Why I Love... The Gay Divorcee (1934)

            It's Fred Astaire's birthday! In honor of one of my very favorite Hollywood stars, here's one of my very favorite movies - and what makes it so wonderful.           

            Overshadowed by its copycat Top Hat, and dismissed for its lack of musical numbers, The Gay Divorcee remains one of my favorite Astaire/Rogers movies. The magical combination of actors, gorgeous sets and costumes, catchy songs, and the perfect comedic script makes it one of my comfort films and a worthwhile watch anytime.

            The box-office hit Flying Down to Rio  was the first film to feature both Astaire and Rogers. First- and second-billed actors Dolores del Rio and Gene Raymond were nothing in comparison to "the Carioca", the dance number that launched a decade of musicals and a legendary dance partnership. Audiences stood up and applauded when they watched rising starlet Ginger Rogers and veteran Broadway actor (but Hollywood unknown) Fred Astaire dance together for the first time.

            Well, not exactly the first time. Three years prior, Ginger Rogers was on Broadway in the Gershwin show Girl Crazy when a choreographer was called in to fix up the dance number "Embraceable You." That choreographer was none other than Broadway star Fred Astaire, who at the time was appearing in Smiles with his sister Adele. After that, the two dated for around a year until Ginger left for Hollywood in 1931. When Adele left the sibling act in 1933, Fred went west looking for a new dance partner and a film career. He found both - Dancing Lady, a Joan Crawford-Clark Gable vehicle, would be Fred's first film appearance - but it would be his second film, Flying Down to Rio, in which he was reunited with Ginger and launched into movie stardom.

            After audiences stood up and applauded in theatres for "the Carioca," RKO knew they had something special on their hands.  They quickly decided to adapt the Broadway show Gay Divorce for film, starring its original lead (Fred Astaire) and teaming him with Ginger. When the movie, revamped as The Gay Divorcee, was released, it was something audiences had never seen before. The first movie to include dance numbers interwoven with the plot, and containing the longest musical sequence so far on film ("The Continental", at 17 minutes long, held the record until it was broken in 1951 by Gene Kelly in An American in Paris), The Gay Divorcee was a marvel of musicals. Audiences came in droves. They loved the musical numbers. They loved the sets (which sparked a craze for Venetian blinds). And they loved Fred and Ginger. 

            In a 1935 poll, The Gay Divorcee was still the public's favorite musical film, beating out every musical released that year, and even after the release of the newest Astaire/Rogers movie, Roberta.

            Like any film, The Gay Divorcee has its flaws. There are only two true Fred-and-Ginger dances, "Night and Day" and "The Continental." There are some strange novelty numbers, like "Let's K-nock K-nees" sung by a very young Betty Grable and "Don't Let it Bother You" sung by a bunch of RKO chorus girls with questionable French accents.  And the plot, by 21st century standards, is fairly creepy. Fred Astaire's character, Guy Holden, experiences love at first sight to the point of becoming a slightly obsessive stalker who searches London for the girl of his dreams and then chases her in his car.

            But! If you can ignore all this, you have a fabulous comedic film with some of (in my opinion) the funniest lines in the movies. You have a lovely musical ("Night and Day" is the essential meet-cute dance!). And you have a fabulous example of two up-and-coming stars in their first starring vehicle. And an added bonus: The Gay Divorcee slipped out right as the Production Code was ramping up, so it's considered one of the last pre-Codes - allowing for a little more freedom with the storyline. Watch and enjoy!