On Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were treated to the incredibly entertaining Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire film Top Hat. Top Hat is, for those not too familiar with the work of Rogers and Astaire, arguably the quintessential film for the song and dance pair. The film was also the most successful film to come out of their partnership and contains many classic songs, including my wife’s favourite tune of all time “Cheek to Cheek.” The film marks Fred Astaire’s second most popular film ever, right behind Easter Parade and has been referenced in nostalgia in many films.
Top Hat is, like most films of this type, very light and innocent. I was instantly drawn in by the simple story of dancer Jerry Travers (Astaire) as he comes to London to star in a show produced by a friend named Horace (Edward Everett Horton). Travers eventually meets Dale Tremont (Rogers) and tries to gain her affection. As per usual in 1930s Hollywood, however, something goes awry and the hijinks are well on their way. Unfortunately for lovelorn Travers, Tremont confuses him with the husband of one of her friends, Madge (Helen Broderick). Madge’s husband, to complete this comical square, is Horace.
The film reaches its climax in Venice, where everyone attempts to straighten the whole mess out through various fun song and dance numbers. The dialogue is incredibly witty, including a scene in which Tremont and Madge have a hilarious conversation in which Madge thinks its fine for Tremont to see Travers and have a dance with him while, of course, Tremont thinks Madge is talking about Horace. The comedy comes out of this apparent allowance to openly court and dance with another woman’s husband and the ease that Madge appears to have with the situation. Very funny.
There are a number of ways to look at this film. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know much about dancing or about the way these dance scenes are supposed to look, but as a casual viewer I was enthralled. Earlier today, before penning my review, I had a look at a website that described various aspects of the dancing in this film, especially some of the “backbends” in “Cheek to Cheek” and talked about how elegant they were. This gave me a new appreciation for the film and helped prove that Top Hat exceeds beyond the normative comedy-romance films and is actually a piece of art on a whole other level. It is a beautiful and memorable film, from start to finish, and really does have something for everyone.
Irving Berlin’s songs are tremendous, as most people know. In this film, his music is the driving force and is either the break between the comedy or the main event. As Variety magazine reported in 1935, Berlin’s songs and Astaire’s dancing make this film a sort of “World Series” for movies. Add to that the luminous Ginger Rogers, with whom I was instantly enchanted and enthralled by, and you’ve got a magical film that really deserves to be seen by more people than today’s quasi-serious film crowd will allow for. They don’t make films like Top Hat anymore and I think that’s a damn shame. Rogers and Astaire light up the screen and provide for a film experience that is simply wondrous.
9/10
Trailer:
