For a much ballyhooed Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical, "Swing Time" is surprisingly tough to sit through. Inane patter flies from the mouths of a slew of uninteresting, often annoying people. Whenever they aren't dancing, they're talking, and that's a problem.
Astaire is Lucky, a compulsive but winning gambler-cum-dancer who goes to New York in order to make enough to marry his rich girlfriend. Ginger is Penny, a woman he meets on the street and whose job as a dance instructor leads to some early laughs when Lucky shows up for a lesson, only to reveal himself as left-footed.
"No, no, your RIGHT foot," she tells him.
"Sorry, I'm left-handed," he replies.
Of course, Lucky can dance quite well. When the pair are moving across the floor, "Swing Time" makes for pleasant if not memorable watching. Yet the movie trips over less musical scenes.
Victor Moore's Pop has been singled out in a lot of user reviews, and rightly so. With his wheedling voice and vacant projection, not to mention a character who is both stupid and a cheat, he really kills dead a lot of my enthusiasm. Helen Broderick is just as bad as Ginger's pal and Pop's love interest, one of those snappy-patter dames who seems to have been a dumping ground for bad lines from rejected scripts: "I always talk to myself...I'm my own grandmother and I have to keep the old girl interested!"
Director George Stevens is the man who also helmed "Gunga Din" and "Shane". You get the feeling he ached to make something more significant here than a showcase for dance numbers. When Lucky and Penny (how can they not be a couple!) come together, they have an argument over Pop having stolen her quarter. A cop takes Lucky's side because he's better dressed: "Guys like you pay me for protecting them from screwy dames." Social commentary! One scene between Pop and Lucky is played for "Of-Mice-And-Men" type pathos. "I'll never leave you", Pop says as the scene fades out. Awwhh...
Rogers is said to have liked this best of all her Astaire films. She probably appreciated playing a character who for once wasn't ready to bolt or hit Fred at the first hint of romantic interest. Fred's the problem here, hanging around at the beginning with dopey Pop and a bunch of male dancers who scheme to stop his wedding and steal his bankroll in the process. When confronted by their treachery, he just shrugs and smiles. When meeting Penny, he can't bring himself to tell her he's engaged, which of course would be honest and make for a much shorter, less complicated film. I love Fred, but I couldn't stand Lucky.
There are good things. "The Way You Look Tonight" is one of the best movie songs ever. Eric Blore has a funny, short role as Penny's bombastic boss. The art deco sets really play up the glitzy luster we associate with the 1930s high life.
No, musicals aren't reality. Like monster movies they have their own logic. But good musicals have a way of drawing you in. "Swing Time" keeps you at a distance, not caring an iota what happens next.
Astaire is Lucky, a compulsive but winning gambler-cum-dancer who goes to New York in order to make enough to marry his rich girlfriend. Ginger is Penny, a woman he meets on the street and whose job as a dance instructor leads to some early laughs when Lucky shows up for a lesson, only to reveal himself as left-footed.
"No, no, your RIGHT foot," she tells him.
"Sorry, I'm left-handed," he replies.
Of course, Lucky can dance quite well. When the pair are moving across the floor, "Swing Time" makes for pleasant if not memorable watching. Yet the movie trips over less musical scenes.
Victor Moore's Pop has been singled out in a lot of user reviews, and rightly so. With his wheedling voice and vacant projection, not to mention a character who is both stupid and a cheat, he really kills dead a lot of my enthusiasm. Helen Broderick is just as bad as Ginger's pal and Pop's love interest, one of those snappy-patter dames who seems to have been a dumping ground for bad lines from rejected scripts: "I always talk to myself...I'm my own grandmother and I have to keep the old girl interested!"
Director George Stevens is the man who also helmed "Gunga Din" and "Shane". You get the feeling he ached to make something more significant here than a showcase for dance numbers. When Lucky and Penny (how can they not be a couple!) come together, they have an argument over Pop having stolen her quarter. A cop takes Lucky's side because he's better dressed: "Guys like you pay me for protecting them from screwy dames." Social commentary! One scene between Pop and Lucky is played for "Of-Mice-And-Men" type pathos. "I'll never leave you", Pop says as the scene fades out. Awwhh...
Rogers is said to have liked this best of all her Astaire films. She probably appreciated playing a character who for once wasn't ready to bolt or hit Fred at the first hint of romantic interest. Fred's the problem here, hanging around at the beginning with dopey Pop and a bunch of male dancers who scheme to stop his wedding and steal his bankroll in the process. When confronted by their treachery, he just shrugs and smiles. When meeting Penny, he can't bring himself to tell her he's engaged, which of course would be honest and make for a much shorter, less complicated film. I love Fred, but I couldn't stand Lucky.
There are good things. "The Way You Look Tonight" is one of the best movie songs ever. Eric Blore has a funny, short role as Penny's bombastic boss. The art deco sets really play up the glitzy luster we associate with the 1930s high life.
No, musicals aren't reality. Like monster movies they have their own logic. But good musicals have a way of drawing you in. "Swing Time" keeps you at a distance, not caring an iota what happens next.