A Damsel in Distress (1937)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

P.G. Wodehouse (novel)
P.G. Wodehouse (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 November 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

It's Smooth! It's Smart! It's Snappy! New Songs! New Steps! New Laughs!

Plot:

Lady Alyce Marshmorton must marry soon, and the staff of Tottney Castle have laid bets on who she'll choose...

Plot Keywords:

Secretary | Press Agent | Daughter | Class Differences | Aristocrat

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Jerry Halliday
George Burns	...	George
Gracie Allen	...	Gracie
Joan Fontaine	...	Lady Alyce Marshmorton
Reginald Gardiner	...	Keggs
Ray Noble	...	Reggie
Constance Collier	...	Lady Caroline
Montagu Love	...	Lord John Marshmorton
Harry Watson	...	Albert
Jan Duggan	...	Miss Ruggles

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:Approved (PCA #3583) | Finland:K-16 | UK:U

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

In the late Thirties, Fred Astaire's box-office appeal temporarily dimmed somewhat. This film has been labeled a financial disappointment. Following next, the final two Astaire-Ginger Rogers pairings of the decade failed to equal the hefty profits of their seven prior match-ups.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Shrek 2 (2004)

Soundtrack:

Things Are Looking Up

A Foggy Day in London Town

"A Damsel in Distress" (RKO Radio, 1937), directed by George Stevens, stars Fred Astaire as Jerry Halliday, an American entertainer visiting England who resents the build-up that is given to him by his overly enthusiastic publicity agent. He later comes across Lady Alyce Marshmorton (Joan Fontaine), a noble girl whom he believes to be in distress when he learns that she is kept at her suburban English estate so not to have a secret rendezvous with an American she had met, which makes Jerry think the he is that American, causing a merry mix-up in typical Fred Astaire musical-comedy fashion.

Astaire's first musical without his famous and frequent co-star, Ginger Rogers, was reportedly his first box-office flop. There isn't much dancing here, really, except for a solo or two by Astaire himself. He even gets to have one dance with Fontaine, and two dance numbers opposite George Burns and Gracie Allen (on loan from Paramount) as his publicity agent and secretary, the highlight being "The Fun House Number" which deservingly won an Academy Award for Best Dance Direction (choreographed by Hermes Pan), which alone is worth the price of admission. Aside from the usual but very funny Burns and Allen exchanges, Gracie, who gets to sing one song here, is surprisingly in fine voice, which proves she has more talent than just being a scatterbrained second half of a comedy team.

The delightful George and Ira Gershwin tunes include: "I Can't Be Bothered Now," "The Jolly Tar and the Milkmaid," "Put Me to the Test" (instrumental dance with Astaire, Burns and Allen); "Stiff Upper Lip" (Funhouse number sung by Gracie Allen/danced by Astaire, Burns and Allen); "Things Are Looking Up" (sung by Astaire/danced by Astaire and Fontaine); "Nice Work If You Can Get It," and a reprise of "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (drum solo and dance by Astaire). Character actor Reginald Gardiner who appears as Kegs, gets the urge and a chance to sing "Ah Chi A Uoi Perdoni Iddio" from the opera MARTA, much to the dismay of Astaire, who sits there and listens with amazement.

Like the 1937 audiences, I particularly didn't care for this movie at all when I was first introduced to it on commercial TV (WOR, Channel 9, in New York City as part of the Sunday night weekly series, WHEN MOVIES WERE MOVIES, hosted by Joe Franklin) back in 1970, feeling that not only did it seem awkward watching an Astaire movie without Ginger Rogers (who would have been horribly miscast had she been given the part of Lady Alyce), but the movie itself seemed more like a throwback to those reproduced filmed Broadway musicals of the late 1920s, featuring leading man who sings and dances, pretty leading lady with a nice smile and little else, with a supporting couple supplying "comedy relief", etc. But over the years, I have grown to enjoy this one, in spite of some dull spots between song and dance numbers. The Gershwin score may be leisurely paced at times, as with most music during the big band era of the 1940s, but is wonderful to hear, especially "Things Are Looking Up," which is underscored through most of the story. But it's "A Foggy Day in London" that has become the film's most notable song. Astaire sings it while strolling through the Marshmorton estate. The heavy fog surrounding Astaire add some nice effects to it. Also in the cast of "A Damsel in Distress" are Ray Noble as Reggie; Constance Collier as Aunt Caroline; Montagu Love as Fontaine's father, Sir John Marshmorton; and Harry Watson as little English boy, Albert, the matchmaker and sometimes troublemaker who gets Jerry and Alyce together. Fontaine, in her first lead performance in a major film role, works out well as the shy British girl. Her acting is satisfactory, but not really Astaire's type. Fortunately, with each passing film, plus an Academy Award win in 1941, Fontaine's work as an actress would definitely improve.

Prints of this movie that were available on American Movie Classics and later on Turner Classic Movies need to have its sound and sometimes picture restored, but otherwise print is Okay. For a clearer copy, rent or purchase the video. (***1/2)