Swing Time (1936) watch along
Added 2024-11-15 17:00:19 +0000 UTC#90 on the AFI list "Swing Time" (1936) was such a sweet movie! and it was such a treat after the heavy last week! I’m totally smitten with Ginger Rogers—she was absolutely magnetic. The way she and Fred Astaire moved together was just pure elegance, and I loved how they cleverly navigated the constraints of the Hays Code. It’s wild to think about a romance without an on-screen kiss—so foreign to me! The GOWNS! I couldn't get over the GOWNS!
The music was another highlight, I love how the tap dancing was woven through. I especially loved the song ‘The Way You Look Tonight.’ Knowing this is where it came from makes me appreciate it even more. That said, the blackface in the last number was really jarring and took away some of the magic. It was tough to sit through, but aside from that, this was such a beautiful introduction to the iconic duo of Astaire and Rogers!
Leave your comments below!
xx
ames
Comments
Ames?!? How about: "Eddie & The Cruisers" (1983) - Incredible movie with Incredible soundtrack; there's also "Eddie & The Cruisers II: Eddie Lives" (1989).
Randolph Tirazona
2024-11-16 06:50:34 +0000 UTCI’m so happy this made your day! Means a lot to get to watch these with you all and to hear when it’s a really special film to people! ❤️
Amalia Wolf
2024-11-16 04:24:21 +0000 UTCThis is another dream come true reaction for me. Always wanted to see a reaction to this movie. I have to agree that Swing Time oozes elegance from every frame. I loved that Ames knew the song The Way You Look Tonight, the winner of the Best Song Oscar. The movie is perfectly made in every way, except for the one number that I'm sure we take in the wrong way from the gap in perspective of many generations, but there it is. But I'm always very swept away by the film and I love how it ends in that last musical number and in the last scene the two stars are singing two different songs at one another as the film ends. It is just sublime.
MikeLL
2024-11-16 03:30:58 +0000 UTCI actually prefer Top Hat to this one, so I would have been completely fine with that also.
Shawn Goforth
2024-11-15 22:45:51 +0000 UTCI do love this movie, yet the well intentioned but horribly misguided blackface screeches everything to a halt and casts such a pall that I really wish the AFI had just substituted Top Hat instead--think swapping Intolerance for Birth of a Nation. Ya gotta think if the list were being compiled today they would've done just that. Top Hat isn't quite as good (though, I believe, it WAS a bigger hit). but I like Fred's character in it better and I'm not bummed out waiting for the Bill Robinson tribute and then further bummed out after seeing it. I think the reason why the AFI included it instead of Top Hat is because they had dropped 2 of director George Stevens films off of the list entirely, and he was such a great and important filmmaker that they were throwing him a bone by adding Swing Time, instead. It's a shame, just put Giant or a Place in the Sun back on and and swap out Top Hat for Swing Time.
VivendoBem
2024-11-15 22:33:17 +0000 UTCWOW! Can’t wait to hear ur post reaction comments
Amalia Wolf
2024-11-15 22:17:03 +0000 UTCI'm looking forward to this one, Ames! I can't remember if I've seen the entire film before or not, but Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire are magic together! They made everything look so easy but, as is often the case, it took a lot of work for them to do so. According to Ginger's autobiography, it took 37 takes for them to perfectly glide up the opposite sides of that elegant staircase in the "Last Dance" from the film.
John Courtright
2024-11-15 21:53:59 +0000 UTCRight, it's too bad Fred couldn't dance **with** Bill Robinson instead of performing his well-intentioned (but extremely misguided) "tribute" to him in blackface. BUT I think it's important not to sweep problematic portrayals of non-white people in film history under the rug, and it's up to each individual to decide what crosses the line and what doesn't. (For me Swing Time doesn't quite cross the line, though it comes close, but High Sierra does.)
JM63
2024-11-15 21:15:10 +0000 UTCFantastic write-up, AC! Singin' in the Rain is still tops for me, but I completely agree with this part of your review: "I remember watching the Pick Yourself Up dance number for the first time and it was like watching The Matrix or Mad Max Fury Road for the first time." Yes, at the moment they start tap dancing in sync I get goosebumps and I almost start to cry! And Ginger's legs flying over the railing is one of the most beautiful sights I've seen on film! The singing is great too, esp. Fred's performance of "The Way You Look Tonight." I agree that Top Hat is the other great Ginger & Fred pairing. It's a little sillier, but Fred's a bit less dickish (and there's no blackface, thank goodness!) Props to Ricardo for taking it on the chin (while wearing those baggy pants!) 😂
JM63
2024-11-15 21:02:22 +0000 UTCIt’s mind-blowing to me to try to process how Fred was highly insecure of his own talent. He obsessed with perfection so much that even at the end of his career, he would say he hadn’t gotten a single routine right yet. Each time I watch these, I can’t help thinking how many hours must have gone into rehearsing every scene. This is not meant as an apology for this film at all, but for me, the number performed in blackface would bother me more if it were done now, than it does here, because of the intent. Fred is celebrating the art of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and John Bubbles, showcasing it for a broader audience who may not otherwise have been exposed. He knew both of these men (whose trademark dance steps are included in the choreography), worked with, learned from, and respected them immensely. This film was the sixth of ten Fred & Ginger pairings, and Fred was receiving ever-growing accolades for his tapping abilities. He regarded Robinson as the greatest there would ever be and wanted him honored. It’s absolutely problematic that he couldn’t just be cast in the film, for whatever the reason. Robinson had been shown to largely white audiences before, working with Shirley Temple and Will Rogers on a couple of films, but they were always subservient roles, with stereotypical/racist personality traits. His early success came instead from working in minstrel shows, vaudeville, the Broadway stage, then at the Cotton Club in New York. The mid-30s were the mid-30s. There’s nothing we can do to change the history, but I always find it a positive thing to be able to learn about the entertainment produced at the time and attempt to understand the cultural significance it had and the implications that followed.
Shawn Goforth
2024-11-15 20:54:07 +0000 UTCI absolutely love Swing Time! Definitely one of my favorite musicals and despite its obvious flaws, I prefer watching this over Singin' In The Rain these days. I just don't think there's a greater dancing force than Astaire/Rogers. I remember watching the Pick Yourself Up dance number for the first time and it was like watching The Matrix or Mad Max Fury Road for the first time. I just didn't realize this type of movie magic was possible. Astaire/Rogers are the Beatles of cinematic dancing couples and were never quite as magical when they were separate. Swing Time is probably my favorite Astaire/Rogers movie. All of the stories in Astaire/Rogers musicals are all silly and sometimes borderline stupid but Swing Time is the only one where the story feels kind of decent. And it's the only one that genuinely feels a little sad which is probably why I appreciate it so much. Plus all of the songs are absolute bangers and Pick Yourself Up and Never Gonna Dance are easily in my top 10 favorite movie dance sequences of all time (probably half of my top 10 would also be taken up by other Astaire/Rogers numbers). You could make a case for Top Hat being the best Astaire/Rogers movie too. Also, #justiceforricardo. My man Ricardo got his fiance stolen from him but laughed it off like a champ! Here's to better days, my guy!
AstralCars
2024-11-15 20:38:06 +0000 UTCThis is definitely one I haven't seen.
Randolph Tirazona
2024-11-15 18:55:33 +0000 UTCEnjoy !
Amalia Wolf
2024-11-15 17:49:30 +0000 UTCThank you Ames! Used to be my favorite move of all time! Definitely my favorite Astaire/Rogers movie! I have just about enough time to watch before I go to work in just a couple of hours, so I'll have more thoughts later. Now, it's time to go visit "La Swell Romance!"
MikeLL
2024-11-15 17:41:22 +0000 UTCLMAOOO mono🤣🤣😅😅
Amalia Wolf
2024-11-15 17:31:42 +0000 UTCThe clothes in these 30s movies are incredible! Not just the 30s, they were incredible throughout this whole "golden" era, but definitely the 30s! And I totally agree about how they navigated and maneuvered around the Hayes Code, that's always one of the most fun things to watch in any old movie. No one even bothers with being so clever anymore because you can just have 'em suck face in two seconds! (and probably get mono! 🤣) Anyways, see you on the other side! This is going to be fun!
Toc
2024-11-15 17:28:14 +0000 UTC
