You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

Carlos A. Olivari (story) and
Sixto Pondal Ríos (story) ...

Release Date:

19 November 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Hayworth's glowing beauty! Astaire's glorious rhythm! Kern's greatest score since "Show Boat"!

Plot:

The Acunas, a rich Argentine family, have the tradition that the daughters have to get married in order...

Plot Keywords:

Sister | Love Letter | Singer | Horse Race | Confession

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Robert 'Bob' Davis
Rita Hayworth	...	Maria Acuña
Adolphe Menjou	...	Eduardo Acuña
Isobel Elsom	...	Mrs. Maria Castro
Leslie Brooks	...	Cecy Acuña
Adele Mara	...	Lita Acuña
Gus Schilling	...	Fernando 'Fernie', Acuña's Secretary
Barbara Brown	...	Mrs. Delfina Acuña
Douglas Leavitt	...	Juan Castro
Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra	...	Themselves
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Xavier Cugat	...	Himself - 'Cugie'

Also Known As:

Tuesday's Orchids (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

97 min | Argentina:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #8633)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth rehearsed most of their routines in a funeral parlor.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During Davis's big dance number in Acuna's office, he tap dances over part of a throw rug. The sound of his taps are the same as when he taps on the hardwood floor of the room, revealing that the taps are dubbed onto the soundtrack.

Quotes:

Mrs. Delfina Acuña: I wish you wouldn't speak while I'm interrupting.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C Sharp Minor

Pop Quiz

Pop quiz: Who was Fred Astaire's favorite female dancing partner? If your answer is the obvious one, Ginger Rogers, guess again. Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Judy Garland, Joan Leslie, Eleanor Powell? Still wrong. Surprisingly, Astaire long maintained that his favorite was none other than Rita Hayworth. Rita, he once said, could be taught a complicated piece of choreography in the morning and have it down pat after lunch! The two made a pair of films together, "You'll Never Get Rich" in 1941 and "You Were Never Lovelier" in '42. A look at Hayworth's work in the latter film will demonstrate what a remarkable learner she apparently was. She and Fred share several musical numbers here, including the moonlit garden waltz to "I'm Old Fashioned" and the remarkably high-spirited and dynamic "Shorty George," and the two do make a marvelous pair. As for the rest of the film, it is a typical Astaire comedy, replete with mistaken identities, concerning Rita's father, Adolphe Menjou, convincing Fred to impersonate the fictitious lover that he has devised for her. The viewer must wait almost 40 full minutes to see Fred dance in this one, but that wait is well repaid when Astaire explodes in a brash and frenetic audition number for ol' Adolphe. The film's script is bright and amusing, Xavier Cugat's orchestra adds colorful support, and Rita is at least as beautiful, if not more so, than in 1946's overrated "Gilda." Bottom line: This is no Fred & Ginger picture, but it sure does have its compensations...Rita Hayworth surely being one of them.