Top Hat

To describe classic 1930’s cinema, one would have to include a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing number.  Top Hat is one of their iconic classics, the first created exclusively to feature this pair.  With catchy musical numbers, great use of Astaire’s fast feet and comedic plot based on mistaken identities, Top Hat is a film to relax to with a dopey grin spread across your face.  For me, it’s nearly a guilty pleasure.

In London, Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is the lead in the latest stage production by Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton).  Late one night at the hotel, Jerry gets a fit of restless feet and his conversation with Horace turns into a tap number.  Just below him is Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers), who complains about the noise going on.  Learning that the noise is coming from Mr. Hardwick’s room, she storms upstairs to confront the noise only to meet Jerry.  The two are instantly attracted to each other, but no introductions are made.  Though Dale does not immediately welcome Jerry’s advances, including filling her room with flowers, they do spark a bit of romance.  But when she incorrectly conceives that Jerry is Horace, and worse, he is married, she leaves with her dress maker Alberto (Erik Rhodes) to Venice.  There she meets up with Madge (Helen Broderick), Horace’s wife, and they talk about the advances Dale thinks Horace is making.  When the men, back in London, learn that Dale is in Venice, they fly after her and meet up with Madge as well.  As Jerry continues his pursuit, Horace feels the wrath of his wife, confusing the men even further and driving Dale into a quick marriage.

The set that is supposed to be Venice, with pristine canals and bridges, undoubtedly earned Top Hat its Art Direction nomination.  Of course, this is only a large sound stage and to believe that this is any part of Venice, one must a very strong suspension of disbelief.  It looks more like these clapboard gondolas are gliding through Disney Land’s It’s A Small World than any real canal.  However, that is not a bad thing.  Imagine how out of place Astaire and Rogers might look really dancing in Venice.  These iconic stars, in their tails and elegant feather dress, look their best in completely synthetic surroundings.  All those white structures were built just to help them pop off the screen more.  In fact, the canal water was dyed black to gain more contrast.

Honestly, the plot is a little silly, and the sets look really fake, but we are not supposed to mind.  As long as we are watching comedic mishaps based on Dale mistaking Jerry for Horace, we should be rolling with it, grinning and enjoying the musical numbers.  The point is to keep the men confused in their pursuit and the women conniving until things start to resolve to the ideal ending.  The film does just that while showing off Fred’s fast feet and pairing him up perfectly with Ginger.

“In dealing with a girl or horse, one just lets nature take its course.”

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

When Joe Pendleton (Robert Montgomery), a good hearted boxer, looks like he is about to die, Messenger 7013 (Edward Everett Horton) acts too quickly removing his soul from his body to spare him the agony.  This is a huge mistake, as it turns out that Joe was supposed to live for fifty more years.  When Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains), the guy running this foggy afterlife world, hears of the mishap, he sets out to find Joe a new body to inhabit for his allotted fifty years.

Joe is pretty picky over the bodies Mr. Jordan shows him and with good reason.  He had worked hard to get himself into peak physical condition, which he calls “in the pink” and does not want to give up on his boxing dreams.  When Mr. Jordan shows him Mr. Farnsworth, a millionaire who is about to be murdered by his wife, he sees an opportunity to help a young woman in need, Bette Logan (Evelyn Keyes).  Joe goes into Farnsworth’s body, saying that it will only be temporary and starts using the money at his disposal for good.  When sparks start flying between Joe and Bette, it’s hard for him to move onto a permanent body, but Mr. Jordan assures Joe that he will achieve everything in his original destiny.

While Joe’s soul is transported from one body to another, certain things remain constant that make him recognizable.  To us, the viewer, he does not change physically but we understand that his new body has not, but to he characters who knew Farnsworth the personality strangely has.  He still retains his personality and memories from his life as Joe. This comes in handy when he seeks out his old trainer, Max Corkel (James Gleason).  One physical object of his follows him from body to body, his lucky saxophone.  To the people originally around Farnsworth before his death, this saxophone is a mystery, especially when they see Farnsworth playing it.  I guess as Joe’s soul is transported, so is his knowledge and ability to play.

Underneath this quirky story is an attempt to understand the unknown journey of a soul.  Individually, we all have different ideas on what happens to us after death, but it’s hard to find one universal outlook without getting into a messy philosophical debate.  In the film, we are not shown or told about heaven, hell or angles, the only concrete terms used are soul and body.  Mr. Jordan and Messenger 7013 are just shown to be men in suits, pretty un-mystical despite the fact that they transport souls of the recently deceased.  Even more humbling is the fact that even they can make mistakes, like taking Joe away before he has even crashed.

The philosophies men have created over time are simplified to a modern understanding: each person has an allotted time in their life then their soul is transported out of their body, which is simply a physical shell for the soul.  And when a mistake has been made, Mr. Jordan and his messengers will see to it that you get the time and all you were destined for.  These ideas may not satisfy the deeply religious, but it’s not such a bad gig to find yourself caught in, considering the fiery alternatives.

“I’m following that saxophone!”

The Gay Divorcee

At first glance, I expected this film to just be an excuse for excessive song and dance numbers.  It is, but that’s not the point.   The point is, I was surprised to find the whole thing very delightful.

First, we meet Guy Holden (Fred Astaire), an American dancer with the capability to burst into song and dance at any moment.  Did dancers really wear tap-shoes out to dinner?  You know, just in case.  Anyway, in that first scene, Guy and his pal Egbert (Edward Everett Horton) are out to dinner in Paris and they’ve forgotten their wallets.  Egbert’s afraid they’ll have to work the meal off by doing dishes (the horror!) so he gets Guy to dance for their dinner.  When the tap number is nearly over, Egbert finds that his wallet was in his coat the entire time.  What a riot!

Alright, laugh it up.  That scene pretty much sets the tone for the whole film: a convoluted song and dance over a slight mix up.  But you know what’s funny?  It is funny!  Every line is delivered with perfect timing, perfect tone and facial expressions that never miss a beat.  The whole film (except for the Lets Knock Knees song) keeps this zany, mixed up comedy that can keep a beat.

So let’s get to the meat of the story.  Guy happens upon Mimi Glossop (Ginger Rogers) in a bit of a pickle, her dress is caught in a locked suitcase.  I guess it’s love at first sight and though Mimi is obviously not interested, Guy decides to comb the city for her.  Luckily, they get into a minor fender bender and she leads him on a little car chase out in the country.  Guy corners Mimi and confesses his love, but Mimi speeds off only leaving him with her name.  Sounds like he’s not getting anywhere, huh?

Mimi has her reasons for speeding off; she’s married.  But it’s an unhappy marriage where she hardly ever sees her husband.  So with the help of her Aunt Hortense (Alice Brady), they hatch a scheme to give the husband cause to divorce Mimi.  They hire an Italian correspondent to make it look like Mimi has been unfaithful, but with a little mix up, Mimi thinks the correspondent is Guy.

Along the way there’s plenty of singing, dancing, jokes and quirky lines that just roll off the actors with ease.  The waiter (Eric Blore) is the best kooky side character I’ve ever seen, I smiled every time he did and laughed at half his lines.  Now, I realize this film may seem like a stretch for most modern viewers, but it’s a lot more fun than you’d expect.  And if I had to be brutally honest, It Happened One Night didn’t live up to my expectations, whereas The Gay Divorcee exceeded them by miles.

“I wonder why he preferred to hunt elephants when he could have married me!”