the vein of the Astaire/Rogers films of the decade. You can't really go wrong with a Fred Astaire movie, particularly from the black & white days. Astaire was so likable and charming on-screen. He was great at comedy, he could carry a tune, and brother could he ever dance.

The romance plot is set up with Astaire playing an American dancer traveling abroad and Joan Fontaine playing a young noblewoman who doesn't want to marry the eligible bachelors at home. The two meet and through a series of misunderstandings, Fred comes to believe that Joan is in love with him. She isn't at first, but if you've seen enough of these light-hearted Hollywood rom-coms, you know what happens. Fontaine's servants have bets on who she will marry, and they try to influence the romantic outcome in their favor.

George Burns and Gracie Allen are comedy legends. They're not known for their feature films, but they really sparkle in this one as Astaire's sidekicks. Their comedy bits are golden and they even join Fred for some dancing.

The rest of the supporting cast is great, particularly Reginald Gardiner and Montagu Love. Joan Fontaine, very early in her career, is absolutely lovely.

The music is from George and Ira Gershwin and is pretty good, if not as memorable as some of the music from the Astaire/Rogers flicks. I recognized "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "A Foggy Day". There are a few wonderful dance sequences, including a wildly inventive fun house scene with Astaire, Burns, Allen, and a crowd of extras. There's also a tremendous solo routine where Astaire tap dances and plays a drum set-- with his feet.

I caught this gem on TCM and I'm glad I did. I'm a huge Fred Astaire fan and this movie fits right in with his others. Plus it's got the added comedic bonus of George Burns and Gracie Allen. The movie is a lot of fun and it's got a nice little love story. It's time well spent if you're a classic movie fan. I just wish this forgotten treasure was more readily available.

First of all, in defense of JOAN FONTAINE, it must be said that Ginger Rogers would have been terribly miscast as Alyce, the young British lady who has the title role. Fontaine makes a fetching picture as the heroine here, but her acting inexperience shows badly and her dancing is better left unmentioned. Fortunately, she went on to better things.

But here it's FRED ASTAIRE, GEORGE BURNS and GRACIE ALLEN who get the top billing--and they are excellent. Fans of Burns & Allen will be surprised at how easily they fit into Astaire's dance routines. Especially interesting is the big fun house routine that won choreographer Hermes Pans an Oscar. They join Astaire in what has to be the film's most inventive highlight.

Unfortunately, not much can be said for the slow pacing of the story--nor some of the stale situations which call for a lot of patience from the viewer. It must be said that some of the humor falls flat and the usual romantic misunderstandings that occur in any Fred Astaire film of this period are given conventional treatment. Only the musical interludes give the story the lift it needs.

Some pleasant Gershwin tunes pop up once in awhile but not all of them get the treatment they deserve. The nice supporting cast includes Reginald Gardiner, at his best in a polished comic performance as a conniving servant, Constance Collier and Montagu Love (as Joan's father mistaken as a gardener by Astaire).

It's a lighthearted romp whenever Burns & Allen are around to remind us how funny they were in their radio and television days. Both of them are surprisingly adept in keeping up with Astaire's footwork.

Director George Stevens makes sure that Joan Fontaine's hillside dance number with Fred is filmed at a discreet distance but clever camera-work cannot disguise the fact that she is out of her element as Astaire's dance partner, something she seems painfully aware of.