Customer Reviews

The Gay Divorcee [VHS]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
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Fred Astaire plays a dnacer returning to England from a trip abroad. In the Customs shed he meets Ginger Rogers in an embarassing predicament. He tries to find out who she is, but she refuses to tell him, and he spends ages searching London for her until he finally tracks her down and begins to awaken her interest. Ginger goes down to Brighton with her friend dithery much-married Alice Brady, and Astaire and his dithery lawyer friend Edward Everett Horton go in pursuit. Ginger has gone to Brighton to try and obtain a divorce, she intends to spend the night with a professional co-respondent. Somthing Astaire says makes her think he is the co-respondent, which puts her right off him. Fortunately the real co-respondent, a diminutive Italian, turns up ("your wife is safe with Tonetti,he prefer spaghetti") and the mystery is sorted out. But what will happen when Ginger's husband arrives the next morning? will she get her divorce. This is a wonderful film, with a silly but extremley funny plot, and some wonderful dialogue, particularly between Horton and Brady, who somehow manage to end up married to each other, much to their surprise. An absolutely delightful film.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers gave everyone something to smile about for a couple of hours during the depression with a special blend of magic that can never be repeated. Their films were sophisticated and charming, elegant and romantic, and most of all, funny. The Gay Divorcee is a gorgeous production from Pandro S. Berman. A fine screenplay from George S. Martin, Dorothy Yost and Edward Kaufman, based on the novel by Dwight Taylor, helped this wonderful film garner 5 Academy Award Nominations, including one for Best Picture.

The chemistry between Astaire and Rogers lights up the screen during their dance numbers, a romantic yet innocent longing to fall in love in each graceful step and touch. A great supporting cast that includes Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes add many laughs to this Mark Sandrich directed screen classic. Cole Porter's, Night and Day, is one of the most popular songs ever recorded. The Continental, a song not in Porter's origional Broadway show, but written for the film, won an Academy Award. The musical adaptation from the stage to film was by Kenneth Webb and the great Samuel Hoffenstein.

The story revolves around Mimi Glossip (Ginger Rogers) and her kooky aunt. Alice Brady is a hoot as Hortense, guiding Mimi through her divorce from geologist husband Cyril (William Austin). Guy Holden (Fred Astaire) can't forget the lovely Mimi after he "rescues" her from a snagged dress but she wants nothing to do with him. He searches all over London for her and finally catches up with her after a car chase and immediately decides they should marry. Mimi endeavors not to let herself be charmed by Guy while her aunt arranges for an attorney to aid in her efforts to free herself. The attorney is Guy's good pal, Egbert "Pinky" Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton), the black sheep of his family. Neither Mimi or Guy is aware of the coincidence, however, which creates a hilarious situation when Pinky arranges for her to have a correspondent in an effort to get her divorce.

Erik Rhodes nearly steals the film as the correspondent, Rodolpho Tonetti, whose motto is: "Your wife is safe with Tonetti. He prefers spaghetti!" A secret phrase he is instructed to say to Mimi for identification as the correspondent, is one Pinky has overheard his pal Guy say. When Tonetti can't quite remember it, and doesn't have a description of Mimi, you can guess what happens. Most of the fun takes place at a beautiful seaside resort, filled with all the glossy sets RKO could muster, which were considerable at this juncture. Eric Blore is the waiter who will spill the beans and allow Fred and Ginger to dance their way to happiness for the first time. Along the way, there is humor and charm, and a 17 minute sequence of The Continental which alternates between the easy grace of Fred and Ginger and a sparkling dance with practically everyone.

No other couple in film history has ever made love to each other during a dance like Fred and Ginger. Their charm and elegance let people imagine, if only for a couple of hours, that love and heaven existed still, and fostered the notion they were one and the same. Happiness filled the screen and allowed moviegoers to escape for a short interval from hard times, and give them hope that something better was just around the corner. The Gay Divorcee was the beginning of an elegant magic Fred and Ginger would share with us all, until they finally felt it was time to say goodbye. But they never really have to say farewell as long as we have these wonderful film treasures, reminders, of both them, and the romantic innocence we once had.

Calling the plot of Gay Divorcee "silly" or "needless" reflects the pedantry of the editorial reviewers, who apparently would rather see Astaire and Rogers in tights and tutu. The plot, in my opinion, is clever and funny. Of course, mistaken identity is an old device, but the measure is how well the characters bring it off, and there are six - six! - characters in Gay Divorcee who do this splendidly. How can we ever forget the immortal line, "Your wife is safe with Tonetti, he prefers spaghetti!" and all the permutations of "Chance is the fools name for fate." Or was it "Chances are fate is foolish"?

Anyway, Nureyev said that Fred Astaire was the greatest dancer in the world, and I think Rogers was his best partner. Gay Divorcee's wonderful art nouveau fantasy set, combined with exquisite costuming - even the ridiculous Tonetti is beautifully attired - and the memorable music, provide a perfect framework for the ballets. And the bright, funny dialogue and perfectly cast characters fill in the intervals.

Perhaps the world created by Astaire and Rogers is a fantasy world, but it's plausable enough for me to believe that somehow it would be possible to dress, to act and, yes, to dance in it myself.

This is such a great movie! In their first starring roles, Fred and Ginger carry the movie on their shoulders. Alice Brady is more than hilarious, so is Edward E. Horton. Look for a very young Betty Grable singing "lets knock knees."
the night and day nember is incredible. Ginger looks like something out of this world with her soft features. The look that she gives him at the end of night and day make the rest of the picture unnecessary. but then you would miss Fred's hilarious looks, especially when he's confused. The nice thing about this movie is that the mistaken identity plot only lasts for a little while. (about 13 minutes) the continental is great too.

Fred Astaire met Ginger Rogers on the set of a previous film, FLYING DOWN TO RIO, where they were paired somewhat arbitrarily in one of those momentous decisions that, or so it seems from today's perspective, made the studio system seem to make sense. You couldn't have really predicted the two would click on camera, for Fred's previous partner had been his own sister, and the two of them (Fred and Adele) had concentrated on the slightly nutty, zany dances together that did not require any sexual tension between partners. (Think of the "Triplets" number in THE BAND WAGON.)

As for Ginger, nothing in her previous screen or stage work hinted at any softness or vulnerability--she was, of course, hilarious at playing the sort of hard-edged blonde tramp parts that were too vulgar for Jean Harlow to play. So matching them up was a gamble, but it sure did pay off, even if FLYING DOWN TO RIO gave them little room to show their stuff in. One number, the incandescent "NIGHT AND DAY, changed the way people felt about them almost instantly, and even the never-ending CONTINENTAL, the longest and most tedious dance craze ever captured on film, could not douse the Promethean spark they created.

Hopefully sometime soon whoever owns the RKO catalogue will issue this gem--and its successors--on DVD. If even FINIAN'S RAINBOW has come out on a great looking DVD presentation, why can't THE GAY DIVORCEE?

This was the 2nd outing for Astaire and Rogers, it features more dance numbers than the previous film and they are more clipped and rehearsed here, but loose non of their trademark elegant appeal for it.
The plot is silly froth but that adds to the delight of the movie, there is, as there subsequently always was, a fine support cast of great comedic value here provided by Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes and the marvellous Alice Brady (she never did another Astaire/Rogers movies but is brilliantly dotty here!)
The sets are absolute Art Deco delights! check out the Brighton hotel were most of the action takes place!
And we are introduced to other film and music talents, Betty Grable and Cole Porter to name two. The latter gives us the classic "Night and Day", for the first time on film and Fred and Ginger set it alight with their beautifully agonising, almost balletic moves and their is a lot of sexual energy to this number, Fred even offers Ginger a cigarette when they are done!
The "Continental" is equally riviting, the first of their trademark ballroom, swing numbers with a riot of tap thrown in. A really joyous romp, kind of British theatre farce meets Hollywood musical; incredible!

Of all the Fred and Ginger movies (there were 10) this one is still my favorite. I've seen it so many times that I no longer watch the story but skip ahead to my favorite scenes. Of course the dance scenes are the best. Fred's solo, "Needle in a Haystack" has got to be one of the smoothest routines ever. My all time favorite is "Night and Day." There was no need for sex, they made love while dancing. Especially this number. Sometime, pay attention to how closely she watches him during this scene.

This is my most favorite movie of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is witty, charming and has all the class of a film today. It is about a woman (Rogers) who seeks to get a divorce, she meets Astaire who falls in love with her on first sight (typical)and she despises him. Eventually she grows to love him as well and all ends happily. I highly recommend this old classic.

I love all the Fred Astaire/ Ginger Rogers classics, and it's great to see them available in such pristine condition on DVD. But I have a confession to make, the main reason I bought this particular DVD was to get the MGM color 1935 short 'Starnight at the Coconut Grove' with Bing Crosby.
Hey! What can I say? I'm a Bing fanatic too! I just hope I live long enough to see his 1938 film 'Sing You Sinners' put out on DVD.

Fred and Ginger's second film and their first as leading characters together, it's the initial series of boy-chases-girl movies with comic misunderstandings, misgivings, and mistaken identity. F&G do the dancing, but Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes) with his accent has the best one liners and password mispronunciations. The forgetful Hortense Ditherwell (Alice Brady) is a hoot. The musical number "Let's K-nock K-nees" is very fun and playful, even though it does not have F&G in it. Its tune is repeated in whistling near the beginning by a bellhop and near the end by canaries. In their previous movie "Rio" the dance craze was the Carioca; in "Divorcee" it's the Continental, which has a spectacular song, F&G dance, dance ensemble, and finale.

In the vintage short "Show Kids" the proprietor of a dying vaudeville theater turns it over to his 12-year-old son, who invites a children's dance company to perform. It has some really cute dance numbers, and some of these kids have real talent and acrobatic skills. The picture has excellent Technicolor for its time except for a red shadow that appears in all the song and dance numbers. (1934, Color, Run Time 19:59)

The vintage short "Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove" takes place where the title says. A narrator takes you through celebrity introductions and various performances including a fashion show of different time periods, Rumba dance, hula dance, song by Bing Crosby, two big bands. Candy Candido's musical voice impersonations are very impressive. (1934, Color, Run Time 19:33)

In the classic cartoon "Shake Your Powder Puff" the animals of a farm put on a vaudeville show in the barn. A drunken dog causes mischief and is repeatedly thrown out. (1934, B&W, Run Time 5:59)

The "Hollywood on the Air Radio Promo" is just what it says. It is just like a theatrical trailer for a movie except it is audio only, complete with crackles, pops, and varying playing speeds. A narrator pitches the movie and introduces you to excerpts directly from it, including "Looking for a Needle in a Haystack," "Let's K-nock K-nees," "Night and Day," and "The Continental." (Mono, Run Time 13:43)

Theatrical Trailer (Run Time 1:18)