Shall We Dance (1937)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Mark Sandrich

Writers:

Allan Scott (screenplay) and
Ernest Pagano (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 May 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Hot Feet !

Plot:

A budding romance between a ballet master and a tapdancer becomes complicated when rumours surface that they're already married.

Plot Keywords:

Ballet | Ship | Ocean Liner | Dancer | Gossip

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Petrov
Ginger Rogers	...	Linda Keene
Edward Everett Horton	...	Jeffrey Baird
Eric Blore	...	Cecil Flintridge
Jerome Cowan	...	Arthur Miller
Ketti Gallian	...	Lady Denise Tarrington
William Brisbane	...	Jim Montgomery
Ann Shoemaker	...	Matron Spreading Gossip
Harriet Hoctor	...	Herself

Also Known As:

Stepping Toes (USA) (working title)
Watch Your Step (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

109 min | Argentina:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Australia:G | Finland:S | USA:Unrated | UK:U (video rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #2994) | UK:U (original rating)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Pat Flaherty as Park Policeman and J.M. Kerrigan are in studio records/casting call lists for this movie, but they did not appear or were not identifiable.

Quotes:

Jeffrey Baird: [picks up phone] Hello?
Cecil Flintridge: Oh, hello, Jeffrey. Yes, are you there?
Jeffrey Baird: Of course I'm here.
Cecil Flintridge: Now don't shout at me - I'm in jail.
Jeffrey Baird: Well, that's all right; we don't need you.
Cecil Flintridge: I'm in jail for battery, and I want you to get me out. I'm at the Susquehannah Street Jail . . . Susquehannah! Susquehannah - S-U-S-Q-U-Q! Q! You know, the thing you play billiards with . . . Billiards! B-I-L-L-
Policeman at Jail: What is this, a spelling bee?
Cecil Flintridge: Ahem. No, "L" for larynx. L-A-R-Y . . . N-No, not "M", N! . . . "N" as in neighbor! Neighbor, N-E-I-G-H-B--B! B! Bzzz. Bzzz. You know, the stinging insect! Insect! I-N-S-S! S, for symbol. S-Y . . . Y! Y!
Jeffrey Baird: Well, why? Don't ask me "why."
Cecil Flintridge: Look, Jeffrey. I'm in jail. W-wait a minute. What jail did you say this was?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Shall We Dance

Oh, no, they can't take that away from me

"Shall We Dance" is for this viewer one of the great Astaire-Rogers films, even if some of the comments don't agree. I love it because of the glorious Astaire dancing. One of my all-time favorite numbers of his is "Slap that Bass" in which Astaire dances to the rhythm of machines. Oh, those pirouettes! Amazing. I rewound and watched it twice more.

Astaire plays a ballet dancer named Petrov. In real life, Astaire was loathe to do ballet because he was self-conscious about his large hands. Who's looking at his hands? Petrov falls hard for singer Linda Keene (Rogers, who else) and arranges to follow her on the same ship to New York.

Everyone has a great time, including the comic relief, Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton, and Jerome Cowan. One of the best scenes occurs as Horton and Cowan smuggle a dummy of Linda (from a number she never did) into Astaire's stateroom to photograph the two together and prove they're married (they're not. And Blore getting arrested and telephoning to get bailed out of the Susquehana jail is wonderful.

But "Shall We Dance," like the previous Astaire-Rogers pairings, isn't about the plot, it's about the music and dance. What music, what dance. George and Ira Gershwin's score includes "I've Got Beginner's Luck," and "They All Laughed," both sung by Astaire, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" (sung and danced by the pair on roller skates), "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (sung by Astaire), and the music later becomes a ballet sequence with Astaire and Harriet Hoctor. Astaire and Rogers dance to "Shall We Dance" after Astaire sings the number and the two reprise "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off."

You can't beat "Shall We Dance" for pure escapism, breathtaking dance, and great songs.