Happy 110th Birthday, Ginger Rogers!

            Part of being an old movie nerd means you're familiar with plenty of actors and actresses. However, there's always that one star you love a little bit more, whose movies you're always excited to see, whom you tend to go on and on about until everyone around you knows who they are. Presenting... Ginger Rogers!

            At the beginning of the pandemic, I stumbled across a lovely movie called Top Hat - and the rest is history. I had never seen a film quite like it before and it was magical. I probably waltzed around the house singing "Cheek to Cheek" for a week afterward. To make a long story short, my Old Hollywood obsession was born! And along with it, my new favorite actress was discovered.

            Born on July 16, 1911, today is the 110th anniversary of Ginger Rogers' birthday. Happy birthday, Ginger!

 
 
            Now, you may wonder, why Ginger? What makes her worthy of the "favorite actress" title? Well, since you asked...
 
                When Ginger was 14 years old, she was just a small-town girl from Independence, Missouri. Raised by a single mother, Ginger's aspirations included being an English teacher. All that changed when she won a Charleston contest, which led to a vaudeville contract, which led to two Broadway shows - Top Speed and Girl Crazy. By the time she was 19, she was making films, and in 1931 she moved to Hollywood.

                Ginger was popular as soon as she arrived in California - within two years she was receiving top billing on films. Her characters in those early Pre-Codes were typical of the time: sassy and clever girls who always had a joke to tell or someone to poke fun at. In 1933, she was cast in a movie that would prove to be a fateful one - Flying Down to Rio. It was her first film pairing with Fred Astaire, and though they only had supporting roles and one dance number, it was a smash success. RKO Studios quickly re-teamed them in 1934's the Gay Divorcee, and they would go on to make ten beloved musicals together:
 
Flying Down to Rio
The Gay Divorcee
Roberta
Top Hat
Follow the Fleet
Swing Time
Shall We Dance
Carefree
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
The Barkleys of Broadway

                Now a few fun facts:

                Flying Down to Rio was the only film where Ginger was billed above Fred Astaire. It was Fred's second movie, and Ginger's twentieth!

                Also, it wasn't a coincidence that they were paired in Flying Down to Rio. Fred and Ginger had first met in 1930, when Fred was called in to help choreograph "Embraceable You" for Ginger's show Girl Crazy. They even dated for a while, until Ginger left for Hollywood and Fred stayed on Broadway. When he came west in 1933, RKO needed a dance partner for Fred - and he just happened to know Ginger, their resident musical queen!

 
                Another reason Ginger is my favorite actress: she was capable of anything the movies called for. Musicals? Sure. Rom-coms? Yep. Dramas? Mysteries? Thrillers? Those, too. Her dramatic acting was in just as high demand as her singing and dancing. (If you need more proof, there are six Ginger Rogers films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.) In 1940, she beat out Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn (among others) to win a Best Actress Oscar for Kitty Foyle.
 
                There are a few super-famous roles originally offered to Ginger that she turned down, including Rosalind Russell's role in His Girl Friday, Barbara Stanwyck's in Ball of Fire, and Donna Reed's in It's a Wonderful Life. (I love Rosalind Russell, but I would give anything to see Ginger play Hildy.)

                Ginger never took singing, dancing, or acting lessons, but she was incredibly talented at all three. The famous and almost-always misquoted quote about her is actually this:


                It's a "Frank and Ernest" comic strip, and the origin of the phrase. Now you know!
 
                After she stopped appearing in films in the 1950s, Ginger went back to Broadway, where she starred in numerous plays and musicals. She played the title role in both Mame and Hello, Dolly! She also had a few TV specials, a pilot episode of her own show, plenty of interviews (thanks, YouTube), a show with the Rockettes, a cameo in I Love Lucy, and a Vegas nightclub act.
 
                She was married five times. Sadly, none of the marriages lasted very long - most of her husbands were alcoholics, and seeing as Ginger didn't drink, this proved to be a problem. Another problem was the whole my-wife-is-an-internationally-famous-star-and-now-I'm-insecure complex that seemed to plague so many Hollywood couples.

                Besides her Oscar, other honors included her Grauman's Chinese Theatre plaque, Kennedy Center Honors, and being voted the 11th greatest screen actress by the American Film Institute.

                Ginger published her autobiography in 1991, and passed away in 1995.

                Now you know a bit more about my favorite actress! If you haven't seen one of her films or it's been a while, I can recommend 42nd Street for a classic Pre-Code musical, any of the Fred-and-Ginger films, or Monkey Business for a hilarious rom-com.

                Thanks for reading!

Comments

  1. Silver ScreeningsJuly 17, 2021 at 4:09 PM

    Ginger Rogers was so versatile, wasn't she? I adore her in everything.

    Also, just wanted to pass on belated congratulations on joining the CMBA. Glad to have you aboard!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MaeveJuly 18, 2021 at 10:19 AM

      Thanks so much!

      I agree - there's really nothing Ginger couldn't do, which is part of what makes her such an interesting actress. I tend to find even a so-so film is made better by having Ginger in it.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Costume Analysis of Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Image
               Singin' in the Rain is one of those gorgeous films where you can pause at any moment and it might as well be a painting. Besides being an iconic movie, it's a stunning combination of Technicolor and fashion - which is why I decided to round up the costumes in one big stunning survey. Here it is: the Singin' in the Rain Costume Analysis !                  Scene One: The Movie Premiere               At the beginning of Singin' in the Rain , Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are at the premiere of their latest film, The Royal Rascal. The year is 1927, and silent films are just making the switch over to talkies. Don and Lina are dressed in coordinating white outfits - because they're such an amazing screen team who totally adore each other! (Sarcasm intended.) Even though Don can't stand Lina, their matchy-matchy outfits turn them into a unit. Don wears a trench coat over his tuxedo, and Lina's in a sparkly sequin fur wrap, m
Read more

Aah! A Shriek in the Night (1933)

Image
              Doesn't that poster just say it all? Pre-Code murder mysteries are a special kind of madness - the usual formula includes a sassy reporter trying to make her way in a man's world, inevitably stumbling into a murder (and a romance). She's your everyday career girl but somehow dresses like a model, isn't afraid to confront creepy guys lurking in basements, and cracks cases as easily as one-liners.             A Shriek in the Night followed this well-loved storyline, proving the biggest hit that independent "Poverty Row" studio Allied Pictures would ever release. Its success was mostly due to Ginger Rogers, fresh out of 42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933 and about to become a worldwide sensation in Flying Down to Rio . Despite her undeniable screen presence and comedic timing, A Shriek in the Night doesn't make full use of Ginger's talents - it's more of a preview for what's to come.               The movie starts with - what els
Read more

Sun, Sand, & Screen Teams: Flying Down to Rio (1933)

Image
             Since it began in 1928, RKO Radio Pictures was a B-movie factory. As fast as they could find a hundred chorus girls and a script, they'd be in production - often for a mere three weeks before the film raced into theatres. Most of these attempts were flops, a few turned newcomers into stars, but every so often they'd land on a smash hit. Flying Down to Rio , a pre-Code B-movie musical, ended up launching an era.               Like most B-movies, it followed the common advertising formula - "Stupendous musical! 200 beauties!" It promised audiences an exotic South American summer, complete with sunny beaches, catchy songs, and chorus girls performing airplane stunts. They got what they bargained for - and then some. Special effects, including ghost-like clones of the characters representing their inner thoughts. Dolores del Rio, a Mexican actress considered the first and biggest Latin American movie star of the Golden Age. Extensive camera shots of Rio de J
Read more