Posts Tagged ‘Fred Astaire’

There are some pairings in film that conjure eye rolls and looks of confusion.  There are still others that are so perfectly crafted, they practically create a new era of film in and of themselves.  Cue Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. That their first film together, Flying Down to Rio (1933), was a Hollywood-style happy accident was more fortuitous than producers and audiences could imagine.  From that film onwards, they delighted audiences with their charm, chemistry, and dancing style.

Astaire, 12 years her senior, offered Rogers a cigarette in The Gay Divorcee (1935) with his sly smile and a song in mind, “Night and Day.”  Dance numbers between the two range from vivacious, Vegas-style spectaculars to intimate, two-on-two turns on an impromptu dance floor.  Their costumes ranged from gowns and coattails to slacks and blazers just as their styles ran the gamut from sweet and silly dancing to dramatic sweeps across the floor.

In celebration of the romantic duo’s 75th Anniversary, the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood will host a double feature of two of their most memorable turns on the silver screen – Top Hat (1935) and Roberta (1935).  The first is a comic look at what happens when, simply put, Astaire tries to impress Rogers with his good looks and dance moves during a show they’re both working on in London.  The latter sees them tapping their toes in Paris where Astaire, leader of a band in need of a gig, gets help from his old girlfriend, Rogers.

The rumor that mulls around American musical lovers is that Ginger Rogers really wasn’t a great dancer in her own right.  It’s that Astaire was such a professional, he made her look like queen of the dance floor.  (I mean, he has danced with a coat rack.)  No one really knows if that’s true, but if you think about it, it’s a sweet rumor – they were more together than they were alone.  Swoon.

The double feature of Top Hat and Roberta at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood is on view this Sunday, March 14 from 7:30pm.  For more information, please call (323) 466-3456 or click here.