by Jon Warner
I sat down with my 3-year old daughter the other day and invited her to watch a dancing scene from Swing Time with me. She’s very interested in dance these days and taking a class (ballet) so I figured I would show her. It was the scene where Fred and Ginger are doing the “Pick Yourself Up” number, which is a boisterous dance. My daughter asked me a few questions about the movie at first as Fred and Ginger were talking, but she was mostly entranced and watched the scene with me in silence during the dance itself. I know it sounds simple, but I realized for the first time that dancing requires little explanation or greater understanding of context and/or plot to really understand it. It is truly a physical communication to those of us in the audience. Even small children instinctively know how to dance. It’s not something you have to teach them. Dancing speaks to us on an instinctive level, and there never was, nor will there ever be another dancing duo like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, whose chemistry and artistry remain unsurpassed.
Swing Time is arguably Fred and Ginger’s greatest film. I know that Top Hat (1935) has lots of admirers (myself being one) but I think Swing Time has a bit more emotion working for it and in that way, is a bit of a departure. Director George Stevens may have had something to do with the film’s different feel compared to the Mark Sandrich films. But, like all the Astaire-Rogers films, Swing Time has a plot that is mostly fluff, and usually only serves to get the stars from one song/dance number to the next. In this one, Astaire plays John “Lucky” Garnett, member of a dance troupe, who also has a penchant for gambling. On his wedding day following a dance show, his friends hold him up, causing him to miss the wedding, whereby he is told by his father-in-law-to-be, that he must make it big in the dance business and only then will he allow him to marry his daughter. With his friend, “Pop” (Victor Moore), they ride the rails to NYC, where through a chance encounter on the street, Lucky meets Penny (Ginger Rogers), who is a dance school instructor. Most of the film that follows is filled with the usual contrivances: mistaken intentions, love triangles etc. It’s all second fiddle anyway to the song and dance in the film.
Of late, I’ve been trying to gain a greater understanding of Fred Astaire’s talent and artistry. Few people debate his solo dancing, which is rather tremendous. What I’ve noticed though, is his chemistry with other dancers besides Ginger Rogers is a mixed bag. Oh sure he worked with some of the most beautiful women and/or technically gifted dancers of the Hollywood era: Rita Hayworth, Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Eleanor Powell etc. But most of them are too perfect in a way. They seem to be going through the motions of the dances with Astaire (who tends to be a perfectionist anyway) and the chemistry with Astaire suffers for it. Something is missing. That something is Ginger Rogers. Arlene Croce in her Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book writes that Ginger Rogers “brought out his (Fred’s) toughness and also his true masculine gallantry.” In John Mueller’s Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films, he writes, “Rogers was outstanding among Astaire’s film partners not because she was superior to the others as a dancer but because, as a skilled, intuitive actress, she was cagey enough to realize that acting did not stop where dancing began.” What I believe made the pairing so remarkable, was their onscreen commitment to the dancing in whatever way they knew how. Fred’s perfectionism and trained excellence paired well and contrasted with Ginger’s ability to project independence and something resembling improvisation while they danced. What she lacked in formal training, Ginger made up with guts and know-how, which brought her sexiness and confidence to the foreground in their films together, elevating their dances.
There are three dance sequences in Swing Time, my favorites being “Pick Yourself Up” and “Never Gonna Dance”, both of which arise out of the plot. In “Pick Yourself Up”, Lucky has just made himself look like a terrible dancer on purpose in front of Penny in the dance school. She gets fired because of it, and Lucky tells the director that she in fact is a great teacher and he proceeds to dance his heart out with Penny in a number that may be the most exuberant number they ever performed. What I love about the scene is the way that Ginger appears shocked and surprised at how well Astaire’s character can dance. She sells this expression during the opening moments of the number, and this is an example of how her acting continued during the dance sequences. There are great changes in rhythm in the scene and it’s my favorite example of just how joyful these two could be onscreen. I also get the impression from watching this dance that Astaire and Rogers project an attitude: They’re good and they know it.
Their final dance is “Never Gonna Dance”, which is performed after Lucky feels he has lost Penny to another man and is his plea to her that he may love again, but he’s never gonna dance with another. This dance is performed with deeply felt emotion. He slowly convinces her to begin the dance after they walk around each other for a bit. Then they part and as she walks away, he grabs her and she whirls around to face him. Their bodies throb with synchronicity and reluctance, like some passionate love affair between two people who are not supposed to be together. It’s hard not to become engulfed in the dance’s emotive and physical allure. It’s probably the most passionate and sexy dance Astaire and Rogers ever did. Famously during this scene, which had to be filmed in more than forty-eight takes, Rogers’ feet had terrible blisters and began bleeding during the shooting. In her book, Ginger: My Story, she writes, “I never said a word about my own particular problem. I kept on dancing even though my feet really hurt. During a break, I went to the sidelines and took my shoes off; they were filled with blood. I had danced my feet raw. Hermes saw what had happened and offered to stop the shooting. I refused. I wanted to get the thing done. Finally, we got a good take in the can, and George said we could go home — at 4:00 A.M.”
Astaire has a tremendous solo dance in the film, but it is one sequence that must be addressed with special context. It is the “Bojangles of Harlem” number, which Astaire performs in blackface. Traditional blackface was of course laced with prejudices and highly caricatured performances. But, this sequence in the film, as noted by many critics and historians, is a clear homage to the great African-American tap-dancer, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, someone whom Astaire greatly admired. Moreover, Astaire also pays tribute during the scene to another great dancer of the time, John Bubbles, an African-American tap dancer who in fact taught Astaire a thing or two later in his career. In Levinson’s book, he documents an interview from the 1960’s that Bubbles gave which regards a tap lesson he once gave to Astaire, which highlights Fred’s regard for Bubbles: “It was on the stage at the Ziegfeld Theatre. He paid me four hundred dollars. He couldn’t catch the dancing as quick as Ann Miller, though, so I taught her so she could teach him to save time for them…..I gave them heely-toes, cramps, stomps, heely-toe turns, and cramp rolls.” It’s interesting to note that Astaire’s make-up is not the black, burnt-cork type, but a lighter brown color. My only complaint with the scene is the prop of the giant sole of the shoe with the large lips and bowler hat that I personally find offensive. But, the dance and performance are clearly not. In fact, it may be Astaire’s greatest solo dance sequence ever put on film, including some astounding, rapid-fire tap sequences and a brilliant, three-shadow back-projection effect behind Astaire as the shadows try to keep up with him. This sequence rightly earned the great choreographer Hermes Pan with the dance direction Oscar. If interested, for some added context around blackface, I point us to Spike Lee’s Bamboozled (2000), which takes a unique approach, both historically and conceptually to address blackface in its many forms.
Outside of the famous dancing in the film, there are also a couple of great songs as well. With music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy field, their songs “The Way You Look Tonight” and “A Fine Romance”, both became huge hits and standards throughout the years. “A Fine Romance” is performed in a wonderful and memorable set-piece with Astaire and Rogers in a winter wonderland of snow, with snowflakes falling all around them. “The Way You Look Tonight”, one of the most beautiful songs Astaire ever sang, has a touch of irony in the scene, as Astaire sings on the piano, while Rogers has her hair covered in shampoo suds in the bathroom. She comes out to meet him at the end of the song and totally forgets she hasn’t rinsed her hair. It’s a sweet and funny moment.
Despite their amazing chemistry, Astaire and Rogers might not actually have liked that they were paired together in so many films. Famously Astaire wrote to his agent, Leland Hayward after the The Gay Divorcee (1934) became a hit: “What’s all this talk about being teamed with Ginger Rogers? I will not have it Leland – I did not go into pictures to be teamed with her or anyone else, and if that is the program in mind for me I will not stand for it……if I’m ever to get anywhere on the screen it will be as one not as two”. Ginger in a BBC interview in 1987 said this: “We were a team. He didn’t do it by himself, Fred was not my Svengali. A lot of people think he was. I was very much my own woman.” Whether they got along or not, what’s amazing is that they were able to be professionals during the onscreen performances to the point of creating immense chemistry, be it through a heated rivalry or common goals of success, despite whatever differences they had. Swing Time is their final great pairing and perhaps the culmination of all their work throughout the years prior to this film. Their dancing here feels especially perfectly timed, creative, and in the final dance, terrifically passionate. What they left the movie-world will forever be remembered fondly and their beautiful dancing will always retain its charm and elegance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxPgplMujzQ
How Swing Time made the ‘Elite 70’:
Greg Ferrara’s No. 1 choice
Marilyn Ferdinand’s No. 3 choice
Allan Fish’s No. 9 choice
Pat Perry’s 19 choice
Dennis Polifroni’s No. 26 choice
Judy Geater’s No. 31 choice
Sam Juliano’s No. 33 choice
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To all,
One thing to note: Hermes Pan didn’t win the Oscar, he was only nominated for Best Dance Direction.
Jon, a tremendous post that goes beyond doing justice to a wonderful film. I especially admired the descriptions and deep analyses of the three big dance numbers, and in the case of the “Bojangles of Harlem” number the delicacy with which you handled what some might see as a sensitive issue. I’m on board with you here that the intent of the number is the most important thing to consider, and it’s clear that Astaire considered this an homage to a master. Your extensive examination of the working and artistic relationship between Astaire and Rogers, what made them a team and not just costars, was also impressive. You included a lot of quoted material but integrated it smoothly so that it didn’t interrupt but supported points you made yourself. This isn’t as easy to do as it sounds! I love both the big songs in the film. “The Way You Look Tonight” has a melody that is actually utterly simple, but lovely in the way it glides up and down the scale, all in about one octave. “A Fine Romance” is one of those songs whose catchy melody and clever lyrical variations of one idea can become mentally invasive if you’re not careful. (I’m especially fond of Billie Holiday’s version myself, and Ella does a great version too.) I find that I tend to get tired of Betty Furness and her subplot before they’ve run their course. But–and for me this is what in addition to its other virtues really makes “Swing Time” stand out among Astaire-Rogers films–this is Ginger’s best, most complex role in any of the films. Her characters can be awfully two-dimensional if not outright lame (“Roberta”), clearly secondary to Astaire’s, but here she really gets the opportunity to show her acting chops the way she did in films like “Stage Door,” “Bachelor Mother,” and “Kitty Foyle.” For once Ginger is the pursuer and Fred the pursued (after awhile, anyway), and this allows her to show a far greater range of emotions than her more typical parts in the musicals with Astaire. Also, she gets to sing one of the good songs, which until this point seemed reserved for Astaire. Her performance–and I mean performance in the complete sense of the word–of “A Fine Romance” in that snowy landscape you describe is to my mind her best song number in any of the films. Anyway, congratulations on a loving post on a film that more than one voter seems to hold in high esteem.
R.D.
Thank you for the kind words and this is a classic comment from you. I know you were originally planning on doing an essay on this as well, so I know you have a passion for it. This is my favorite Astaire-Rogers film and you are right, it really give Ginger a chance to shine, perhaps more than in the other films. I didn’t even mention the “Waltz in Springtime”, which in the hands of a seasoned dance critic might come of rather well, but to my mind, it’s a brilliant technical dance. I prefer their other 2 dances as there is more attitude and passion at play.
Yes I knew I wanted to take on the “Bojangles” number, but had to do some reading on it to really understand it myself. I also watched the sequence several times. I certainly wouldn’t have a problem with anyone who felt differently about the scene and I understand the sensitivity for sure. I just thought I would adress it in the best way I new how, because it’s hard not to notice the scene when you watch the film. Anyway, thanks for the support and your brilliant added comments!
The BOJANGLES IN HARLEM number is worth the price of admission alone in a film that is repleat with one great thing after another…
I know I am probably the only one here on the threads that doesn’t hold Astaire on the mantle as the greatest MALE screen musical personality of them all (my affections lean toward Gene Kelly) but, in the case of the GAY DIVORCEE, TOP HAT and SWING TIME, you can barely fault the man as his dancing alone is the stuff of legend.
What I love so much about this film and, subsequently, TOP HAT, is that once the story is set in motion the film becomes a non-stop roller-coaster of laughs, romance and music. The choreography of the dance numbers is mind boggling and only bested by Kelly with his SINGIN IN THE RAIN numbers.
From me, this is about as crazy wonderful a sequence of praises for Astaire as you will ever get. The man is on fire in this one…
Jon’s essay has homed in and put in his scopes every great detail and wonderful moment of a film that I can watch and enjoy forever into eternity…
Terrific piece!!!!!!
Dennis thanks for your comments! I agree with thoughts on Bojangels, and I believe it’s the greatest thing Astaire ever did solo. I do know your thoughts on Astaire, and we’ve talked at length on that already. I’m not sure I agree that Singin in the Rain bests Swing Time in all facets regarding choreography. I don’t think any “Paired dancing” in any film quite matches the high level of Astaire -Rogers here, but maybe that’s just me.
Thanks to DeeDee for her great sidebar work and for including one of my favorite dance scenes! Tremendous!
Jon, a superb essay on one of the most entertaining of musicals. Astaire and Rogers are simply superb, some of the songs (A Fine Romance. The Way You Look Tonight) have long become classics. R.D. addresses these better than I ever can.
It has always been a tug of war for me between this film and TOP HAT which Astaire/Rogers film I like the best.
John thaks for the comments and support. I think a lot of people would agree with you regarding the tug-of-war between Swing Time and Top Hat. I’ve got Swing Time in my top 10, and Top Hat around 20, but there’s just as many people that might have that reversed. Interesting that Greg Ferrara has this one number 1.
Jon –
Your essay is a joy to read. I prefer “Top Hat” only very slightly to “Swing Time” (and was surprised to recall that I had ranked the latter film so far below the former; if I re-voted today, I think I’d narrow that gap.)
Anyway, I really appreciate the insights into the chemistry between Fred and Ginger, and how that chemistry is lacking with so many of his later dancing partners. As you note, it largely comes down to acting skills, and Rogers was a gifted comedienee and skilled actress, where (for example) Cyd Charisse was an incomparable dancer but frankly not much of an actress. Of the subsequent pairings of Astaire with other leading ladies, I think only Judy Garland in “Easter Parade” generated really memorable chemistry with Astaire – and, again, she was a damn good actress in her own right.
The Bojangles number can be a litle startling for modern sensibilities; you deconstuct that scene very fair-mindedly.
Very good work!
Pat, Your comments during the entire countdown have been astute and brilliant. This comment is nothing less than that. I appreciate your support and completely agree with you about Garland being the other “notable” pairing with Astaire. It’s a shame they couldn’t make more films together, like Royal Wedding among others, due to her issues.
Here is another essay that must surely be brought to the fore when discussing the best posts offered up in this countdown. Yes, it’s a labor of love, but it’s also a remarkably astute and authoritative study of a film that has always been affectionately regarded as one of the high water marks of the form. This was one of the defining triumphs for Jerome Kern, who collaborated with Dorothy Field for some of music’s popular standards. Some would pose that TOP HAT is glossier and more energetic, but SWING TIME is clearly the more magical. It could also be argued that director George Stevens shows more finesse that TOP HAT’s Mark Sandrich. People are right here to toast “Bojangles of Harlem,” which is probably the only blackface number today that won’t make people feel uneasy. The chemistry between the two dancing titans was never more attuned to the material they covered here, since the film seems to be “about” the Astaire-Rodgers mystique more than any of the others. Hence there is a telling quality when Fred sings that he’s “Never Gonna Dance” if he can’t have Ginger.
Anyway this is an absolute joy to read, and as close as any to a definitive reading of this adored screen classic.
Sam,
Your support and encouragement is always mind blowing. Thanks again for the opportunity to take part in this countdown, which has been tremendous fun and learnings all along the way. I’m proud of being able to add my two-cents to the countdown. You mention the magic at play in SWING TIME and I couldn’t agree more. Stevens brought something different to the table and you’re right, his finesse is apparent here. I certainly wouldn’t have an issue with someone who had a problem with the blackface presentation, but I think having the context around Astaire and his admiration for the other African American dancers of the time helps to digest it and appreciate it better.
Good observations here about Fred & Ginger, why their chemistry works despite – or perhaps because of – the fact that they were not necessarily dancing “equals.” I think Top Hat is probably my favorite, but this provides close competition.
Absolutely Joel!
question: What film is better, “Top Hat” or “Swing Time”?
answer: Depends on what film I just saw last.
This is a masterful consideration of one of the great musicals that tries very hard at and succeeds to solve the Astaire-Rodgers chemistry.
Peter I must say I couldn’t agree with you more. (on both points!)
Oh I must say Jon, I loved that lead-in with your three-year old daughter, that sequence and dancing.
Marvelous.
Haha! Glad you enjoyed that. I’m finding more and more, that seeing things through the eyes of your children brings a great deal of perspective to the fore. Both my daughters are becoming fascinated with the prospect of watching The Wizard of Oz. They saw a bunch of “Dorothy” costumes on Halloween and they are into the idea. I just don’t want them to be scared. We’ll probably wait another year!
Jon, what an astute, while seeming effortless, take on the direct electricity of Fred and Ginger’s dancing. I like your point about Swing Time’s showing “a bit more emotion” than other films in the series. Happy-go-lucky Fred comes to see the importance of discriminating for himself (as against the “No cuffs?!” trip-up), and thereby he finds himself in painful circumstances that do register in this film. That could account for the rather painful to behold smirking at the end, on completing the coup at the wedding.
Great appreciation of Ginger’s contribution to the greatness of the team.
Jim,
Your vote of confidence is quite flattering, I must say so. Jim, you are always so apropos and I especially like your account of the the way that Fred finds his own way of discriminating (between women), and of course ends up choosing wisely I would say. Of course, Fred and Ginger are really never shown quite kissing, which is always a running joke it seems. Nevertheless, they are quite good together as you mentioned their greatness.
Since we’re talking about books, I can’t recommend highly enough the book “Fred and Ginger” by Hannah Hyam. I got it rather than the others Jon mentions based on Amazon comments, so I can’t make comparisons myself. The book was all I wanted it to be.
I think she makes a good case for the “Never Gonna Dance” as the moving centerpiece of F&G’s amazing run, despite the fact that the song itself is no great shakes compared to be found elsewhere in Swing Time and the series as a whole.
Copans, yes I had heard good things about that book but didn’t get my hands on it. I would second that opinion about Never Gonna Dance. It is not just the crowning achievement of their pairing, but a bit of a farewell it seemed to me. They only worked together sporadically from here on out and never quite reached the heights they did here. Thanks for the insight!
The ‘Bogangles of Harlem’ number will always be for me the highlight, but who could not like ‘The Way You Look Tonight.’ This is a great review that solves the mystique. We’ll probably never see that kind of chemistry again.
Frank I’m glad to see that everyone thinks so well of Bojangles, as I was worried it was going to be somewhat of a lightning rod on this forum. Thanks for your support and comments. I agree, this type of pairing and chemistry we will never see again, I’m afraid.
Sorry to be a bit slow in commenting on your piece, Jon, but great stuff – you make me want to watch the film again right away! I do prefer ‘Top Hat’, which is definitely my favourite Astaire/Rogers film, but this one is great too – as you say, both Fred and Ginger have great songs and Ginger’s performance of ‘A Fine Romance’ is one of her best numbers in any of the films. (Fred did also record it, though, for anyone who, like me, can’t get enough of his voice. And I also like Judi Dench singing it as the theme tune for her series of the same name.)
I’ve read that the original plan was to record ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ with Ginger coming into the room at the end looking dishevelled, maybe after doing housework, can’t remember the details – but in the end they decided to go with the shampoo idea, which still has her looking very glamorous. I think she also does some great acting in ‘Carefree’, where she again pursues Fred, but that film doesn’t really have many musical numbers and is more of a screwball comedy.
I also love ‘Pick Yourself Up’ – I’ve seen a suggestion that refers to the Great Depression – and the whole plot of Astaire playing a gambler, something which I think Arlene Croce says might stem from ‘Let’s Face the Music and Dance’ at the end of ‘Follow the Fleet’. Astaire is also a gambler in ‘Let’s Dance’, a film I seem to find running through my mind a lot even though I don’t really think it is a very good film overall – it has moments which shine out, I suppose. In one scene in that, someone says to him, ‘I’m impressed how you manage to give an appearance of wealth and elegance while you are really penniless,” and that is also a perfect description of Lucky in this film.
I do agree with R.D., though, that the subplot with Betty Furness gets rather boring and I think all the practical jokes involving cuffs on trousers etc are somewhat cringe-making! Anyway, congratulations on a great piece.
Great insights Judy and thanks for your comments. I certainly don’t blame you for preferring Top Hat, even though I fall on the Swing Time side of the fence. My reasons? The dancing and the tone are on a different level. Regarding the subplot, I know what you mean. I tend to not put much stock into the plot or subplots of any of their films. It’s not the reason for being. Most of the subplots especially are rather forgettable. It’s never what I remember about the films, hence the reason why I didn’t spend much time on the plot/subplot. Still a valid point, and something I find common to all their films, including Top Hat.
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