Rent Swing Time (1936)
3.8 of 5 from 121 ratings
1h 39min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- In this irresistible musical, the legendary dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are at the pinnacle of their art as a feckless gambler and the shrewd dancing instructor in whom he more than meets his match. Director George Stevens laces their romance with humor and clears the floor for the movies showstopping dance scenes, in which Astaire and Rogers take seemingly effortless flight in a virtuosic fusion of ballroom and tap styles. Buoyed by beloved songs by Dorothy Fields and Derome Kern - including the Oscar-winning classic "The Way You Look Tonight" - 'Swing Time' is an exuberant celebration of its stars' chemistry, grace, and sheer joy in the act of performance.
- Actors:
- Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Betty Furness, Georges Metaxa, William Bailey, Harry Bernard, Harry Bowen, Bill Brande, Ralph Brooks, Ralph Byrd, Jack Chefe, Martin Cichy, Thomas A. Curran, Alan Curtis, Edgar Dearing, Frank Edmunds, Fern Emmett
- Directors:
- George Stevens
- Producers:
- Pandro S. Berman
- Writers:
- Howard Lindsay, Allan Scott, Erwin S. Gelsey, Ben Holmes, Rian James, Anthony Veiller, Dorothy Yost
- Others:
- Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields
- Studio:
- Universal Pictures
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Music & Musicals, Romance
- Collections:
- Dancing Queens: Guide to the Musical Films That'll, Films & TV by topic, Films by Genre, Fred and Ginger: Duets and Solos, Holidays Film Collection, Romantic Film Pairings for Valentine's Day, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Mel Brooks, Top 100 AFI Movies, Top 100 AFI Passions, Top Films
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 08/07/2019
- Run Time:
- 103 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary from 1986 featuring John Mueller, author of Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films
- Archival interviews with performers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and choreographer Hermes Pan
- 4- New interview with George Stevens Jr
- In Full Swing, a new program on the films choreography and soundtrack featuring jazz and film critic Gary Giddins, dance critic Brian Seibert, and Dorothy Fields biographer Deborah Grace Winer
- New interview with film scholar Mia Mask on the "Bojangles of Harlem" number
- An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith
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Reviews (1) of Swing Time
Classic Musical. - Swing Time review by Steve
Astaire & Rogers represent so much of the classic glamour of 1930s cinema. This is their usual screwball frou-frou with a shiftless gambler (Fred) who seeks to blag a fortune by marrying a rich looker (Betty Furness), while falling in love with a working girl (Ginger).
Some of the support cast from Top Hat return, including the super-unctuous Eric Blore and comedian Helen Broderick, again playing Ginger's older pal. Swing Time's weakness is that it lacks the wit of Top Hat, and Fred's character really isn't all that easy to like. But...
...it boasts some astonishing musical standards from Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern. And dance numbers which can be included among the stars' greatest hits. Fred sings the sensational romantic ballad, The Way You Look Tonight. His Bojangles tribute to Bill Robinson is the showstopper*. The legendary duo make magic together on Never Gonna Dance.
And there's Pick Yourself Up, A Fine Romance and the title waltz! The art deco sets are wonderful too. Neither Astaire nor Rogers was a great actor or singer (in my view...) But 90 minutes in their company is a time machine back to a world of romance and sophistication.
*warning, this is a blackface number.
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