SWING TIME (1936)

Ira says

“A fine romance, with no-oo kisses!” Well, just hold it right there Mr. Astaire, it IS a fine romance if there ever was one, because you and your lady love look so darn adorable singing to each other in mock anger, across separate ends of a beautifully shot, snowy garden. And well because; now don’t complain too much, you do get that kiss. One that happens to be one of the most unforgettable big screen kisses in Hollywood history! It all happens behind the glamorous twirls of those grand ‘swing times’, in the quieter recesses of a corridor, when a young woman (PENNY) slips into a young mans (LUCKY’S) dressing room, charged with the determination to kiss him. Distracted into a banal conversation about her dress, hesitating as he praises each ridiculous part of it, she’s cornered, unexpectedly, into a small space behind the front door. Suddenly it opens, someone announces how much time the man has left before he has to go on and, they kiss. You don’t see it, but from the lipstick smeared across Astaire’s lips revealed a few seconds later when the door shuts, through your inadvertent chuckle, you sure do believe it! Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire have got to be one of my all-time favourite onscreen Hollywood couples.

And its not just because they dance like a perfectly coordinated, astonishingly talented, ever so graceful, effortless dream, they epitomize what made romance, romance when Hollywood was it at its foot-tapping prime! What would the 30’s and the genre of romantic musical comedy have been without em? Innocent and playful, bickering and then gazing longingly, arguing but sailing across the dance floor, they are clearly having a blast here in prolific director GEORGE STEVENS’ (The Diary of Anne Frank, Giant, Shane), SWING TIME; their 6th of 10 films together. Comfortable giving his leading pair, (both of whom he would go on to do several films with together and individually) the stage here, Stevens takes us back into the world of the 30’s with a contagious liveliness, tingling, prop-ah English, sensational music, understated glitz, lots of humour, and four stunningly executed dance sequences.

While the plot doesn’t always feel totally fleshed out, the storyline is old fashioned, often naïve, simplistic, and things are all too easily resolved, most notably in that last scene where everyone dissolves into a fit of giggles (I almost felt like the actors were saying, “right folks, that’s a wrap, its been hard work, lots of fun, let down your hair now!”), this is one of the most quintessentially charming, song and dance Hollywood romances around. I liked the light touch Stevens gives to the tone and mood. “Marry in haste and repent later”, “Money means character”, “Gambling is for no good idlers”. The writing envelopes these age old, satirical adages into situations organically and through characters that are just so funny, real, and plausible, that nothing feels jarring or preachy (thank god!). There is something gentle even in the censure, forgivable even about the mean-spirited NEW-YORKERS who don’t lend you a match and bump into you on the street, and something redeemable, even about the closest thing to a villain here, Astaire’s rival RICARDO ROMERO (also fighting for Penny i.e. Rogers’ love).

I like that the film stays away from sentimentality not only through the writing and Steven’s direction but also through the realistic, comical and humane conceptualizations of the songs (“The Way you Look Tonight”) as well as the hilarious omnipresence of an unlikely pair named MABEL & POP, played by Helen Broderick & Victor Moore, two of my personal favourite characters in the film. Their impeccable comic timing and dry, nonchalant humour spells cool even today, and I love that things never become mushy or heavy handed while these two are around, which they are for the most part. Ironically, though foils with thinly etched back stories, these two for me, are more well-defined, if one dimensional than Astaire & Rogers playing, the central couple LUCKY & PENNY, who’s methods and motives are a bit fuzzy sometimes. Hell, for a while there you don’t even like LUCKY, a struggling showman who’s ever ready to make a quick buck on the card table! You suddenly doubt his intentions and you are annoyed at him for keeping his engagement from PENNY (Because they are just so cute and you know they belong together, right?).

But then, he only needs to march around with a placard on his chest asking Penny’s forgiveness, flash those pearly whites, sit at a piano, or take to the floor, and you’re mesmerized. Because ladies and gentlemen before Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley, there was FRED ASTAIRE. Watching him, black-faced and harlequin-like, tapping, gliding and knocking his way through a magical dancing number, for a straight 6 minutes or so without a break makes you feel exhausted, exhilarated, and in total awe of the man, the sequence and the execution.

When Rogers joins him later on the wide floor and cascading staircase of the SILVER SANDAL (a spectacular set piece, we’re talking 1936) and the couple begins to dance, you just forget everything else; the film’s other flaws dissolve. Beginning quietly with what real serenading between a man and a woman should look, feel and sound like, and moving into a breathtaking routine without any cuts, the camera rolls and dips with them in an unbelievably long take in what is a dazzling sequence to watch even today! (Stevens brings in his expertise as cinematographer here that’s evident.) Funnily, just then at this moment, I found myself thinking back to a scene early in the film in disbelief. A scene where Astaire pretends he can’t dance and Rogers chides him in frustration. All I can say is LUCKY and PENNY, (love the play on the names here because the couple was that for so many films too in Hollywood) you certainly know how to ‘pick yourself up, dust yourself off start all over again!’ And you know what? I can’t resist swinging each time.

Neha says

Foxtrot, waltz, swing, tap, polka, quickstep…Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers turn up the heat in this 1936 musical romantic comedy. There’s something to be said about the way in which Roger’s in her long, sparkling, flowing white gown and Fred Astaire, with his two right feet glide through the space to the beat of Never Gonna Dance, lost in each other’s arms that left me magically suspended in time. It’s almost like a fairy tale only most “once upon a time and happily ever after” stories have a more dramatic conflict to overcome and Swing Time in its overall feel good revelry gets a little simplistic with it’s narrative drama.

So when we first meet the mischievous Lucky played by a gleaming and charming Fred Astaire, he’s getting ready for his marriage to Margaret played by Betty Furness. But Pop played by Victor Moore who does seem high for no apparent reason doesn’t want to loose Lucky and same goes for his buddies as well. In a ridiculously funny scene they convince Lucky that his pants need cuffs and try to stall him. The plan’s successful as Margaret’s father cancels the wedding and he leaves Lucky with an ultimatum. Go to New York and earn 25,000 bucks and take my girl. So off goes Lucky with Pop in toe to New York and that’s where he accidentally bumps into Penny played by the vivacious and graceful Ginger Rogers. As we suspect things get off to a rocky start with Penny calling Lucky a thief and all for Lucky’s lucky quarter that Pop quietly slips out of Penny’s bag. So it’s love at first sight that has Lucky following Penny to a dance academy and that’s really where the magic begins. Dance connects these two strangers and gambling takes care of the bills for Lucky. But when Penny finds out about Margaret, it’s a minor spoke in the wheel that needs to be taken care off before its swing time for this romance.

I did say the plot was simple didn’t I? But that doesn’t take away from the wonderful chemistry that brews between Rogers and Fred Astaire. Take for example the arc of a wonderful scene where Fred Astaire sits on the piano and breaks into the memorable, Oscar-winning “The way you look tonight.” Penny’s as riveted by the melody as we are. Only when Lucky turns his head up to see her, her hair’s got shampoo and he’s not really talking about the way she looks tonight. The film’s full of moments like these that start off soulful and lyrical but end up genuinely funny or even comically silly. It’s these transitions that work well both for the romance and to keep our attention.” A fine Romance,” Pick yourself up,” “Never Gonna Dance” are just fine musical compositions that allow the romance to blossom and unlike our conventional Hindi movie numbers the songs are treated as scenes here and don’t just give us the entertaining time-out.

Reflections, shadow play, snow fall and so much kinetic movement in some of the numbers adds that depth, flamboyance and drama to the wonderfully choreographed dance and song routines. I loved how the choreography used the screen space and set pieces in general. It’s just arresting to see how the cinematography, script, actors and the choreographer were so in sync with each other-you never feel like the camera’s following or trying to keep up with the movement. In fact it aesthetically absorbs not just the dancing but also all the detailing and drama around them.

I’m no dance maestro but this could just be the bible for those who are. With songs that stay with you, with a romance that’s electrifying, with a well interweaved comedy of errors and with the very appealing Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire who set the stage aflame with their dance moves and screen presence-Swing Time is a swell time at the movies.