Movie Review – Swing Time

Swing Time – (1936)  Dancer and gambler Lucky Garnett (Fred Astaire) gets tricked out of marriage by his fellow performers.  His father-in-law to be will let him try again if he can go to New York and raise $25,000.  Once Lucky gets there he crosses paths with aspiring dancer Penny Carroll (Ginger Rogers).  Dancing and romance ensue.66

Rogers and Astaire teamed up 10 times on the big screen (this is #6 and Rogers said it was her favorite).  This is a classic musical comedy.  It comes with catchy tunes like “Pick Yourself UplAdance  routines of Rogers and Astaire.  As is also the custom for musicals the plot is a lightwieght  piece designed to string together the music and dancing.  Toss in  a couple of solid character roles (played by Victor Moore and Helen Broderick) and it’s a lot of fun along the way.

Of course, you don’t watch Astaires and Rogers movies for the plot.  The dancing sections in this one deliver beautifully.  The movie does show its age a little with the blackface “Bojangles” number.   But it also displays some amazing large ensemble dancing and some snazzy effects for the day and age.

One of the trademarks of the dancing with Astaire in the movies is that you always get to see the entire dancer.  The emphasis is placed on the dancing rather than highlighting the dancer with closeups.  It results in a much better feel for the dancing and an overall better visual for the movie.  Add in Astaire’s preference for dance scenes to be done in one continuous shot and you begin to understand how the dancing holds up so well after so many years.

I’m always amazed when I watch both Rogers and Astaire.  Neither of them had classic movie star looks.  Ginger comes closest but she’s really much more the girl next door good looking as compared to a Grace Kelly movie star.  Astaire bears a remarkable resemblence to silent movie comedy giant Stan Laurel.  Hardly what you would expect for a big time leading man.  In both cases it is the likable personalities of the two stars that make the difference.

That and the dancing of course.

Looking for something fun and frothy to wile away an hour or two? This could be just the ticket.

Rating – **** Recommended