Fred Dons His Top Hat

Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is about to open in a new London musical when it happens - he meets the girl of his dreams, Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers). All it takes is one dance for the two to fall head-over-heals in love.  But Dale is told that the man who is romancing her is Jerry's best friend Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton), the husband of Dale’s friend, Madge Harwick (Helen Brodrick). Our film this week is Top Hat (1935).

If there is a truth to be found in any Astaire-Rogers movie, it is that the written plot is unimportant - all the information you need to know about the story is there in the dancing. We see the carefree bachelor ("No Strings"), who falls in love with the downstairs neighbor ("No Strings - Sandman"). He woos her ("Isn't it a Lovely Day to be Caught in the Rain"), seduces her ("Cheek to Cheek"), and wins her ("The Piccolino).  Who needs words more than those penned by the great Irving Berlin?

It is because Astaire and Rogers are great actors that the film works so well. They act the words of the script, of course. But they act the dance. Watch their faces, their movements - they are telling us the story even when we think we are just watching them dance. It's not surprising that their partnership is legendary. They fit beautifully together.

The film is also remembered for the "Cheek to Cheek" dance - notable for the grace of the choreography, as well as for the ostrich feather dress that Ms. Rogers helped to design it with Costumer Bernard Newman. It too is the story of legend.  Ms. Rogers loved the dress - and she is correct in her belief that its flow contributed to the dance itself. The problem, however, was that the dress shed. Badly. It left feathers all over the floor and Mr. Astaire's tuxedo. Mr. Astaire rebelled - he wanted a different dress for the number, and Ms. Rogers dug her heels in and refused to get a new dress (Actually, an old dress - they wanted her to use a dress she'd worn in The Gay Divorcee).  So, the wardrobe staff came to the rescue - they spent the night reinforcing the feathers. The result is on the film - an occasional feather wafts by, but no flurries. And Ms. Rogers gained a gold charm in the form of a feather (and a note which read "Dear Feathers, I love ya!, Fred"), a song, and the nickname "Feathers" from Mr. Astaire.  (Ostrich Feather Dress  TCM Behind the Scenes). 

Edward Everett Horton and Helen Broderick as the older married friends of Jerry and Dale are very amusing. Ms. Broderick, especially, with her deep voice and saucy manner is perfect as the attempted matchmaker. Watching her encourage Dale to get closer to Jerry is really funny (especially considering that Dale thinks Jerry is actually Madge's husband, Horace). Ms. Broderick, who spent her film career playing best friends, is also remembered as the mother of actor Broderick Crawford.

While the characters played by Erik Rhodes (Alberto Beddini) and Eric Blore (Bates) are required for the plot, they are pretty silly. Especially nonsensical is the scene with Bates (masquerading as a gondolier) and an Italian Policeman. It is reported that several scenes at the end of the film were excised to speed things up - one wonders why this particular bit remained. The character wasn't much loved either - Italy banned this film because of Mr. Rhodes portrayal (TCM Trivia & Fun Facts). It's also worth noting that Lucille Ball makes an appearance as a Flower Shop Girl in the film.

The New York Times review by Andre Sennwald was very positive: "Top Hat is worth standing in line for. From the appearance of the lobby yesterday afternoon, you probably will have to." (The film, in fact, did sell out Radio City Music Hall.) Other reviews were also complimentary. 

Top Hat was nominated for 4 Academy Awards - Picture, Art Direction, Dance Direction (Hermes Pan), and Song (Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek"). Three songs from the picture - "Cheek to Cheek," "Top Hat" and "Isn't This a Lovely Day"--were ranked first, second and fourth on the Your Hit Parade radio program (AFI Catalog). It's also been featured as an Essential on TCM, and is featured in Jeremy Arnold's second book, The Essentials, Volume 2: 52 More Must-See Movies and Why They Matter.

 

This truly is a must-see movie. Just ignore some of the plot, and watch the dancing. You'll want to dance yourself. We'll leave you with a trailer: