Lovely to Look At: Roberta (1935)

 

            After their success in Flying Down to Rio and the Gay Divorcee, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were teamed for the third time in 1935's Roberta. Strangely enough, the duo was billed under star Irene Dunne and relegated to comedic relief. They only dance together twice in the film - but those two dances are some of their best work.

            Fred plays Huck Haines, a band leader from Indiana who's been hired to play a gig in Paris. He brings his band overseas only to discover he's out of a job because the man who hired Huck's Indianians wanted Indians instead. Huck and his friend John (Randolph Scott) remember they both know people in Paris who might be able to help them out - Huck's childhood neighbor Lizzie Gatz and John's Aunt Minnie, known as the famed dress designer Roberta.

            The band shows up at Roberta's where they meet Stephanie, the designer's assistant, and the fiery Countess Scharwenka - none other than Lizzie! She tells Huck that "you have to have a title to croon over here," so she's pretending to be a Polish countess to get jobs as a nightclub singer. It's also an excuse for Ginger to use a ridiculous, adorable, questionable accent for most of the movie.

            Lizzie gets Huck's band a job at the Cafe Russe where she sings "I'll Be Hard to Handle". Then the two of them dance - arguably one of their greatest numbers. "I'll Be Hard to Handle" was the only Fred-and-Ginger number ever filmed on a real hardwood floor, which means none of the tap dancing needed to be dubbed and you can hear them laughing and talking because it's a live recording!

            Roberta was the first Astaire/Rogers movie where Fred was given free rein to choreograph all of the dances himself. There's a sad misconception that's been floating around ever since their movies came out that Ginger wasn't as talented a technical dancer - but Fred created each number in this film specifically for himself and Ginger, so he knew exactly what she was capable of.

            Roberta passes away, leaving her fashion empire to her nephew John, who is hopeless at anything regarding women's clothes. He and Stephanie become business partners, but when his ex-girlfriend Sophie turns up, Stephanie vanishes. Huck and John attempt to run things themselves, which includes Fred Astaire giving a monologue on why all women's dresses should have pockets. Perfection.

           A lot of Roberta revolves around the Stephanie/John romance plot, a very drawn out fashion show, and Irene Dunne's operatic solos. But Fred and Ginger are at their best in comedic roles, and their secondary storyline allows them to be a little more goofy and carefree than in, say, Top Hat. Like in Follow the Fleet, they have an established relationship when the film begins, so they can spend the whole time cracking jokes: "Men with large bank accounts will be asking for my telephone number - and getting it!" "...And won't they be surprised when I answer?"

            Stephanie eventually returns to Roberta's in time to design new gowns for the fashion show, which also includes entertainment - Huck makes up little rhymes about each dress, Stephanie sings "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", and Huck and Lizzie dance.

            For a Fred and Ginger movie, Roberta doesn't have quite enough, well, Fred and Ginger. But as usual, whenever they're onscreen it's easy to forget about the montages of gowns or the fact that Stephanie is actually a member of the Russian nobility (Sound confusing? It is). The movie's script is genuinely funny, and it's worth a watch just to hear Fred say "May I present myself... le Marquis de Indiana. Just west of Pittsburgh, babe." Screenwriting really did peak in 1935. 

           Roberta is charming enough to make up for its convoluted story - but if you're a fan of love triangles between an American football player, a Russian princess disguised as a French dressmaker, and another American woman, you're in luck. If not, you can just fast forward to the Fred and Ginger scenes.