When Fred Astaire first appeared in a movie it was "Dancing Lady", where he (and Nelson Eddy, and The Three Stooges) were supporting the backstage story concerning Joan Crawford and Clark Gable and Franchot Tone. MGM did not keep Astaire on the roster, and he drifted to RKO. In his first film where Ginger Rogers also appeared, they were not really teamed, but did their numbers together, and in "Flying Down To Rio" they were supporting Gene Raymond and Dolores Del Rio. The film was good entertainment and RKO noted that Fred and Ginger were popular. So they soon had a film in the leads "The Gay Divorcée" (based on a musical by Cole Porter on Broadway that Astaire and his sister Adele appeared in called "Gay Divorce"). It was a big success. "Top Hat" followed. It would seem a formula had been created.
So suddenly they were in "Roberta" with Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott. The question becomes why were they suddenly in relative support roles again? I cannot answer that - except to note that in 1935 Irene Dunne did have a reputation for her singing ability too. In a year she'd do her musical peak with Allan Jones, Hattie MacDaniel, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan and Charles Winninger in "Showboat". Dunne and Scott seemed a likable couple too. They would reunite for "High, Wide, and Handsome" in 1937. And since the score of "High, Wide, And Handsome" (as well as "Showboat")was by Jerome Kern, possibly the combination made sense. Ironically it would be tried again in the "Follow the Fleet" and it did not do as well (Dunne was not in it). That next was the last film that Astaire and Rogers played parts...in support.
"Roberta" is a good musical. You can't beat Kern's music - only match it by his "Golden Age" contemporaries like Porter, Gershwin, Youmans, Berlin, and Rodgers (with Hart or Hammerstein). This one has "Lovely to Look At",and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (a favorite of mine). The scene at the café-restaurant where Dunne sings it is perfect, with Astaire and Rogers dancing to it and Dunne singing the tune flawlessly, but then finding the all too true lyrics applying to her presently collapsing relationship with Scott, she collapses as she sings the chorus again...only her friends comfort her.
The musical was about a Parisian couturier (played by Helen Westlake) who is the aunt of Scott. "Roberta's" is one of the leading fashion shops in the world, and Scott and his friend Astaire (and the band they are connected to) are stuck in Paris after a job falls through. Dunne is Westlake's leading aide and the guiding spirit behind her designs. She is also a Russian aristocrat, squired around by Victor Varconi. Their biggest client is a Polish Countess and entertainer (Rogers, in a kind of foreign imitation of her "Anytime Annie" in "42nd Street"). When Westlake dies she leaves the store to Scott (as her nearest relative). Scott offers Dunne an equal partnership (which Dunne is reluctant to take - she is already feeling she wants a closer relationship to Scott than that).
The story develops when Scott actually designs a rather overly revealing gown (for 1935) that is actually sewn up and presented in the shop. Scott is interested in Dunne too, but he has a girlfriend in the states. Hw also notices Varconi. The girlfriend (Claire Dodd) shows up and rekindles her control of Scott (what's left of it), and tries to patronize Dunne and "Roberta's". But the result turns out to be rather disastrous for all concerned.
It is all cleared up in the end. And there are those dance numbers and Dunne's singing. It's a grand show.
Astaire in his later career would twice appear in films with Bing Crosby. Late in his career he would also nearly appear in a television movie with Bob Hope (ill health prevented it). Hope actually was in the stage version of "Roberta" and traces of his role are in Astaire's. For example when Astaire makes a bet with Dodd for 100 francs he does it knowing something she does not, and scoops up the cash just when she finds out. That was done precisely as Hope would have done it. How do I know? In the 1980s there was a television production of Roberta, and Hope (still being active) did a walk-on repeat of his performance on the stage. He used the same mannerisms as Astaire did in that sequence.
So suddenly they were in "Roberta" with Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott. The question becomes why were they suddenly in relative support roles again? I cannot answer that - except to note that in 1935 Irene Dunne did have a reputation for her singing ability too. In a year she'd do her musical peak with Allan Jones, Hattie MacDaniel, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan and Charles Winninger in "Showboat". Dunne and Scott seemed a likable couple too. They would reunite for "High, Wide, and Handsome" in 1937. And since the score of "High, Wide, And Handsome" (as well as "Showboat")was by Jerome Kern, possibly the combination made sense. Ironically it would be tried again in the "Follow the Fleet" and it did not do as well (Dunne was not in it). That next was the last film that Astaire and Rogers played parts...in support.
"Roberta" is a good musical. You can't beat Kern's music - only match it by his "Golden Age" contemporaries like Porter, Gershwin, Youmans, Berlin, and Rodgers (with Hart or Hammerstein). This one has "Lovely to Look At",and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (a favorite of mine). The scene at the café-restaurant where Dunne sings it is perfect, with Astaire and Rogers dancing to it and Dunne singing the tune flawlessly, but then finding the all too true lyrics applying to her presently collapsing relationship with Scott, she collapses as she sings the chorus again...only her friends comfort her.
The musical was about a Parisian couturier (played by Helen Westlake) who is the aunt of Scott. "Roberta's" is one of the leading fashion shops in the world, and Scott and his friend Astaire (and the band they are connected to) are stuck in Paris after a job falls through. Dunne is Westlake's leading aide and the guiding spirit behind her designs. She is also a Russian aristocrat, squired around by Victor Varconi. Their biggest client is a Polish Countess and entertainer (Rogers, in a kind of foreign imitation of her "Anytime Annie" in "42nd Street"). When Westlake dies she leaves the store to Scott (as her nearest relative). Scott offers Dunne an equal partnership (which Dunne is reluctant to take - she is already feeling she wants a closer relationship to Scott than that).
The story develops when Scott actually designs a rather overly revealing gown (for 1935) that is actually sewn up and presented in the shop. Scott is interested in Dunne too, but he has a girlfriend in the states. Hw also notices Varconi. The girlfriend (Claire Dodd) shows up and rekindles her control of Scott (what's left of it), and tries to patronize Dunne and "Roberta's". But the result turns out to be rather disastrous for all concerned.
It is all cleared up in the end. And there are those dance numbers and Dunne's singing. It's a grand show.
Astaire in his later career would twice appear in films with Bing Crosby. Late in his career he would also nearly appear in a television movie with Bob Hope (ill health prevented it). Hope actually was in the stage version of "Roberta" and traces of his role are in Astaire's. For example when Astaire makes a bet with Dodd for 100 francs he does it knowing something she does not, and scoops up the cash just when she finds out. That was done precisely as Hope would have done it. How do I know? In the 1980s there was a television production of Roberta, and Hope (still being active) did a walk-on repeat of his performance on the stage. He used the same mannerisms as Astaire did in that sequence.