Bolero

George Raft is excellent as an ambitious dancer (he was a Broadway dancer before coming to Hollywood) who is never satisfied. He works his way up thru beer gardens and honky tonks in the US to the height of London and Paris supper clubs, finally owning his own nightclub. Even if some of the long shots are doubled by a dance act, there is enough footage here to show that Raft could dance. Not an Astair or Kelly, but Raft could certainly move--in total opposition to his screen persona as rigid tough guy. Bolero is one of Raft's most likable and best film performances.

Carole Lombard, in horrible makeup, cashes in on her breakthrough year of 1934 (this film and Twentieth Century) in her role as Helen. Lombard and Raft were a good team and are quite believable as dancers. Lombard slinks thru a few numbers here before the big Bolero production number--she even danced in her underwear for her audition. Quite racy. Lombard remains one the the screen's great treasure even 60 years after her death.

Sally Rand is surprisingly good as Annette, and yes Rand does her famous "fan dance" complete with see-through negligee. She has a couple of really solid acting scenes as well. William Frawly is good as the Irish brother (Raft plays a Belgian), while Gertrude Michael and Frances Drake are solid in support. Ray Milland has a small role as Lombard's husband.

Bolero was a hit, a change of pace for Raft, a star-making role for Lombard. It spawned 1935's Rumba, which was not a hit. And even if the long shots are of Veloz and Yolanda, they are extremely well done. We see enough of Raft and Lombard in dance action to believe that ALL the dancing is done but them.

Nice film though I wish the Bolero dance number had been longer. This and Night After Night rank among Raft's best performances.

This is a dance film very much in the classic mold. An arrogant but popular dancer is dumped by his/her partner/lover and takes a new partner in order to win a contest against the former, only to fall in love again, this time for real.

"Saturday Night Fever" any one?

What makes this movie so worth watching is not the plot, nor even the dancing: it is the manner in which it is presented.

George Raft, sleazy as ever, tells Carole Lombard, who has come to audition in his hotel room, to do so in her underwear. She complies without complaint. Later in the film Sally Rand performs her famous Fan Dance. Properly done, a woman hides her complete nudity behind two enormous ostrich feather fans, while keeping herself and the fans in constant motion.

It is safe to say that neither of these scenes would have been possible a year later, nor for another thirty after that.

If you enjoy precode films, and would like to see how far the studios would go in order to get those depression dollars, or could go to irritate the censors, this is a fine example.

BOLERO (Paramount, 1934), directed by Wesley Ruggles, stars movie tough guy George Raft(1895-1980), in a change of pace playing a dancer, not in the sense of Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, but that of an ambitious night club dancer working solely on a "strictly business" deal with his female partners, in spite of how some try to throw themselves on him.

The plot: Raoul De Baere (George Raft), working as a coal digger by day and dancer on amateur shows by night, is an unscrupulous young man determined to succeed. Advised he would do better with a partner, he borrows a large sum of money from his brother, Michael (William Frawley) to set up a dancing act for himself. He lands a job dancing at a Hoboken Beer Garden, moves to France where he rises from tea salon gigolo to featured dancer at the Cabaret Montmarte. After acquiring the temperamental partner, Leona (Frances Drake) and Lady Clare D'Argon (Gertrude Michael) as his sponsor, he joins professional forces with the self sufficient Helen Hathaway (Carole Lombard). Starting his own night club, Chez Raoul, he plans on dancing the "Bolero" with Helen on opening night, surrounded by black natives pounding the drums. During their debut performance, patrons have more interest discussing the war outbreak in Europe than watching the dance. Raoul cancels his performance and announces he's enlisting in the service for his native land Belgium. When Helen finds that Raoul enlisted in the Army as a publicity stunt rather than showing his true patriotism, she leaves him. After the war ends in 1918, Raoul returns to civilian life, diagnosed with a bad heart. Going against doctor's orders, he reopens his night club to resume where he had left off five years ago, dancing the "Bolero." Helen, who has since married, to Lord Robert Coray (Ray Milland), are both seated with the crowd to watch the re-opening of Chez Raoul. Because Annette (Sally Rand), Raoul's new partner whom he had known before, arrives drunk, he cancels her out intends on doing a solo dance instead. As for Michael, more worried about the risk Raoul is about to take and knowing how important this night is to him, goes over to Helen to see if she would consider substituting for Annette.

In spite of many dance numbers, BOLERO is not a musical, and should not be categorized as one. It is, however, a drama about a dancer. There are no songs or vocalizing whatsoever, only instrumental scoring to dance numbers to popular songs from the 1914-1918 era, including "In My Merry Oldsmobile," "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (time-stepping solo by Raft), "The Missouri Waltz," "The Tango," among others. Aside from Raft taking much of the spotlight on the dance floor either alone or with a partner, the story does break away once from Raft on Sally Rand, in a very rare movie role, doing her famous fan dance, lasting three minutes, leaving Michael (Frawley) to comment, "I never get tired looking at that number."

George Raft has always credited BOLERO as a personal favorite of all his movies, as well as Carole Lombard as his best dancing partner. While the story is about dancers, Raft and Lombard portray dancers, but for the "Bolero," they were doubled by professionals, Veloz and Yolanda, in the long shots and difficult movements. This had been a well-kept secret until revealed in a mid 1970s documentary, "That's Hollywood" narrated by Tom Bosley, and shortly after-wards in a segment from "Entertainment Tonight" profiled by Leonard Maltin. Aside from the now famous "Bolero" dance, Raft and Lombard earlier in the photo-play perform a dance to an untitled jazzy tune, once in a dressing room with Lombard in her undergarments, and later, in a night club act with Raft sporting top hat and tuxedo, and Lombard all gowned up.

George Raft is ideally cast as a self-centered dancer who won't let anything stand in his way. He performs well opposite Carole Lombard, with whom he appeared again in RUMBA (Paramount, 1935), a rehash to BOLERO, but not as good. RUMBA is as forgotten as BOLERO is better known. William Frawley as Raoul's half-brother, best known for his recurring role as the grumpy, bald-headed landlord, Fred Mertz, in the classic 1950s TV series, "I Love Lucy," starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz and Vivian Vance, not only has a sizable role here, but a full head of dark hair, probably a toupee. Ray Milland, some years prior to achieving star status and an Academy Award for THE LOST WEEKEND (1945), has several small but key scenes as the wealthy Lord Coray, sporting a mustache, loving Helen from a distance and following her wherever she's performing. Contrary to the fact to when the story takes place (1914-1918), Maurice Ravel's composition of "Bolero" was actually written in 1928, making it totally impossible for Raoul and Helen to perform a dance that didn't existed then.

Out of circulation on the commercial television markets in various states since the mid 1970s, BOLERO was resurrected on cable channel's American Movie Classics (1990-91) with some fine informative insights by its host, Bob Dorian. Never distributed on video cassette, BOLERO was the sort of movie Raft needed to break away from some offbeat assignments Paramount offered him. With few musicals to his credit, he would seem to always return to the pattern of gangsters or hard-boiled tough guys, the sort of roles that suit him best. At least Raft had BOLERO to his long list of screen credits as something personal and special in his career. (***)

In his eighties extravaganza "Les Uns et Les Autres" ,Claude Lelouch tried a new choreography for le Bolero de Maurice Ravel.It cannot hold a candle to the wonderful Raft/Lombard dancing.This extraordinary finale has also emotion and heart going for it,an emotion totally absent of Lelouch's too perfect and terribly cold sequence.

The story takes place in France 1910.A miner (Raft) becomes a Danseur Mondain.He 's not interested in his female partners and is a real heart breaker.His only purpose is to marry a rich woman.Enter a gorgeous woman (Lombard) who registers the same desire :she 's looking for a money match.So both agree not to fall in love with each other.

Outside the finale ,best scene is the first interrupted ballet : Raft realizes his military audience is not watching them ,talking about the war which has just begun.So they stop dancing and the band segues from Ravel's work to "La Marseillaise" oddly sung in English.

This movie from 1934 shows the viewer an era that must have seemed alien at the time and downright forgotten and strange to modern audiences.. Watching it is like a history lesson. George Raft shows us why he was known as the fastest dancer in the world at the beginning of the movie when he was a young man and just starting out on his career. The story line is not something we would see again especially as it is set in Europe. We get to see Paris and Brussels amongst other great cities with horse drawn-carriages, strange dance routines and the basic idea that you can dance your way out of poverty in nightclubs and make that career last. Carole Lombard stripped down to her underwear with stocking and suspenders to say the least, is a sight to behold. A year later and this wouldn't be allowed, the crotch of her panties on view. In a scene where Raft tells her that if she stripped naked he wouldn't be interested shows us how much more natural films were before the Hays code ; granny wasn't so innocent. Raft's lecherous and lascivious grin in one particular dance routine put him at odds with the cool elegance of Carole Lombard. They seem an odd couple -I believe at the time they had a romance- when not dancing and it is easy to see why she marries some-one else. Nothing comes between Raft and his dancing. A rare screen appearance by Sally Rand shows us that this lady's talents were limited to her fantastic fan dance, but who can tire of watching that????? Not enough of Bolero though, the theme of the movie being this music but we see very little of the dance routine or music considering the length of the composition. Raft is a better actor here than in many later parts in better movies, he knew this world and felt comfortable with it . Watch and enjoy.