Top Hat (1935)

Back in the day, the phrase "he dances like Fred Astaire" was the equivalent of today's "he's got moves like Jagger." Dancing like Fred Astaire evoked effortless, light footwork as a dancer elegantly glided from one position to another or twirled a partner like they were one and the same. That was Fred Astaire. I knew who Fred Astaire was but I had never seen a genuine Fred Astaire dance film. My first recollection of Fred Astaire was as an animated mailman (in Fred's likeness) on the Christmas television special SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN (1970). And my only live action Fred Astaire encounter was an older Fred Astaire in a non-dancing role in the star studded disaster film THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974). I had not witnessed Fred Astaire at the peak of his popularity when he was dancing...well, like Fred Astaire.

But if we're going to talk about Fred Astaire, we have to talk about his dancing partner and co-star Ginger Rogers.  The platinum haired beauty was the other half of the successful dance team of Astaire and Rogers. They made an engaging cinematic couple, able to dance and sing and act (helped by both their vaudeville backgrounds). Astaire and Rogers would make 9 films together for RKO Pictures including FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933), THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934), and George Stevens SWING TIME (1936). Fred Astaire often danced in a top hat, tuxedo and tails so it seems fitting that TOP HAT (1935) directed by Mark Sandrich (who helmed 5 Astaire/Rogers films) and written by Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott, based on a story by Dwight Taylor, should be my first Fred Astaire dance film.

RKO Pictures appears to have had a regular stock company (in front and behind the camera) that worked together in many of these musical/dance comedies of the 30s. Besides Astaire and Rogers, there's Edward Everett Horton as Astaire's goofy buddy,  Eric Blore playing sarcastic waiters and butlers, Erik Rhodes as the snooty, narcissistic foreign foil (usually Italian), and Helen Broderick as the wise cracking girlfriend/confidante to Rogers. Director Mark Sandrich used this group in three films: THE GAY DIVORCEE, TOP HAT, and SHALL WE DANCE (1937). Even George Stevens cast most of these actors for SWING TIME. Screenwriters Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott either wrote or co-wrote many of these films including THE GAY DIVORCEE, TOP HAT, and FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936). And one of the best collaborators with Astaire, Rogers, and Sandrich was composer and lyricist Irving Berlin who's songs provide the entertainment in these lighthearted, whimsical films.

It doesn't take long into watching TOP HAT to grasp the film's unmistakable universal plot: mistaken identity. Fred Astaire plays Jerry Travers, an American entertainer over in Britain to star in his own London show. His wacky producer Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton) picks him up from the stuffy Thackeray Club (of which Hardwick is a member) and takes him back to his hotel. Jerry's so excited for his show that he tap dances and sings "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)" in Horace's room. His tap dancing wakes up model Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) who's trying to sleep in the room below. While Horace deals with angry hotel managers downstairs, Dale confronts Jerry who's instantly smitten with Dale.

The next day, Dale catches a horse driven hansom cab that Jerry has secretly commandeered. Jerry takes her to her favorite horse stables. Dale goes horse riding but a thunderstorm chases her to cover under a gazebo. Jerry joins her for their first dance duet and the song "Isn't This a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain."  Jerry returns Dale to the hotel. Her room is crammed with flowers (courtesy of Jerry) and an angry Italian fashion designer Alberto Beddini (Erik Rhodes) who also is smitten with Dale. The next day, Dale tries to find out Jerry's name. The hotel clerk mistakenly identifies Jerry as Horace.  Dale is shocked. She's friends with Horace's wife Madge Hardwick (Helen Broderick). Madge believes Jerry's cheating on his wife.  When Jerry approaches her in the lobby, Dale slaps him in full public view.

Horace hides Jerry in his hotel suite, afraid of bad publicity.  Horace orders his butler Bates (Eric Blore) to follow Dale. Jerry performs his show on opening night. Afterward, he discovers Dale has flown off to Venice, Italy with Alberto (and Bates hot on their trail). Jerry catches the next flight out to find her, taking Horace with him. In Venice, Dale confides to Madge (who was vacationing there) about Horace's philandering but Madge seems nonchalant about the accusation. It doesn't sound like the Horace she knows (because it's actually Jerry). With Madge's blessing, Jerry dances with Dale to "Cheek to Cheek." Later, Alberto proposes to Dale.  Confused by Madge and Horace's seemingly open marriage, Dale accept Alberto's proposition and they are hastily married. Madge punches Horace when he shows up for dinner (she's more ticked off then she let on to Dale). Jerry referees an apology between Horace and Madge and deduces that Dale thinks Jerry is Horace.

Armed with this new knowledge, Jerry sets about to disrupt Dale and Alberto's wedding night. He bursts into their honeymoon suite, upsetting Alberto. After he's kicked out of the room, Jerry takes the suite above them and tap dances thunderously, interrupting the newlyweds night of passion. Alberto races upstairs with a sword to fight Jerry only to encounter Horace. Jerry sneaks downstairs and takes Dale on a gondola ride to explain that he's not Horace but Jerry. Alberto, Horace, and Madge chase after them on a speedboat only to get lost in the fog. Dale's happy to find out Jerry's not an adulterer but she reveals to Jerry she's now married to Alberto. TOP HAT ends with a surprise twist that will solve Dale's situation and bring Jerry and Dale back together.

TOP HAT is a musical comedy about mistaken identity but it also fits into another genre that was wildly popular in the 1930s -- the screwball comedy.  Directors like Howard Hawks and Preston Sturges and Ernst Lubitsch were making screwball comedies in the 30s with great actors and outrageous plots but they didn't have one ingredient that TOP HAT has -- a couple like Astaire and Rogers that could sing, dance, and play comedy. TOP HAT has all these elements. Astaire and Rogers have several dance/song numbers together.  The early sequences are excellent and exhibit why they made a fetching pair. The finale "The Piccolino"is a bit of a letdown, more of a group dance number than a showcase for Astaire and Rogers.  Irving Berlin's songs are catchy and light, just like Astaire and Rogers dancing.  And the film has many wonderful gags and humorous moments. Each player has their moment to shine or get a laugh.

Before watching Fred Astaire dance in TOP HAT, the only dancing actor I had really watched was Gene Kelly in films like Vincent Minnelli's AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951) and Stanley Donen's SINGING IN THE RAIN (1952).  Whereas Kelly was a compact, athletic dancer, Astaire is tall and elegant. One surprising aspect about Astaire is that he's cast as a ladies man. He's certainly attractive but not in the classic way.  Kelly was better looking but could play modest and shy very well.  Astaire is cocky and confident. I first noticed this about Astaire while watching HOLIDAY INN (1942) with Bing Crosby. I expected Crosby to be the lady killer but it was Astaire who was the cocky one. Astaire and Kelly would make one film together called ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1945) dancing together in a sequence directed by Vincente Minnelli called The Babbit and the Bromide. They would also dance together in the MGM musical retrospective THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II (1976).

Ginger Rogers has that 1930s look for actresses from Jean Harlow to Mae West: platinum blonde hair and big eye lashes. Throw in the curls and a mole on her chin to separate Rogers from the rest. Rogers also had versatility. In TOP HAT, her dance duets with Astaire are beautiful but the two have a genuine chemistry whether it's a romantic scene or a comic one. Rogers wasn't just a dancing actor. She went on to act in more films, winning an Academy Award for Best Actress in Sam Woods' KITTY FOYLE (1940) and garnering excellent reviews in Garson Kanin's comedy TOM, DICK, AND HARRY (1941).

TOP HAT is a screwball comedy with lots of music and dancing. Astaire and Rogers costars in TOP HAT provide much of the comedy and worked with many of the great screwball comedy directors before and after.  Edward Everett Horton made a career out of playing the lead character's best friend or acquaintance. In TOP HAT, Horton plays Astaire's nervous producer/friend Horace Hardwick. He's not so much Astaire's wingman as his fixer with mixed results including being mistaken for Jerry by Dale. Horton began in the silent films but made the transition to talkies with his quivering, falsetto voice. Horton had some of the best character names in film: Egbert "Pinky" Fitzgerald in THE GAY DIVORCEE or Homer B. Bitts in HIS NIGHT OUT (1935). Horton would appear in more traditional screwball comedies like Ernst Lubitsch's THE MERRY WIDOW (1934), George Cukor's HOLIDAY (1938), and Frank Capra's ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944).

Horton may have perfected the high strung buddy of the protagonist in screwball comedies but Erik Rhodes (who was born in Oklahoma) found his niche playing European characters with broad accents or dialects. In TOP HAT, Rhodes plays splashy Italian fashion designer Alberto Beddini, who duels with Astaire's Jerry for the hand of Ginger Rogers.  Like Horton, Rhodes would also appear with Astaire and Rogers in THE GAY DIVORCEE as another outrageous Italian character Rodolfo Tonetti. The other Eric in TOP HAT is Eric Blore. Blore perfected the sarcastic servant whether it be a waiter or a butler. In TOP HAT, Blore as Hardwick's man servant Bates steals every scene he's in. Blore would work with the great comedy director Preston Sturges in THE LADY EVE (1941) and later provide the voice for Mr. Toad in Disney's THE WIND AND THE WILLOW (1949). Lastly, Helen Broderick as Hardwick's wife Madge is another delicious comic character. Broderick was wonderful with her deadpan delivery. Broderick would appear with Astaire and Rogers in SWING TIME as well.

Special mention goes to the RKO Art Department (Van Nest Polglase gets the screen credit for TOP HAT) for their beautiful, opulent sets especially the Venice set complete with canals and gondolas and Dale and Alberto's bridal suite. They are huge and minimalist allowing room for dancing or comedic action on a grand scale.  TOP HAT and many of the other Astaire/Rogers films were a diversion for an audience that was just coming out of the Great Depression. The stories transported moviegoers to Rio, London, Venice, and New York. Astaire and Rogers made audiences forget their troubles for an hour and a half, swept up in their graceful, synchronized movements. The rich were portrayed as foolish fops and the servants got all the funny lines. I tip my hat to TOP HAT and its stock company of performers and especially Astaire and Rogers who dazzled audiences for a good decade. Check out TOP HAT or any of the other Astaire/Rogers films for a nice distraction in these unusual times.