Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are a formidable duo! Top Hat is one of my favorite movie of theirs and I’m happy to be writing about it for Love Letters to Old Hollywood and In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood‘s blogathon.
Top Hat {1935} is one of my favorite films of these two and I always enjoy watching it. It is their 4th of 10 movie collaborations. They are so cute together. This is my favorite number from the film:
Synopsis
This is a fun movie of mistaken identity. An American dancer {Astaire} goes to Britain where he falls for a model {Rogers}. She gives him the cold shoulder and mistakes him for his married producer. She is continually annoyed by him and shocked by his pursuit of her since she believes him to be married to a friend of hers.
The Infamous Dress…
Ginger loved this dress and insisted upon wearing it, but it made a mess. The dress was blue with ostrich feathers. There was no time for rehearsals, so the take in the film was the only one and you can see the feathers flying around.
Ginger had to frequently change her blood-filled shoes due to normally having to film multiple takes. I feel like letting her wear a dress she wanted was the least they could do, even with the issues. Ouch.
They took inspiration from the problems the dress caused and used this inspiration in the movie Easter Parade that Fred starred in years later with Judy Garland. This dress falls apart too, but it was on purpose.
Sneaky Cameo!
Hi Lucy!
Did you catch Lucille Ball in an uncredited appearance as a flower shop clerk? She does have a few lines though!
Fred and Ginger Legacy
This movie is a great example of how well these two dancers work together. They dance together in five different numbers, which is the most they did in any film. It was also the only movie that year to e nominated for an Oscar in both Best Picture and Best Original Song {Cheek to Cheek} that year.
This post was written for the 3rd Annual Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers blogathon. Check out the other entries!
Top Hat is like being invited to the most fabulous party in the world and we can attend any time we like.
This film is a lot of fun, with some great music, too. I didn’t realize the dress Ginger wore was the same one Judy Garland wore in Easter Parade.
Terrific review, as always. 🙂
Fixed my wording, which was confusing. Oops! I don’t think it was the same dress, but it was inspired by Ginger’s dress.
It’s hard to choose, but I think Top Hat is my favorite Fred and Ginger movie. It’s just so elegant and fun and witty. Every element is practically perfect.
Thanks for contributing to our blogathon!
Ouch, not even Ginger Rogers was immune to her feet bleeding. Poor thing. Great movie, though!