Ginger Rogers (1911-1995) appeared in 11 films with Fred Astaire and was paired with him in more than 35 numbers. She is, by far, the partner most often associated with Astaire. She wasn’t as adept a dancer as, say, Rita Hayworth, but compensated for it with her charm and acting ability. As one commenter said on an Astaire/Rogers video, Ginger wasn’t the best dancer with Fred, but she was Fred’s best partner.
To learn a lot more about the duo, read the “Astaire and Rogers: 1933-1939” section of the Wikipedia entry on Ginger Rogers, along with the first paragraph of the “after 1939” section. There’s really too many good YouTube clips to present, and it took me a long time to choose (click here if you want to see them all). I wanted to concentrate on their dancing, so I’ve excluded the wonderful singing videos like “The Way You Look Tonight” (1936; watch it!) from my choices below. The four clips do, however, show the range of their dancing skills, from tap to waltz (and roller-skating!), and their onscreen chemistry that made “Astaire and Rogers” a household phrase.
I’d like to thank my friend (and editor) Latha Menon for reactivating my interest in Astaire and his partners, and for drawing my attention to some of their best work onscreen. I hope you’ve enjoyed the past x days, where x represents a number I can’t recall.
First, we have “Hard to handle”, (1935; sometimes called “Too hot to handle”), from the movie Roberta. Latha describes it as “a relaxed fun dance, with pleasant banter between the two first, showing their onscreen charm as a couple”:
“Let’s call the whole thing off” (also know as “You say tomato, and I say tomahto”) was written by George and Ira Gershwin especially for this movie: Shall we Dance (1937). A lover’s quarrel turns into a duet on rollerskates (remember when they had two fore-and-aft pairs of wheels?)
“Waltz in Swing Time” (from Swing Time; 1936, music by Jerome Kern) demonstrates the full range of their dancing skills; it’s a lovely piece. As Wikipedia notes:
“Waltz in Swing Time”: Described by one critic as “the finest piece of pure dance music ever written for Astaire”, this is the most virtuosic partnered romantic duet Astaire ever committed to film. Kern—always reluctant to compose in the Swing style—provided some themes to Robert Russell Bennett who, with the assistance of Astaire’s rehearsal pianist Hal Borne, produced the final score. The dance is a nostalgic celebration of love, in the form of a syncopated waltz with tap overlays—a concept Astaire later reworked in the similarly impressive “Belle of New York” segment of the “Currier and Ives” routine from The Belle of New York (1952). In the midst of this most complex of routines, Astaire and Rogers find time to gently poke fun at notions of elegance, in a delicate reminder of a similar episode in “Pick Yourself Up”.
“Isn’t this a lovely day?” is from Top Hat (1935), with music written by Irving Berlin (the movie also introduced the famous song “Cheek to Cheek”). Again, Wikipedia gives some good notes on this dance:
In “Isn’t This a Lovely Day (to be Caught in the Rain)”, while Rogers is out riding, a thunderstorm breaks and she takes shelter in a bandstand. Astaire follows her and a conversation about clouds and rainfall soon gives way to Astaire’s rendering of this, one of Berlin’s most prized creations. Astaire sings to Rogers’ back, but the audience can see that Rogers’ attitude towards him softens during the song, and the purpose of the ensuing dance is for her to communicate this change to her partner.The dance is one of flirtation and, according to Mueller, deploys two choreographic devices common to the classical minuet: sequential imitation (one dancer performs a step and the other responds) and touching. Initially, the imitation is mocking in character, then becomes more of a casual exchange, and ends in a spirit of true cooperation. Until the last thirty seconds of this two and a half minute dance the pair appear to pull back from touching, then with a crook of her elbow Rogers invites Astaire in The routine, at once comic and romantic, incorporates hopping steps, tap spins with barrages, loping and dragging steps among its many innovative devices. The spirit of equality which pervades the dance is reflected in the masculinity of Rogers’ clothes and in the friendly handshake they exchange at the end.
As an Australian, I do say tomahto – thanks for this hit of pure joire! I had a bittersweet moment thinking of my mother and how much she would have enjoyed watching it with me.
However, we women usually say, ‘And Ginger did it backwards and in high heels!’
Your site is a delight – from the beetles to the Beatles, from evolution to the sensual delights of photography, kittens and whatever else which can be appreciated on this rich world. A true disciple of Carl Sagan.
‘Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy’. Carl Sagan
Dawn, you stole my ‘Ginger did it backwards line…!’
I alwas thought that ‘Let’s call the whole thing off’ just didn’t work. Can you name an anglophone who pronounces ‘potato’ as ‘potahto’? Me neither. Shame; but if an idea doesn’t fly, you should discard it.
Gershwin’s, who are they? I’ll continue to scribble and sneer for less than a pittance.
Fred’s the bee’s proverbials, Jerry.
+ 1 to Dawn.
D’oh; ‘Gershwins…’
I forgave them for ‘potarhto’ – just gave the poetic licence as it was a great song.
and I love ‘the bee’s proverbial’ – right from the era.
Rogers’ saucy earthiness makes Astaire’s perfection accessible encouraging a full appreciation of how fantastic he is. Historically in ballet, the male was just a ‘porteur,’ enabling the ballerina to highlight her talent and skill . With this modern dance duo, the roles were reversed.
My children love to go to the roller skating rink here in Athens, GA, and have even had birthday parties there. The vast majority of the skates worn and rented at the roller rink still sport two pairs (one pair fore, one pair aft) of wheels. I’ve really enjoyed the Astaire “week” BTW.
Thank you for spotlighting this fantastic talent. I have really enjoyed watching Fred and his partners.
I have, of course, heard of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers etc, and knew a little about them, but I would not normally have watched such ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘corny’ films.
Thank you again for opening my eyes. I will certainly try to see the films now, and try to be less prejudiced in the future.
Old-fashioned & corny many were, but the best ones relied on story & character in the way that modern films rely on explosions & special effects!
+1
“Isn’t this a lovely day?” is a genius song I think.
On a related note, the film “Follow the Fleet” has a song ‘Get thee behind me Satan’, sung by Harriet Hilliard/Nelson & in the UK release the censors cut ‘Satan’ so the song had a strange jump that was still there when I got it on video in the 90s! Restored on the DVD now though.
These films are unadulterated joy. “For the man the sword, for the woman the kiss!”
@ Dominic: ‘These films are unadulterated joy. “For the man the sword, for the woman the kiss!”‘
The world’s filthiest double entendre is struggling to escape from this quotaition, Dominic.
Would you like to re-draft?
It remains wishful thinking that Jerome Kern providing anything to Borne/Bennett for Swing Time’s “Waltz in Swing Time.” (You’ll notice that it’s curiously unattributed in the Wiki article.) Arlene Croce (The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers book, 1970s) and John Mueller (Astaire Dancing, 1985) have long since established the Bennett composed the “Waltz,” and that Borne inserted Kern’s “The Way You Look Tonight” as a contrasting section as the number took shape in rehearsal. Scholars have looked for even a scrap of WIST in Kern’s hand, but there’s none to be found because Bennett–a very dear friend of Kern’s–provided it (at Kern’s request) as part of his duties as “arranger” of the music for this marvelous film.
Thank you, I really enjoyed the dance week!
Looking back, Rogers seems indeed to be the best partner for Astaire. They managed a better coordination, and Rogers were terrifically flawless – as needed to balance Astaire’s perfection.