Film Festival: Cruise Ship Romance Shall We Dance (1937) is the seventh pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. This time he is the star of a Russian ballet troupe and Ginger is the famous tap and jazz dancer he admires. Traveling on a cruise ship is a huge piece of the plot. I’ve always…
Ginger Rogers
Swing Time wedding and gambling: Lisa’s Home Bijou
Film Festival: Weddings, Hollywood Style Swing Time (1936) opens with John “Lucky” Garnett (Fred Astaire) dancing on stage with all male dance troupe. His manager Pop Cardetti (Victor Moore) is backstage playing card tricks for money. Lucky is leaving show business to get married, to the dismay of his troupe. Lucky dresses beautifully in a…
Lisa’s Home Bijou: I’ll Be Seeing You
Film Festival: Christmas classics I’ll Be Seeing You (1944) is a World War II drama brought to the screen by David O. Selznick. It’s a Christmas story and a love story starring Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotton, and Shirley Temple. Selznick bought the rights to the 1938 Broadway song I’ll be seeing you. The song was…
Lisa’s Home Bijou: Top Hat classic art deco musical
Film Festival: Art Deco DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, Hollywood movies gave audiences a glamorous escape from reality. RKO’s Top Hat has glamour in spades, featuring exotic locales, beautiful clothes, big dance numbers and fantastic art deco sets. This is one of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers‘ finest moments in any film. “Heaven, I’m in heaven, And…