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Rating: * * * * * (Out of 5)

Since they first appeared together in Flying Down to Rio, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had discovered that the chemistry they had with each other was truly one of a kind. The studios knew it too, and so did anyone who had seen them dance together. The next step was obvious: pair them up; hire the best composers to write the music; and let Mr. Astaire and his long time collaborator Hermes Pan choreograph the dances. This was just pure business common sense. The Pandro S. Berman produced Top Hat has gotten the formula of musicals down to a science. A chart was used to measure the exact timing of each scene, each comedic moments, each dialogue scene, and of course each dance sequence. The production was precise and the product was as close to perfection as it could be.

The plot of the film is entertaining enough, but its purpose is really to set up the dance numbers. Top Hat has two of the most famous dance numbers in cinema history. In the "Isn't This a Lovely Day?" number, Mr. Astaire sweetly courts the lovely Miss Rogers in a gazebo. As they are stranded there by the heavy rain, he sings to her,

Isn't this a lovely day
To be caught in the rain?
You were going on your way
Now you've got to remain

Mr. Astaire dances to woo her and she soon joins in. The dance becomes their conversation, and the two supreme dancers say the most eloquent sentences with their body movements. The smile never left their faces as they dazzle us with their lightening speed footwork. There is no need for dialogues when their delightful movements fully exhibit the joyousness of falling in love. The scene is all the more magnificent due to Mr. Astaire's insistence that it be shot wide with as few cuts as possible. With editing cut down to a minimum, the illusion of cinematic time and space is also minimized, and therefore the viewers cannot help but to marvel at the reality of the dancers' techniques and stamina; and to accept the characters' blissful romance.

"Cheek to Cheek" is perhaps an even more famous number. While the dance is not as flashy as "Isn't This a Lovely Day", the subtext is far more complicated. In a series of mistaken identities, Dale (Ginger Rogers) thinks that Jerry (Fred Astaire) is the husband of her friend, Madge (played by Helen Broderick). Not aware of this mistake and being completely in love with her, Jerry dances with her "cheek to cheek". He sings to her:

Heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek

Dale, who is also in love with Jerry, cannot help but be swooned by romance of the song and the dance. The chemistry between the couple reaches a height that is rare in even their other dances. Ms. Rogers, as the dramatic focus of this number, portrayed her emotional dilemma wonderfully.

Top Hat takes us to a fantasy world where everything is beautifully decorated, everyone is smartly dressed, every mistake can be resolved, and every dance is a small slice of heaven. Along with Swing Time and Singin in the Rain, this wonderful film has reached the limits of its genre and then transcended it. It has to be considered as one of the very best films in the history of cinema.


Directed by Mark Sandrich Writing credits: Allan Scott; Dwight Taylor (also story)
Produced by Pandro S Berman
Original music: Irving Berlin
Cinematography by David Abel
Film editing by William Hamilton
Art direction by Carroll Clark and Van Nest Polglase
Costume Design by Bernard Newman (gown)
Runtime: 101 min

Jerry Travers - Fred Astaire Dale Tremont - Ginger Rogers Horace Hardwick - Edward Everett Horton Madge Hardwick - Helen Broderick Alberto - Erik Rhodes Bates - Eric Blore Curate - Donald Meek Curate's Wife - Florence Roberts Hotel Manager - Gino Corrado Call Boy - Peter Hobbs

1936 Academy Awards nominations:
1. Best Art Direction:Carroll Clark; Van Nest Polglase
2. Best Dance Direction: Hermes Pan (For "Piccolino" and "Top Hat")
3. Best Music, Original Song: Irving Berlin (For the song "Cheek to Cheek")
4. Best Picture