SWING TIME [1936 / 2021] [The Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in a Glorious Song burst of Gayety and Gladness!
In this irresistible musical, the legendary dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are at the pinnacle of their art as a feckless gambler and the shrewd dancing instructor in whom he more than meets his match. Director George Stevens laces their romance with humour and clears the floor for the movie’s show stopping dance scenes, in which Astaire and Rogers take seemingly effortless flight in a virtuosic fusion of ballroom and tap styles. Buoyed by beloved songs by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern — including the Oscar-winning classic “The Way You Look Tonight” — ‘SWING TIME’ is an exuberant celebration of its stars’ chemistry, grace, and sheer joy in the act of performance.
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FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1937 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Music Original Song for Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern. Nominated: Best Dance Direction for Hermes Pan. 2004 National Film Preservation Board, USA: Win: National Film Registry for ‘SWING TIME.’
FILM FACT No.2: Initially, the working titles for the film were ‘I Won't Dance’ and ‘Never Gonna Dance,’ but studio executives worried that no one would come see a musical where no one danced, and the title was changed. ‘Pick Yourself Up’ was also considered as a title, as were 15 other possibilities. Erwin Gelsey's original screen story was purchased by RKO Radio Pictures, and in November 1935 Erwin Gelsey was hired to adapt the story. Although he did not receive any screen credit, he was under consideration for screenplay credit as late as July 1936. Howard Lindsay wrote the first draft of the screenplay, which was then considerably re-written by Allan Scott. Just before shooting started, in April 1936, Allan Scott was called back from New York to write additional dialogue. Fred Astaire spent almost eight weeks preparing for the film's dance numbers. The “Bojangles of Harlem” number, a tribute to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, was the last part of the film shot, because of the special effects required. To create the effect that Astaire was dancing with three shadows of himself that were larger-than-life, Fred Astaire had to be filmed dancing in front of a blank white screen on which a powerful light projected his shadow. This footage was tripled in the film lab. Fred Astaire was next filmed performing under normal lighting in front of another white screen while watching a projection of the shadow dancing, and the four shots were optically combined. In its entirety, the sequence took three full days of shooting, and the film overall took several weeks longer to shoot than the normal Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film. The New York street scenes were shot on Paramount Pictures back lot, the train station interiors and exteriors at the Los Angeles Santa Fe Railroad Station, and the freight yard scene was shot in downtown Los Angeles.
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Betty Furness, Georges Metaxa, William Bailey (uncredited), Harry Bernard (uncredited), William A. Boardway (uncredited), Harry Bowen (uncredited), Bill Brande (uncredited), Ralph Brooks (uncredited), Ralph Byrd (uncredited), Jack Chefe (uncredited), Martin Cichy (uncredited), Thomas A. Curran (uncredited), Alan Curtis (uncredited), Edgar Dearing (uncredited), Frank Edmunds (uncredited), Fern Emmett (uncredited), Bess Flowers (uncredited), Olin Francis (uncredited), Jack Gargan (uncredited), Jack Goode (uncredited), Beatrice Gray (uncredited), Charlie Hall (uncredited), Gerald Hamer (uncredited), Frank Hammond (uncredited), John Harrington (uncredited), Howard Hickman (uncredited), Frank Jenks (uncredited), Jean Joyce (uncredited), Kenner G. Kemp (uncredited), Donald Kerr (uncredited), Carl M. Leviness (uncredited), Sam Lufkin (uncredited), David Mcdonald (uncredited), Frank McLure (uncredited), Frank Mills (uncredited), Bert Moorhouse (uncredited), Edmund Mortimer (uncredited), Ferdinand Munier (uncredited), Bob O'Connor (uncredited), Dennis O'Keefe (uncredited), Ted O'Shea (uncredited), Marie Osborne (uncredited), Jean Perry (uncredited), Joey Ray (uncredited), Abe Reynolds (uncredited), Jack Rice (uncredited), Ronald R. Rondell (uncredited), Loretta Russell (uncredited), Floyd Shackelford (uncredited), John Shelton (uncredited), Phillips Smalley (uncredited), Landers Stevens (uncredited), Dale Van Sickel (uncredited), Sailor Vincent (uncredited), Blanca Vischer (uncredited) and Pierre Watkin (uncredited)
Director: George Stevens
Producer: Pandro S. Berman (uncredited)
Screenplay: Allan Scott (screenplay), Howard Lindsay (screenplay), Erwin Gelsey (from a story), Anthony Veiller (contributing writer) (uncredited), Ben Holmes (contributing writer) (uncredited), Dorothy Yost (contributing writer) (uncredited) and Rian James (contributing writer) (uncredited)
Composers: Jerome Kern and Robert Russell Bennett (uncredited)
Costume Design: Bernard Newman (gowns)
Cinematography: David Abel. A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 103 minutes
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 1
Studio: RKO Radio Pictures / The Criterion Collection
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘SWING TIME’ [1936] is a 1936 RKO Radio Pictures musical comedy film set mainly in New York City, and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It features Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Eric Blore and Georges Metaxa, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The film was directed by George Stevens.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are one of the most enduring and popular pairings in classic film. Mention their names and they are instantly recognizable, even by those who have never seen their pictures. ‘SWING TIME’ was Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sixth collaboration together and is often considered one of their best.
In order to marry his hometown fiancée, gambling dancer John “Lucky” Garnett [Fred Astaire] heads to New York to make $25,000. His friend and sidekick Edwin “Pop” Cardetti [Victor Moore] follows him like an annoying faithful puppy dog. On his first day in the city, John “Lucky” Garnett has an unfortunate first meeting with Penelope “Penny” Carroll [Ginger Rogers], a dance instructor. Not only do John “Lucky” Garnett and Edwin “Pop” Cardetti almost gets Penelope “Penny” Carroll arrested, but they also cause Penelope “Penny” Carroll and her friend Mabel Anderson [Helen Broderick] to lose their jobs. Even though John “Lucky” Garnett gets to convince Penelope “Penny” Carroll’s boss Mr. Gordon [Eric Blore] to re-hire Mabel Anderson, who is not so easily won over.
But John “Lucky” Garnett is in luck because he and Penelope “Penny” Carroll are now dance partners. The more time they spend together, the more they begin to fall for each other. However, both try to resist their mutual attraction. John “Lucky” Garnett has not forgotten his purpose for being in New York, even though he never mentions it to Penelope “Penny” Carroll. As for Penelope “Penny” Carroll, her long-time admirer Ricardo “Ricky” Romero [Georges Metaxa] continues to propose to her despite multiple rejections. Meanwhile, Edwin "Pop" Cardetti and Mabel Anderson connive to see John “Lucky” Garnett and Penelope “Penny” Carroll end up together.
There is a reason Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’s pictures are still remembered today, because they are an absolute joy to watch. The chemistry between them is light and fun, but absolutely real. But their dancing skills may even exceed their acting. In a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film, the dancing is a language of its’ own. It tells as much of the story as the dialogue does. That is what makes their films, including ‘SWING TIME,’ so unique and popular after all these years.
Watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance together is always a memorable experience. Though Ginger Rogers wasn’t a trained dancer like Fred Astaire, she matched him step for step. There is an old quote that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but only in heels. They both worked hard to make their dancing scenes appear effortless. In fact, Ginger Rogers claimed that they practiced the last number, “Never Gonna Dance” so many times that her shoes filled with blood. That work paid off because they always look lighter than air.
Another selling point of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films together, including ‘SWING TIME,’ is the supporting cast. Every one of their films boasts some of the best character actors of the time. Many of them were cast in more than one of their films. This lends a feeling of familiarity and continuity to their movies, even though each one has a unique plot. In ‘SWING TIME,’ Victor Moore and Helen Broderick act as the foils for the popular pair. Their average, middle age looks and dry humour are the perfect counterbalances to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. My one complaint is that Eric Blore has only a brief scene as Penelope “Penny” Carroll’s boss in ‘SWING TIME.’ It’s such a waste of his talent, but it is still a pleasure to see him make an appearance.
Though dancing is the hallmark of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers partnership, that isn’t the only musical skill used. They sing two of my favourite songs from their films in ‘SWING TIME.’ The jaunty tune, “Pick Yourself Up” is one I often sing to myself as a reminder when I fall short. “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again” can only help to inspire you.
Perhaps another reason for the success of ‘SWING TIME’ is all the talent behind the camera. Respected names such as director George Stevens, musician Jerome Kern, costume designer Bernard Newman and dance director Hermes Pan worked together to create a beautifully shot film, with unique design, flawless musical routines, and gorgeous costumes. Hermes Pan was nominated for an Oscar for directing Fred Astaire’s dance solo honouring Bill “Bojangles” Robinson in “Bojangles of Harlem.” Modern audiences may find it surprising and probably upsetting to see Fred Astaire in “blackface” for this number, but the choreography and execution of this number are totally flawless, but of course having a white man having black make-up on would not be allowed in any modern film today, as people find it offence. But despite this, ‘SWING TIME’ is a totally unique films, as it has classic music with classic lyrics and of course equally magical dance numbers and to makes this definitely a number one winning film.
SWING TIME MUSIC TRACK LIST
PICK YOURSELF UP (uncredited) (Lyrics by Dorothy Fields) (Music by Jerome Kern) [Sung and Danced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers] [Danced by Victor Moore and Helen Broderick] [Played in the film score often]
THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (uncredited) (Lyrics by Dorothy Fields) (Music by Jerome Kern) [Performed by Fred Astaire] [Reprised by Georges Metaxa] [Reprised again by Georges Metaxa, Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers at the end of the film] [Played in the film score often]
WALTZ IN SWING TIME (uncredited) (Lyrics by Dorothy Fields) (Music by Jerome Kern) (Constructed and Arranged by Robert Russell Bennett) [Sung off-screen by an unidentified Chorus during the opening credits] [Later danced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers]
A FINE ROMANCE (uncredited) (Lyrics by Dorothy Fields) (Music by Jerome Kern) [Sung by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers] [Reprised by Georges Metaxa, Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers at the end of the film] [Played in the film score often]
BOJANGLES IN HARLEM (uncredited) (Lyrics by Dorothy Fields) (Music by Jerome Kern) [Sung by Chorus Girls] [Danced by Fred Astaire and Chorus Girls]
Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride) (1850) (uncredited) from “Lohengrin” (Written by Richard Wagner) [In the film score a bit for the second wedding]
NEVER GONNA DANCE (uncredited) (Lyrics by Dorothy Fields) (Music by Jerome Kern) [Sung by Fred Astaire who danced with Ginger Rogers]
IT’S NOT IN THE CARDS (uncredited) (Music by Jerome Kern) [Written for the movie and filmed, but cut from the final print; some of the music remains in the film score]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – The Criterion Collection presents us the amazing film ‘SWING TIME’ has a new digital transfer created in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director Film scanner from two 35mm fine-grains and a 35mm duplicate negative. The black and white image is about as terrific as it can get, given the work done for this image transfer. Presented in its original aspect ratio, and there is so much to enjoy when watching the fluid action and dancing on display. The image is very clean, with a high level of detail to be seen throughout the film. We mostly see interior sets, and there is enough to grasp from a visual standpoint that can allow an excellent sense of clarity, without any issue beyond some unavoidable issues that come from age. A proper handle on spacing keeps the image from ever feeling flat. The intricate work done with this restoration does such a fine job of showing the distance between characters, which is especially important in the film’s finale, where we see so much elaborate dancing in a multi-level environment. The black levels are great. Contrast stands strong as we observe the various sets. It’s particularly notable in looking at the dancing stage, which is dark, while also showing the reflections of the dancers performing on it. The black levels are deep and inky, with almost no crushing, even with a somewhat soft look in some instances. The detail level seen in the actual characters is impressive, despite issues with softness. Seeing Fred Astaire’s big grin or the various looks from Ginger Rogers highlights on what work has been done to clean up this film. With so much work to deliver a strong new transfer of this film, there is little to complain about. There is a consistent level of grain that is to be expected, but this film is basically spotless, as all the dirt, damage, stains, etc. has been cleaned up.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – The Criterion Collection release of ‘SWING TIME’ brings us one standard 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio that has given us a very professional audio experience. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm fine-grain. ‘SWING TIME’ features a solid mono track that does what is needed for this brilliant film featuring big musical numbers that sound so good as if recorded in modern times. But most of all the audio is clear and stable and I felt that there are a couple of areas, especially for example Fred Astaire's solo dance around the 1.20.00 mark, where the music does sound a tad “tinny” than it should, but considering the history of the film the overall quality of the audio is indeed very good. Overall, ‘SWING TIME’ features a very solid mono audio track that does what is needed for a film featuring big amazing and magical musical numbers.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary featuring John Mueller, author of “Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films” [1986] [1080p] [1.37:1] [102:11] This special audio commentary was recorded for The Criterion Collection in 1986 from an original NTSC LaserDisc release of the film ‘SWING TIME,’ and of course features John Mueller, who is the author of “Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films.” To listen to the audio commentary while watching the movie, you have to press the AUDIO button on your remote control, and select the 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio and at this point most importantly I will only be informing you highlights of John Mueller’s audio commentary of what I feel is the more interesting facts about the film ‘SWING TIME.’ There are a few names in the credits John Mueller wants to point out and talk about and mentions that this was Howard Lindsay only screenplay for Fred Astaire and after he submitted it, it was completely rewritten by Allan Scott. John Mueller also comments on the stunning art deco backgrounds of the RKO Radio Pictures for the film ‘SWING TIME,’ which were designed by a team effort of Art Directors Van Nest Polglase and Caroll Clark. John Mueller also says that although Fred Astaire was mainly responsible for his own choreography, but dance director Hermes Pan was a totally valued assistant as well as the ideas man and in-house critic, and he worked on 17 of Fred Astaire’s 31 musical films. John Mueller then gets round to start talking about the start of the film and its basic synopsis and also talks about the actor Victor Moore who did the card tricks, but after that John Mueller just rambles on about stuff that is not very interesting. Then after some considerable time starts to talk about something much more interesting and relates to some extraordinary high quality music in the film ‘SWING TIME’ which John Mueller says this is of course all due to several people, and first of all of course is the contribution from the composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Dorothy Fields and two of the songs in the film eventually became great standards that was the luminous “THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT” which of course won the Academy Award® for the best song and the other brilliant song was “A FINE ROMANCE” and John Muller also talks about the other high quality musical numbers that are featured in the film ‘SWING TIME.’ John Muller also talks about the other brilliant contributions that went towards the film ‘SWING TIME’ and its high quality musical numbers and their superb arrangements and orchestration by Robert Russell Bennett who for some unknown reason is not featured in the screen credits. John Muller also just rambles on about the history of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films and their basic premise on how it eventually has them doing amazing choreographed magical dance numbers. When we see Fred Astaire in the Silver Sandal night club scene and the sleazy conductor who wants to marry Ginger Rogers, but she on the other hand does not want to marry this conductor and we see them sitting at the table with the other two main characters who are Victor Moore and Helen Broderick. Now we move onto another part of the John Mueller audio commentary where at chapter 10 we get the heavy snow scene out in the countryside where Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore and Helen Broderick arrive in their automobile at The New Amsterdam wooden shack and is also the name of the Broadway theatre in New York where Fred Astaire and Helen Broderick performed in the review of “The Bandwagon” in the early 1930’s, and John Mueller also says keep your ears open to the fine background composed music in this particular scene we are watching, as he thinks it is really quite wonderful, and we finally get to hear Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sing that very iconic romantic song “A FINE ROMANCE.” When we get to chapter 11, we are now at the newly refurbished and grand reopening of the Silver Sandal night club and the remarkable newly designed grand curved black staircases by John Harkrider’s ravishing Art Deco nightclub set. But when we see Fred Astaire getting all excited in getting ready to “blackface” and to perform the very uncomfortable but also totally amazing dance routine “BOJANGLES IN HARLEM” in which John Mueller says that this was the only time we ever get to see Fred Astaire doing his “blackface” dance routine and is a sort of tribute to the great black tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, whereas Fred Astaire style of dancing for “BOJANGLES IN HARLEM” is much more of an expressive dance routine with his body and much more in the style of another great black dancer called John W. Bubbles (1902 – 1986). Then John Mueller comments about the totally amazing and most moving scene in the film for Fred Astaire’s career where we see romantically attached Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers eventually dance up the newly designed grand curved black staircases in the Silver Sandal night club and where Fred Astaire stars to sing “NEVER GONNA DANCE” to show Ginger Rogers he really loves her and to also encourage and entice Ginger Rogers to do this most dramatic dance number that took 47 takes to get right, which happens around chapter 14 at about 61 minutes. At chapter 15 at around 101 minutes, John Mueller says that as Ginger Rogers finally joins in the laughing scenario with Victor Moore and Helen Broderick, and also joins in with smirking Fred Astaire in announcing there isn’t going to be any wedding, because the previous menacing band leader aka conductor Georges Metaxa is the butt of the joke who is willing to begin the song reprise that leads to the films magical finale and with also the big window overlooking a very snowing Central Park, and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers begin singing the films two big hit songs in counter point, and at the end the sun breaks through the clouds, and where we see Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers both fall into the closest they have come to a meaningful kiss in their series of films together so far and this brings to a most satisfying end to the story of the “La Belle, La Perfectly Swell Romance.” At that point the audio commentary by John Mueller ends. Overall the John Mueller audio commentary track isn’t entirely screen specific, especially with John Muller taking plenty of opportunities to talk generally about the production, as well as about the two stars Fred Astaire and they got to team up together, and the films they appeared together in, and uses those particular films as a reference to point out the usual formulas that are repeated or even broken in this film ‘SWING TIME.’ John Mueller also gets into some of the quirks of the two stars, like Fred Astaire’s aversion to kissing onscreen and other titbits that comes to the mind of John Mueller at that moment in time. Admirably, John Mueller also addresses the film’s weaknesses, which in turn leads him to stating how wonderful home video and that stupid morons that allows you to fast-forward to the good parts and I certainly take offense to this imbecile comment, but one should keep in mind that in 1986 VHS home video was still a pretty new concept. The only time John Mueller really gets into what is going on onscreen is during the dance numbers, where John Mueller breaks down the dances, focusing on the choreography and the moves, and admiring how Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers work together. These can get a bit mundane as John Mueller can fall into the trap of just simply explaining what we’re seeing, but in the end what he seems to be really trying to do is to get you to appreciate the work that went into this material. Overall the audio track is good, and I would say well worth a listen, but I will again forewarn you it is a vintage 1986 early audio track, so it can be a bit a rough around the edges, with some unnecessary material and a number of dead spots. But despite this, it is still worth listening to and you hear a lot of background material related to the film ‘SWING TIME.’ To sum up the audio commentary by John Mueller and to be honest I can only give it a three star rating, as sometimes John Mueller would really annoy me with some of his rhetoric towards the outstanding and brilliant film ‘SWING TIME’ and it is up to you when you listen to John Mueller whether you agree with me 100% and I rest my case and my summing up conclusion to this very hit and miss and very messy audio commentary.
Special Feature: Interview with Ginger Rogers [Audio only] [1980] [1080p] [1.78:1] [21:06] With this featurette we get an audio interview with the legendary Ginger Rogers and starts to talks about when being a young girl in Texas, where each year they hold a Charleston Contest at a local theatre and was keen to enter the competition and surprising everyone by winning the contest, then after that there was a Sate wide dancing contest in Dallas, and other children were brought into Dallas who had also won a dancing contest, which was the biggest dance contest ever and surprise surprise Ginger Rogers won that contest, and that made Ginger Rogers think this was her career she wanted to pursue. With Ginger Rogers and her mother, both went off to New York for an audition for a couple of shows and then enrolled into a comedy musical called “Top Speed” and was in that show for four months and then appeared in another show entitled “Girl Crazy” a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and after a short run, was contacted by Paramount Pictures and asked Ginger Rogers to come out to California for a film test for an upcoming film and finally secured a contract for seven years and made five films for Paramount Pictures and the first film Ginger Rogers appeared in was the 1930 film ‘Young Man of Manhattan’ and played a society girl character. Now Ginger Rogers talks about the first time she met Fred Astaire and his sister Adele Astaire who were doing the musical show “Band Wagon” and of course this must have been fate and had no idea at the time that Ginger Rogers would eventually team up with Fred Astaire. But later on Ginger Rogers worked for RKO Radio Pictures and the first film Ginger Rogers appeared in was the 1933 film ‘Chance at Heaven’ and Fred Astaire saw the film and wrote a really nice letter to Ginger Rogers saying how much he enjoyed the film. But being under contract with RKO Radio Pictures had to do what film they inform her to appear in and the next one was the 1933 film was ‘Rafter Romance,’ then appeared in the 1933 film ‘42nd Street’ and ‘Gold Diggers of 1933,’ and then appeared in the 1933 film ‘Flying Down To Rio,’ and says the film was total chaos, because it had eight different producers and the movie was put together like a handful of confetti, and despite this the film became a massive big success, all because what stood out was the scenes with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performing together and because of the great success of the film, American film producer Pandro S. Berman was so excited by their performance that he bought the rights to a New York comedy musical the “Gay Divorce” and because of censorship problems had to call the film ‘The Gay Divorcee’ and of course Pandro S. Berman insisted that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had to be the top billing in the film and from this film it led to ten films that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared in because audiences clamoured to see films with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in them, and Ginger Rogers says that dancing with Fred Astaire was totally unique and this had never been done before with them both appearing in a string of unique and special musical films. With the film ‘The Gay Divorcee’ they were given six weeks of rehearsals and it was done in their ordinary clothes in an empty room with just one piano and one piano player and of course choreographer Hermes Pan who guided them through the choreography, and they worked from 9:00am until either 6:00p or 7:00pm and would always took a lunch break for about an hour, but all the time with the choreography rehearsals it again was done in an empty room, but when they finally felt they had perfected the routine choreography, it was then and there that they got to perform in front of the camera and with the actual sets. But of course the only time they stopped dancing was when they had to do their dialogue, but what was uncomfortable is when the shoes arrived and for some unknown reason they were all wet and it was not a very nice experience. When Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance together it was on a white plastic floor and for Ginger Rogers wearing a short high heel shoes, you had to be extremely careful, as with one slip up and you would end up on the floor, and of course with the film ‘SWING TIME’ you see them both slip up and end up on the floor. But when Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers did the film ‘Roberta,’ they got a chance to dance on an actual wooden floor and they found the experience really wonderful. But Ginger Rogers says that now and again things went wrong in films they appeared in, like the studio lights went out, Ginger Rogers’s dress would get caught on Fred Astaire’s button on his coat and with these mistakes it made you want to cry when these incidents happened and sometimes it would take like 50 to 70 takes to get the filming done right, but sometimes it went extremely well, and eventually they would get a scene done in 20 takes. Now Ginger Rogers talks about the film ‘SWING TIME’ and thought the film was totally brilliant and really enjoyed the whole experience, as it covered so many subjects and especially with the love interest. Next up Ginger Rogers’s talks about the glorious costumes and the rehearsals where actress would wear slacks, but when Ginger Rogers put on the actual costume, Fred Astaire at first did not recognise Ginger Rogers, because of course it was a totally different experience being in the actual costume, and Ginger Rogers had to slightly change the style of dancing, and another thing Ginger Rogers did, was if a dress was not just right for her, demanded a dress that would suit her style for dancing, and when the costume designer got the style of the costume just right for her performance, Ginger Rogers says it was a totally wonderful experience, because it felt just right and totally perfect for her. Now Ginger Rogers’s gets round to talking about the 1939 film ‘The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle’ which starred Fred Astaire as Vernon Castel and Ginger Rogers starred as Irene Castle and Ginger Rogers found the costumes amazing and were brilliant period costumes for 1939, but unfortunately Irene Castle would sit there on set and when Ginger Rogers did scenes in the film as Irene Castle, Irene Castle would stand up and shout at the top of her voice complaining about Ginger Rogers performance and would be nothing like the real Irene Castle and Irene castle was a stickler of getting everything pitch perfect and Ginger Rogers would get very upset with Irene Castle’s angry outbursts. Now Ginger Rogers gets round to talking about the “Friendly Parting,” and says that she would do four and half films a year whereas Fred Astaire would only do one and half films and Ginger Rogers also says that she was heavily worked, and especially doing musical films was very exhausting work and out of those four and half films, one of them was very hard work and sometimes you could slow down a bit and that was her main aim and desire, and felt Fred Astaire was getting slightly fed up with having to dance as a couple. But despite this, Ginger Rogers really adored working with Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers felt the studio got their monies worth out of her performances in the films with Fred Astaire. But in 1949, they asked Ginger Rogers if she would do one more picture with Fred Astaire in the 1949 film ‘The Barkleys of Broadway’ and she felt it was a very funny way to put it to her, and she certainly has never “minded” doing a film with Fred Astaire, but what Ginger Rogers really minded was being over worked. At a well-known tribute dinner, Ginger Rogers informs us that when Fred Astaire stood up and said Ginger Rogers and myself always fought, and Ginger Rogers said they never fought and of course Ginger Rogers had a great deal of difficulty convincing everyone that they never fought, and of course there and then the damage was done and whenever Ginger Rogers was on television or speaking to reporters, they would always bring up the subject of the friction Ginger Rogers had with Fred Astaire and had to keep repeating the same old mantra that she wanted to put the record straight that this friction situation never ever happened, but of course working closely with Fred Astaire, there would now and again have some heated disagreements about their dance routines. But Ginger Rogers never looks too deeply into the films she has been in, especially with Fred Astaire, because it is a role that she has to perform as best she can do, and especially enjoyed doing the dancing routines and no one directed her style of dancing, but most of all really enjoyed doing the films with Fred Astaire, and was very honoured to appear in those ten films with Fred Astaire. All in all this is a very nice featurette and was a total joy hearing everything Ginger Rogers talked about.
Special Feature: Interview with Ginger Rogers [1982] [480i] [1.37:1] [4:09] Here with this featurette we get a short interview with dancer and actress Ginger Rogers and is conducted with George Stevens Jr., where we also get more Ginger Rogers discussions about the relationship with Fred Astaire. George Stevens Jr., feels that the film ‘SWING TIME’ was a great warmth between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and Ginger Rogers agrees with him and especially their working relationship and thanks to director George Stevens in bringing them together and they feel that the two of them together gave us the public great quality we had not ever seen before. Ginger Rogers gives great praise about director Georg Stevens and was a consummate professional and they both got on so well with him. Ginger Rogers now talks about director Mark Sandrich who made the film ‘Top Hat’ [1935] which Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared together in it, and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers also worked with director Mark Sandrich on his other films, which included ‘Flying Down to Rio’ [1933], ‘Follow the Fleet’ [1936], ‘Shall We Dance’ [1937], and Carefree (1938) and found Mark Sandrich to be really nice, but was also a very disciplined director. Ginger Rogers also talked more about director George Stevens; especially that he had a great sense of humour, which came about because he had directed films with the wonderful Laurel & Hardy. At that point the interview with Ginger Rogers ended abruptly.
Special Feature: In Full Swing [2021] [1080p] [1.37:1 / 1.78:1] [40:56] With this featurette we are informed that ‘SWING TIME’ was the sixth film in the series of ten films that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together. ‘SWING TIME’ features some of the Duo’s best choreography, along with Academy Award®-winning music by composer Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. In the following program that was created by The Criterion Collection in 2019, Film and Jazz Critic Hary Giddins, Dance Critic Brian Seibert, and Dorothy Fields biographer Deborah Grace Winer discuss the making of ‘SWING TIME’ and the way Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger’s films revolutionised the Hollywood musicals. All three feel there is nothing so perfect in seeing Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together up there on the big silver screen. But they also feel Fred Astaire is a total genius in his rhythm and also his invention in his dance routines and they also feel no one has come close to Fred Astaire, and what he accomplished with Ginger Rogers was sheer unique genius, especially in the film ‘SWING TIME. They also talks about the style of Fred Astaire’s genius dancing technique where he clouds your mind, because you are seeing stuff that is totally amazing, so complex, but also makes you think it is so easy. They also give great praise to the director George Stevens and especially with the film ‘SWING TIME,’ and we get to hear a very rare poor audio recording of George Stevens. But because Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers brought so much enjoyment to their films, song writers clamoured to write amazing songs for them both and these included Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. Another person they mention that did not get any kind of recognition was Bill Robinson whose nickname was “Bojangles” and was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, and relates to the dance number “BOJANGLES IN HARLEM” and RKO Radio Pictures really treated Bill Robinson very badly and did not get paid for his work on that musical dance number and Fred Astaire fought really hard to get Bill Robinson the recognition he deserved for his contribution. They talk about when the film ‘SWING TIME’ was released and was received with a very luke warm reception and the critics were not very kind towards the film and especially the songs in the film, which they thought was very mediocre. But of course George Stevens was such a big hit with the film ‘SWING TIME’ and went onto direct more films in Hollywood. But most of all, the Jerome Kern and Dorothy Field songs in the film ‘SWING TIME’ became great standard songs and artists like Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald wanted to sing the legendary composer Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Field songs. At that point this very enjoyable featurette ends.
Special Feature: Interview with George Stevens Jr. [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1] [7:21] With this featurette interview that was recorded for The Criterion Collection in 2019, and we get to meet George Stevens Jr. who is the son of legendary director George Stevens and founder of AFI [American Film Institute], and George Stevens Jr., provides a new interview discussing the evolution of his father’s career, where George Stevens was able to direct all kinds of movies and feels his film ‘SHANE’ was one of the all-time greatest western movie. George Stevens Jr., and also thinks that the film ‘SWING TIME’ is one of the greatest musicals of all-time. Then George Stevens went to RKO Radio Pictures making small comedy films. But we are informed that George Stevens had great appreciation of Fred Astaire especially on his work ethics and for having a great gift in being a great dancer and singer. But Fred Astaire really admired George Stevens as a director because he had very high standards, but what Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers loved about George Stevens is that he gave both of them room to adapt to their style of dancing. George Stevens was very particular about the filming of filming Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in framing their dance routines, so you also get to see their feet to capture their magical dance routines, but with one particular dance routine with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, George Stevens would insist on ending up with them both doing 47 takes and Ginger Rogers commented in saying it was a very difficult dance routine to get it just right, and because it was very tough on both of them, when George Stevens finally got the final shot he desired, unfortunately Ginger Rogers feet were bleeding profusely, but at least George Stevens had finally got the ultimate dance routine filmed. George Stevens Jr., informs us that he really felt he had a wonderful collaboration with his father, and that George Stevens had great respect towards his audiences. At that point the short featurette ends abruptly.
Special Feature: Fred Astaire Interview [1982] [1080p / 480i] [1.37:1] [2:04] With this featurette we get to view an archival interview with actor, dancer, and choreographer Fred Astaire and was conducted by George Stevens Jr., and Fred Astaire says that Director George Stevens never got to see beforehand Fred Astaire’s dance routines that he had been practicing, but they would both talk about a particular dance routine he had just been rehearsing and eventually come to an agreement, but Fred Astaire again wanted to get the dance routine 100% right, so George Stevens would be very happy with the result especially when the camera started rolling, but Fred Astaire dance routines were based on the Broadway stage, but when Fred Astaire eventually arrived in Hollywood he had to completely change his style of dance routines in front of the camera. Fred Astaire then says he got on very well with George Stevens, but sometimes Fred Astaire would muck about too much, and would be at the side of the studio and be talking to someone and when he looked towards George Stevens and would look very serious at Fred Astaire and giving him a physical gesture to get to start dancing in front of the camera and makes sure he knew what to do with his dance routines. At that point the short featurette would end very abruptly.
Special Feature: Hermes Pan Interview [1982] [480i] [1.37:1] [5:04] With this particular featurette we get to view an archival interview with ‘SWING TIME’ choreographer Hermes Pan in 1982 and again was conducted by George Stevens Jr., but of course what shocks you is how old Hermes Pan looks. Hermes Pan is asked when did you work with director George Stevens, and thinks was for the film ‘SWING TIME,’ and found the director a choreographers delight, and George Stevens would always consult with Hermes Pan and discuss things a lot, and found working with George Stevens so much easier than other directors he has worked with. Hermes Pan is asked about the final dance number in the film ‘SWING TIME’ with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers entitled “Never Gonna Dance” and talks about the well-known story of the infamous 47 takes of this incredible dance routine of the last eight bars or sixteen bars at the most and it was very late at night for shooting the scene and both Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and it was just one of those things where everything could go wrong did go wrong because it was a very difficult finale, where Ginger Rogers feet started to blister very badly and they had a nurse on hand to put a lot of Band Aid to cover the blisters on her feet and in fact her feet was bleeding very profusely and so Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers carried on with the very complicated dance routine and of course the camera captured the dance routine they were trying to finish and again, after the 47th take, they finally was able to capture the totally amazing magical dance routine for the film ‘SWING TIME,’ and when that happened everyone drew a sigh of relief and everyone clapped and cheered they had got something really special for the film ‘SWING TIME.’ At that point the Hermes Pan featurette interview ends abruptly.
Special Feature: Mia Mask Interview [2021] [1080p] [1.37:1 / 1.78:1] [8:34] With this last featurette interview, that was recorded for The Criterion Collection in New York on March 2019, and film scholar Mia Mask discusses “blackface” and the “Bojangles of Harlem” dance number in ‘SWING TIME,’ and discussing its roots in the ridiculing of slaves and connecting this legacy to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s transcendent showbiz career and to Fred Astaire’s “erasure” of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson in ‘SWING TIME.’ Mask offers an incisive and wide-reaching work of criticism in only a handful of minutes, contextualizing the exploitation that powered even our most beloved entertainments.
PLUS: A wonderful in-depth essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith entitled HEAVEN CAN’T WAIT. ABOUT THE TRANSFER. SPECIAL THANKS. ACKNOWLEDGMENT. PRODUCTION CREDITS. Also we get some wonderful black-and-white photos of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together.
BONUS: New cover design by Raphael Geroni who is a graphic designer specializing in typography, lettering, and book design and lives in New York.
Finally, ‘SWING TIME’ is an utterly fantastic film. It has a great deal of humour, heart, and of course great musical moments to stand up as a classic deserving of so many honours. If there is any way to get into the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, this is undoubtedly a great entry point. The Criterion Collection release does truly proper justice to the feature film in terms of the technical presentation, along with a nice set of extras. ‘SWING TIME’ is an undeniable classic, but as with any work from the past, it is well worth interrogating the film and its cultural missteps in order to fully appreciate it. I felt an amazing joy while watching Astaire and Rogers dance that I can't quite describe with words, but is certainly a feeling that I hope we all get to experience. If you're a fan of vintage movie musicals, then this is a really good reason to acquire this Blu-ray release, as it is 100% satisfying on all fronts and you will be more than pleased to add this to your Blu-ray collection. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
