Shall We Dance (1937 film)

Last updated
Shall We Dance
Shall We Dance poster.jpg
theatrical release poster
Directed by Mark Sandrich
Screenplay by
Story by Lee Loeb
Harold Buchman [1]
Produced by Pandro S. Berman
Starring
Cinematography David Abel
Joseph F. Biroc
Edited by William Hamilton
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • May 7, 1937 (1937-05-07)(U.S.)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$991,000 [2]
Box office$2,168,000 [2]

Shall We Dance is a 1937 American musical comedy film directed by Mark Sandrich. It is the seventh of the ten Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers films. The story follows an American ballet dancer (Astaire) who falls in love with a tap dancer (Rogers); the tabloid press concocts a story of their marriage, after which life imitates art. George Gershwin wrote the symphonic underscore and Ira Gershwin the lyrics, for their second Hollywood musical.

Contents

Plot

Peter P. Peters is an amiable American ballet dancer billed as "Petrov", who cultivates a public image of being a serious, demanding and temperamental Russian, though his employer knows the truth. Peters dances for a ballet company in Paris owned by the bumbling Jeffrey Baird. Baird secretly never wants to blend classical ballet with modern jazz dancing because he thinks it does not look very professional.

When Peters sees a photo of famous tap dancer, Linda Keene, he falls in love with her. He contrives to meet her (as "Petrov"), but she is less than impressed. They meet again on an ocean liner traveling back to New York, and Linda warms to Petrov. Their interactions spark a tabloid campaign that they are (or are perhaps not) married. Unknown to them, their associates create a publicity stunt "proving" their proper marriage. Outraged, Linda becomes engaged to the bumbling Jim Montgomery, much to the chagrin of both Peters and Arthur Miller, her manager, who secretly launches more fake publicity.

Peters (who by now has revealed his true identity) and Keene, unable to squelch the rumor, decide to actually marry and then immediately get divorced. Linda begins to fall in love with her husband, but then discovers him with another woman, Lady Denise Tarrington, and leaves before he can explain. Later, when she comes to his new show to personally serve him divorce papers, she sees him dancing with dozens of women, all wearing masks with her face on them: Peters has decided that if he cannot dance with Linda, he will dance with images of Linda. Seeing that he truly loves her, she happily joins him onstage.

Cast

Music

George Gershwin  who had become famous for blending jazz with classical forms  wrote each scene in a different style of dance music, and he composed one scene specifically for the ballerina Harriet Hoctor. Ira Gershwin seemed decidedly less excited by the idea; none of his lyrics make reference to the notion of blending different styles of dance (such as ballet and jazz), and Astaire was also not enthusiastic about the concept.

The score of Shall We Dance is probably the largest source of Gershwin orchestral works unavailable to the general public, at least since the advent of modern stereo recording techniques in the 1950s. The movie contains the only recordings of some of the instrumental pieces currently available to Gershwin aficionados (although not all the incidental music composed for the movie was used in the final cut). Some of the cuts arranged and orchestrated by Gershwin include: "Dance of the Waves", "Waltz of the Red Balloons", "Graceful and Elegant", "Hoctor's Ballet" and "French Ballet Class". The instrumental track "Walking the Dog", however, has been frequently recorded and has been played from time to time on classical music radio stations.

Nathaniel Shilkret, musical director for the movie, hired Jimmy Dorsey and all or part of the Dorsey band as the nucleus of a fifty-piece studio orchestra including strings. Dorsey was in Hollywood at the time working the "Kraft Music Hall" radio show on NBC hosted by Bing Crosby. Dorsey is heard soloing on "Slap That Bass", "Walking the Dog" and "They All Laughed".

Gershwin was already suffering during the production of the motion picture from the brain tumor that was shortly to kill him, and Shilkret (as well as Robert Russell Bennett) contributed by assisting with orchestration on some of the numbers.

Musical numbers

Hermes Pan collaborated with Astaire on the choreography throughout and Harry Losee was brought in to help with the ballet finale. Gershwin modeled the score on the great ballets of the 19th century, but with obvious swing and jazz influences, as well as polytonalism. While Astaire made further attempts—notably in Ziegfeld Follies (1944/46), Yolanda and the Thief (1945) and Daddy Long Legs (1955)—it was his rival and friend Gene Kelly who would eventually succeed in creating a modern original dance style based on this concept. Some critics have attributed Astaire's discomfort with ballet (he briefly studied ballet in the 1920s) to his oft-expressed disdain for "inventing up to the arty".

Production

The idea for the film originated in the studio's desire to exploit the successful formula created by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart with their 1936 Broadway hit On Your Toes . [5] In a major coup for RKO, Pandro Berman managed to attract the Gershwins George Gershwin, who wrote the symphonic underscore, and Ira Gershwin, the lyrics to score this, their second Hollywood musical after Delicious in 1931.

The film  Astaire and Rogers's most expensive to date  benefits from quality comedy specialists, opulent art direction by Carroll Clark under Van Nest Polglase's supervision, and a timeless score which introduces three classic Gershwin songs. [6]

Astaire was no stranger to the Gershwins, having headlined, with his sister Adele, two Gershwin Broadway shows: Lady Be Good! in 1924 and Funny Face in 1927. George Gershwin also accompanied the pair on piano in a set of recordings in 1926. Rogers first came to Hollywood's attention when she appeared in the Gershwins' 1930 stage musical Girl Crazy . [7]

Shall We Dance was named at the suggestion of Vincente Minnelli, who was a friend of the Gershwins. Minnelli originally suggested "Shall We Dance?" with a question mark, which disappeared at some point.[ citation needed ]

The car used on the ferry was 1936 Packard Twelve Coupe Roadster. [8]

Reception

Shall We Dance earned $1,275,000 in the US and Canada and $893,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $413,000, less than half the previous Astaire-Rogers film. [2] It also was not a critical success and was taken as an indication that the Astaire-Rogers pairing was slipping in its audience appeal. [9]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Preservation status

On September 22, 2013 it was announced that a musicological critical edition of the full orchestral score of Shall We Dance will eventually be released. The Gershwin family, working in conjunction with the Library of Congress and the University of Michigan, are working to make scores available to the public that represent Gershwin's true intent. [11] The entire Gershwin project may take 30 to 40 years to complete, and it is unclear when Shall We Dance will be released. [12] Other than the sequences Hoctor's Ballet and Walking The Dog , it will be the first time the score has been published. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Top Hat</i> 1935 film by Mark Sandrich

Top Hat is a 1935 American musical screwball comedy film in which Fred Astaire plays an American tap dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick. He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection. The film also features Eric Blore as Hardwick's valet Bates, Erik Rhodes as Alberto Beddini, a fashion designer and rival for Dale's affections, and Helen Broderick as Hardwick's long-suffering wife Madge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Astaire</span> American dancer, actor, and singer (1899–1987)

Fred Astaire was an American dancer, actor, singer, choreographer and presenter. He is widely regarded as the "greatest popular-music dancer of all time". He received numerous accolades including an Honorary Academy Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was honored with the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1973, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, and AFI Life Achievement Award in 1980. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1972, and the Television Hall of Fame in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1937 in music</span> Overview of the events of 1937 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1937.

Shall We Dance may refer to:

<i>Swing Time</i> (film) 1936 musical film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Swing Time is a 1936 American musical comedy film, the sixth of ten starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Directed by George Stevens for RKO, it features Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Betty Furness, Eric Blore and Georges Metaxa, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Set mainly in New York City, the film follows a gambler and dancer, "Lucky" (Astaire), who is trying to raise money to secure his marriage when he meets dance instructor Penny (Rogers) and begins dancing with her; the two soon fall in love and are forced to reconcile their feelings.

<i>A Damsel in Distress</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by George Stevens

A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 American English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Joan Fontaine. Loosely based upon P.G. Wodehouse's 1919 novel of the same name, and the 1928 stage play written by Wodehouse and Ian Hay, it has music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, and was directed by George Stevens, the second Astaire musical directed by Stevens; the first was Swing Time.

<i>Follow the Fleet</i> 1936 film by Mark Sandrich

Follow the Fleet is a 1936 American RKO musical comedy film with a nautical theme starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their fifth collaboration as dance partners. It also features Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable also appear, in supporting roles. The film was directed by Mark Sandrich with script by Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor based on the 1922 play Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne.

"They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a 1937 popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film Shall We Dance and gained huge success.

<i>The Barkleys of Broadway</i> 1949 film by Charles Walters

The Barkleys of Broadway is a 1949 American Technicolor musical comedy film from the Arthur Freed unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that reunited Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers after ten years apart. Directed by Charles Walters, the screenplay is by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Sidney Sheldon, the songs are by Harry Warren (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) with the addition of "They Can't Take That Away from Me" by George and Ira Gershwin, and the choreography was created by Robert Alton and Hermes Pan. Also featured in the cast were Oscar Levant, Billie Burke, Jacques François and Gale Robbins. It is the last film that Astaire and Rogers made together, and their only film together in color. Rogers came in as a last-minute replacement for Judy Garland, whose frequent absences due to a dependence on prescription medication cost her the role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Astaire's solo and partnered dances</span>

This is a comprehensive guide to over one hundred and fifty of Fred Astaire's solo and partnered dances compiled from his thirty-one Hollywood musical comedy films produced between 1933 and 1968, his four television specials and his television appearances on The Hollywood Palace and Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre which cover the period from 1958 to 1968. Further information on the dance routines may be obtained, where available, by clicking on the film links.

"Embraceable You" is a jazz standard song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named East Is West. It was published in 1930 and included in that year's Broadway musical Girl Crazy, performed by Ginger Rogers in a song and dance routine choreographed by Fred Astaire.

"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates. The sheet music has the tempo marking of "Brightly". The song was ranked No. 34 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Hoctor</span> American ballerina and actress

Harriet Hoctor was a ballerina and actress. Composer George Gershwin composed a symphonic orchestral piece specifically for Hoctor in the film Shall We Dance (1937).

"They All Laughed" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, written for the 1937 film Shall We Dance where it was introduced by Ginger Rogers as part of a song and dance routine with Fred Astaire.

"Slap That Bass" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, introduced by Fred Astaire and Dudley Dickerson in the 1937 film Shall We Dance.

"(I've Got) Beginner's Luck" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, written for the 1937 film Shall We Dance, it was introduced by Fred Astaire. It is a brief comic tap solo with cane where Astaire's rehearsing to a record of the number is cut short when the record gets stuck. Astaire's commercial recording for Brunswick was very popular in 1937.

Walking the Dog is one of many musical numbers written in 1937 by George Gershwin for the Fred Astaire – Ginger Rogers film score for Shall We Dance. In the film, the music accompanies a sequence of walking a dog on board a luxury liner. In 1960, the sequence was published as "Promenade".

Hoctor's Ballet is a composition by George Gershwin for full orchestra written in 1937, originally from the score for Shall We Dance. Performance time runs about 10 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers</span> Hollywood double act

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were dance partners in a total of 10 films, nine of them released by RKO Radio Pictures from 1933 to 1939, and one, The Barkleys of Broadway, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1949, their only film in Technicolor.

References

  1. "AFI|Catalog".
  2. 1 2 3 Jewel, Richard. "RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994, p. 56.
  3. Jablonski 1998, p. 304.
  4. "Gershwin films Astaire in Slap That Bass". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  5. "AFI|Catalog".
  6. "Axelrod Performing Arts Center Presents Let's Face the Music…The Timeless Songs of Fred Astaire".
  7. "Girl Crazy" at the Internet Broadway Database
  8. "Packard Twelve in "Shall We Dance"".
  9. McGee, Scott. "Articles: 'Shall We Dance' (1937)." TCM.com . Retrieved: November 19, 2022.
  10. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs" (PDF). American Film Institute . Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  11. Green, Zachary. "New, critical edition of George and Ira Gershwin’s works to be compiled." PBS NewsHour website, September 14, 2013. Retrieved: March 31, 2016.
  12. Clague, Mark. "George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition" Musicology Now, September 21, 2013. Retrieved: November 19, 2022.
  13. "The Gershwin Initiative: The Editions." University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Retrieved: March 31, 2016.

Bibliography