Fred and Ginger [Paperback]

Hannah Hyam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 2007

The partnership between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, which was born and reached its peak in the Hollywood musical of the 1930s, is one of the most enduringly popular ever to have graced the cinema screen. This important new study explores the series of seven films - from "The Gay Divorcee " in 1934 to "Carefree" in 1938 - that represent the quintessential 'Fred and Ginger'. Astaire and Rogers are most renowned for their peerless dance duets, but these constitute only a small proportion of the time they appeared on screen together. Their skills as performers and their remarkable rapport are equally apparent in their acting and singing, and in Fred and Ginger Hannah Hyam analyses all three aspects of their partnership in depth, illuminating the qualities that give it such timeless appeal. Distinguishing the seven 'Fred and Ginger' films from the three others that Astaire and Rogers made together, the book defines their characteristic features and assesses their relative merits, before going on to examine in detail the romantic partnership between Fred and Ginger as pursued in dialogue, song and dance throughout the series. Generously illustrated with choice black and white stills, Fred and Ginger will be welcomed not only by Astaire-Rogers enthusiasts and students of the genre but by all lovers of film and of true artistry in music and dance.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hannah Hyam earns her living as a freelance copy-editor and (occasional) proof reader, specialising in academic, educational and literary texts. Fred and Ginger, her first published book, is purely a labour of love, inspired by a passionate appreciation of Astaire and Rogers and an abiding affection for their films.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Pen Press Publishers Ltd (June 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905621965
• ISBN-13: 978-1905621965
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,034,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally and definitely!, June 19, 2009

By 

P.G.T F57 (France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fred and Ginger (Paperback)

Finally and definitely!

In a 1952 interview with Hedda Hopper, Fred Astaire once said about Ginger Rogers: "I think Ginger is the most effective performer I've ever worked with [......] She's quite unique. She's amazing. I expect to see any day where she's knockin''em dead again. "
Unfortunately, these declarations had long been forgotten in favour of cliches and commonplace remarks on Rogers being a second fiddle. On the contrary, the strength of this book is that Rogers `contribution is extremely well analyzed and she receives due credit. To complete the former and thorough reviews written on this website, it is also important to remember that the Fred and Ginger partnership consisted not only of a wonderful chemistry while they danced together, but also of a perfect singing and acting symbiosis. And Hyam`s purpose is to assess all the manifestations of their collaboration. A good example could be when, in Roberta, just before the tap number "I'll Be Hard to Handle", the pair reminisce about the past, and the comedy in this scene is illuminated by their expression of mutual affection and respect. Hannah Hyam describes it vividly:" the teasing, the indignation, the mock violence" [.....] and the "deliciously natural laughter from Rogers and a rare whoop from Astaire, both partners revelling in the sheer joyous fun of dancing together".
Likewise, the descriptions of the singing in the musical numbers appear extremely accurate and well written in the book. Unlike Astaire, whose singing abilities have always been praised, Rogers' renditions have never been thoroughly analysed, and even if Hannah Hyam is not entirely (sometimes quite rightly) enthused by all Ginger's singing solos, the author is right to notice that Rogers could perform songs with freshness, and an effective use of gestures on the lyrics. Another important part of the book focuses also on the dresses worn by Rogers, especially in the romantic duets, and I particularly appreciate Hyam's description of one of my favourite dances "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" when "they leave the stage arm in arm at an ultra-slow walk, eyes glowingly fixed on each other, lost in their private world."
When one reads the banal, dull and boring compilation of Levinson's book or the pathetic and pitiful poverty of Joseph Epstein's attacks on Rogers (to mention the most recent and -really depressing- books written on Fred Astaire), not only does Hannah Hyam's appear as brilliant and original, but also as the most definitive and relevant work ever written on Fred and Ginger. It can be largely considered on an equal footing with Arlene Croce, and contrary to the "dilettante" and rather nightmarish Levinson and Epstein publications, Hyam's book is certainly THE ONE that Astaire and Rogers would have approved of.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Fred and Ginger Book., June 6, 2009

By 

Mrs. A. Billingsley "Funny Girl" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fred and Ginger (Paperback)

If you are a "Fred and Ginger" fan, forget Croce and Mueller, this is the book you have been waiting your whole life to read. I was unable to put it down and in fact have now read it several times.

It has everything you could want from a book on Fred and Ginger. There are many photographs,black and white as fitting, a completely readable text that is not bogged down with technical terms and a wonderful appreciation of the immense part that Ginger played in the partnership.

The book is divided into sections,the introduction introducing the time before Mr Astaire and Miss Rogers became "Fred and Ginger" and then following chapters devoted to the movies, the acting partnership, the musical numbers, the dance duets and I defy anyone to read these wonderfully descriptive words on the dances and not want to rush to the dvd player and check them out.

This book describes the dances, single and duets intimately and shows the love Miss Hyam has for her subjects in many ways. There are snatches of conversation from the movies, just enough to whet the appetite for more and an appreciation of the other characters in the movies, many of whom featured in more than one title.

One of the best things about this book is the unalloyed appreciation of Miss Roger's work. All too often she is relegated as just one of Astaire's partners but in this book Mis Hyam puts them on an equal footing and devotes the same time to both of them and their work together.

If you don't buy another book this year, do go out and buy this one, you won't be disappointed and it will renew your interest in the cinema's greatest dance partnership.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, June 13, 2009

By 

R. Bono "Riccardo" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fred and Ginger (Paperback)

Justice is a simple matter of giving one what's his, or her, due....in the case of Fred and Ginger...his, AND her, due. Books purportedly accurate to the facts of their partnership have rarely yielded the just result...and left knowledgeable readers dissatisfied. The typical author has weighted his/her inquiry towards Astaire's genius...all too often, at the expense of Rogers. Hyam's book puts an emphatic end to this bogus line of thought...and she does it without the least diminishment to Astaire's well earned reputation.

After wandering a critical desert of error, inaccuracy, obtuseness, and occasional outright malevolence...I've finally found the book that tells it like it is. This book is THE ONE.

In any partnering, there exist balances and imbalances...differences between the man's and woman's role. In a great pairing however, two individual dance personalities merge as one...one soul inhabiting two bodies. There is a reciprocity...Hyam (and Croce) calls it complimentariness...that when combined with ingenious choreography, wonderful music, and brilliant execution, yields a result that is much greater than the sum of two parts. To achieve this goal in performance, took extraordinary vision, creativity, and discipline, built upon a foundation of plain hard work. In the case of Astaire and Rogers, their result is, not only so seemingly natural and spontaneous, it realizes an artistic level than can rightly be described as sublime...the "primum mobile" of dance...ephemeral, beautiful, and very rarely attained.

Only, in the case of this great pair, we have it all on film. And it's on the films, that Hyam spends most of her time.

She treats the dances, songs, and plots in a unique and fresh way. Unlike the usual chronological order of the films considered in toto, she organizes them under these separate headings. Under dances for example, she separates the playful duets from the romantic duets. This is an analytic tool that allows the reader to focus and deepen understanding. It's through this approach, that she is able to reach a startling, and very true conclusion, that their artistic level is so very high, one loses the desire to rank one against the other. She's very right in stating that the thirty-two primary A-R duets, ALL rank, in their particular ways, as masterpieces.

In addition, she reveals the essence of the classic A-R plot formulas. She therefore is rightly able to put "Flying Down to Rio", "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle", and "The Barclays of Broadway"...enjoyable as segments of them are...in a category outside the A-R standard repetoire. This is also a contribution to clearer understanding...for the seven remaining films then become the main focus of her efforts.

Next, she takes on the issue of Astaire's other best dance partners. Once again, Hyam does not diminish the reputation of any of the top ladies: from Vera Ellen, to Eleanor Powell, to Rita Hayworth...and especially, to Cyd Charisse. I shall not linger here, for it's up to the reader to evaluate the justice of her claim that Ginger Rogers was...far and away...the greatest of them all.

One quibble: In regard to the plots, I do wish that the wonderful dance critics that Hyam wisely builds upon, in their focus upon dance, like Arlene Croce and John Mueller, would recall the days of their own youth, when seeming implausibility and irrationality, had its place in the ritual that is courtship. (See my review of Croce's book, and of the VHS of "Swing Time".) In fact, the plots, upon close inspection, are not quite as fragile, as they have supposed...for quite powerfully, do they simply thrive on human imperfection in a very upbeat way. And, as a contrast, it is well to note, just how far they are from today's cool and rational "hooking up", accommodations of convenience.

As Roger Ebert stated, correcting Katherine Hepburn's simplistic statement on the A-R pairing: "They both had class and sex was never the point." For as chaste as the A-R formula was, it is positively triumphal, in all its pure fun, humor, vivacity, wisdom and spirit. Croce and Mueller's rather methodical conceptions of courtship, as pure plausibility and rationality, ought to be laughable in themselves! It's well to note the French saying: "Le coeur ha ses raisons, che La Raison ne connait pas.".

For all their high-jinx, there is indeed, a kind of quiet wisdom in these films, that, one day, will bear further exploration. For now, and forever, it is the high art of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that point their universal audiences, towards the mystery and magic that is the underlying "logic" of the human heart...for it is in this context, that these supremely brilliant, rich, and nuanced dances...within these joyful films...will have their immortal appeal.

As a man who discovered them only a year and a half ago, and who has since done a fair amount of reading on Astaire and Rogers...I strongly recommend this book.