Swing Time (1936)

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Howard Lindsay (screenplay) and
Allan Scott (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 October 1936 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

A glorious songburst of gaiety and laughter!

Plot:

A performer and gambler travels to New York City to raise the $25,000 he needs to marry his fiancée, only to become entangled with a beautiful aspiring dancer.

Plot Keywords:

Dance | New York City | Dancer | Gambler | Blackface

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Lucky Garnett
Ginger Rogers	...	Penny Carroll
Victor Moore	...	Pop Cardetti
Helen Broderick	...	Mabel Anderson
Eric Blore	...	Gordon
Betty Furness	...	Margaret Watson
Georges Metaxa	...	Ricky Romero

Also Known As:

I Won't Dance (USA) (working title)
Never Gonna Dance (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #2273)

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The shadow dance idea for "Bojangles of Harlem" occurred to choreographer Hermes Pan and Fred Astaire during rehearsals, when three different light sources illuminating Astaire produced three shadows.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene at the New Amsterdam, when Lucky first gets out of the car, there is a large white mark on the seat of his coat. This is possibly because no-one brushed off his coat after a previous take of the same scene, in which he sits down on a "snow" covered bench.

Quotes:

John "Lucky" Garnett: Now, eh... how did you say that last step went? Eh... oh, yes!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tokyo rapusodei (1936)

Soundtrack:

The Way You Look Tonight

48 takes?!! Jeez!!

This was, in many ways, the zenith of the Astaire-Rogers 10-film saga. And it manages to reveal a perfectly cohesive story (as well as a marvelous musical score) without one frame of mistaken identity or a misunderstanding which takes an hour-and-a-half to resolve. (Spoiler-ish) Astaire is initially betrothed to society girl Furness, but goes out into the world to raise a wedding dowry and ends up meeting, dancing with, and falling in love with Rogers instead. (If it reads like it all happens too fast, by all means acquaint yourself with the rest of the A-R film series.) The plots ultimately didn't matter- only the duo's ravishing dance duets, which were their love scenes. Probably no more thrilling dances have ever been presented on film: the tap routine "Pick Yourself Up" which first introduces the couple to each other; the 'lovely Waltz in Swing Time' (a happy duet which sort of marks the Act 1 finale); and the dramatic "Never Gonna Dance." This number is stunning for two reasons: it's a dance of a break-up, and it's the dance which may have been their most difficult to film. Because Astaire's mantra was uncut (or nearly uncut) dance numbers, his duets with Rogers were usually all done in one unbroken camera shot. In "Never Gonna Dance," the action travels from one dance floor up two curved staircases to another, cutting only one time, to a final 2-shot showing Rogers gloriously spinning in and out of Astaire's arms several times before making a dramatic exit. The shoot, history says, lasted from mid-morning until about 4 a.m. THE NEXT DAY, as take after take of the dance was spoiled with one problem after another (cameras bumping into walls, lights crashing, Astaire's toupee flying off his head!). Eventually, Rogers' feet bled into her high heels, but neither she nor Astaire wanted to stop until they got it right- and they finally did on take number FORTY-EIGHT. Now that's entertainment.