| Photos (see all 5 | slideshow) |
| Fred Astaire | ... | Charlie Hill | |
| Vera-Ellen | ... | Angela Bonfils | |
| Marjorie Main | ... | Mrs. Phineas Hill | |
| Keenan Wynn | ... | Max Ferris | |
| Alice Pearce | ... | Elsie Wilkins | |
| Clinton Sundberg | ... | Gilford Spivak | |
| Gale Robbins | ... | Dixie 'Deadshot' McCoy | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Oliver Blake | ... | Currier (Wedding Portrait) (uncredited) | |
| George Boyce | ... | Bowery Bum (uncredited) | |
| Carol Brewster | ... | One of Frenchie's girls (uncredited) | |
| Dorinda Clifton | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| James Conaty | ... | Supper Club Extra (uncredited) | |
| Jean Corbett | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| Charles Cross | ... | Bowery Bum (uncredited) | |
| Roger Davis | ... | Hills' Butler (uncredited) | |
| Pamela Drake | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| Tom Dugan | ... | With Wedding Gift of Stolen Silver (uncredited) | |
| Joe Evans | ... | Bowery Bum (uncredited) | |
| Lisa Ferraday | ... | Frenchie (uncredited) | |
| Mary Jane French | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| Al Gallagher | ... | Bowery Bum (uncredited) | |
| Billy Griffith | ... | Ives (Wedding Portrait) (uncredited) | |
| Percy Helton | ... | Presents Angela with flowers (uncredited) | |
| Lola Kendrick | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| Donald Kerr | ... | Bowery Bum Wearing Red Bow Tie (uncredited) | |
| Helen Kimbell | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| Meredith Leeds | ... | One of Frenchie's girls (uncredited) | |
| Sandee Marriott | ... | Bowery Bum (uncredited) | |
| Harold Miller | ... | Supper Club Extra (uncredited) | |
| Joe Niemeyer | ... | Bowery Bum (uncredited) | |
| Betty Jean Onge | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| Jetsy Parker | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| Bud Penny | ... | Bowery Bum (uncredited) | |
| Walter Ridge | ... | Bowery Bum (uncredited) | |
| Buddy Roosevelt | ... | Cab Driver (uncredited) | |
| Reginald Simpson | ... | Casino Headwaiter (uncredited) | |
| Henry Slate | ... | Police Sgt. Clancy (uncredited) | |
| Harry Tenbrook | ... | Bowery Bum Wearing Dark Reddish Coat (uncredited) | |
| Beverly Thomas | ... | One of Frenchie's Girls (uncredited) | |
| Dick Wessel | ... | With Wedding Gift of Stolen Silver (uncredited) | |
| Lyn Wilde | ... | One of Frenchie's girls (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Charles Walters | |||
Writing credits | ||
| C.M.S. McLellan | (play) (as Hugh Morton) | |
| Chester Erskine | (adaptation) | |
| Robert O'Brien | (writer) & | |
| Irving Elinson | (writer) | |
Produced by | |||
| Arthur Freed | .... | producer | |
| Roger Edens | .... | associate producer (uncredited) | |
Cinematography by | |||
| Robert H. Planck | (director of photography) (as Robert Planck) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Albert Akst | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Cedric Gibbons | |||
| Jack Martin Smith | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Richard Pefferle | |||
| Edwin B. Willis | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Helen Rose | (costumes: women) | ||
| Gile Steele | (costumes: men) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Sydney Guilaroff | .... | hair designer | |
| William Tuttle | .... | makeup designer | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Al Jennings | .... | assistant director (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Douglas Shearer | .... | recording supervisor | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Warren Newcombe | .... | special effects | |
| Irving G. Ries | .... | special effects | |
Music Department | |||
| Robert Alton | .... | musical numbers staged and directed by | |
| Maurice De Packh | .... | orchestrator (as Maurice DePackh) | |
| Adolph Deutsch | .... | musical director | |
| Conrad Salinger | .... | orchestrator | |
| Alexander Courage | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
| Robert Franklyn | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
| Robert Tucker | .... | music arranger: vocal arrangements (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| James Gooch | .... | technicolor color consultant | |
| Henri Jaffa | .... | technicolor color consultant | |
| Marilyn Christine | .... | assistant choreographer (uncredited) | |
| Alex Romero | .... | assistant choreographer (uncredited) | |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Fred Astaire wrote in his autobiography that he was personally hurt by the critical and box-office failure of this Freed Unit musical, adapted very loosely from a turn-of-the-century stage success. You can see why audiences rejected it, but you can also see he was right to be proud. The story is trite even for a musical, and nothing can liven up the dead space between numbers -- not Marjorie Main playing to the gallery, not Alice Pearce frumping about predictably, and most certainly not the central conceit of the central romance, which is that love makes our young sweethearts (the script keeps referring to Astaire as "young man," which he plainly is not at this point) literally walk, and dance, on air.
The gimmickry gets in the way of a couple of numbers, too: Astaire and Ellen dance on a hapless horse's back, and Astaire cavorts atop the Washington Square arch. Still, the Warren-Mercer score, though it contains no hits, is tuneful, clever, and well suited to the meager plot; the MGM Orchestra is irresistibly lush; and the Technicolor gorgeously shows off the handsome production. In short, the film may be a triumph of studio engineering over inspiration, but as long as the stars are dancing, it's a delight.
Vera-Ellen partners Astaire charmingly, even if she's not the world's most dynamic actress, and she has a fun solo, "Naughy But Nice." As for Astaire, he's his usual self, and we'd want it no other way. His best number is the one least dependent on special effects, "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man." "Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time," he sings. You surely did, Mr. A.