Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Fred Astaire. Ginger Rogers. Tap dancing. Oh, and something about mistaken identities and people going to Venice; a tapdancing star awakens a beautiful fashion model while dancing in his hotel room, and he needs to see her again despite the fact that she thinks he's married.
Biased, pithy comments: The plot is so disposable it's not even worth talking about, except that it gives Astaire a chance to be Bugs Bunny---he's the wisecracking rabbit and everyone else is Elmer Fudd (amusing, but a straight man overall). The songs by Irving Berlin, outside of the perfunctory big-number faux-Italian thing at the end, are all great, and the dancing is defintely up to par. Astaire and Rogers have the ability to make tap-dancing look both amazingly complicated, cleverly rhythmic, and a whole lot fun. They also make it look easy. I keep thinking that these movies are to the 1930s as Jackie Chan movies are to the 80s and 90s; cheap, throwaway entertainment full of motion and dance that are designed to be enjoyed at the level of the visuals and nothing more. At that level, this movie is great, but just ignore the plot.
Other Notes: Good turn by Horton as the best friend, and Broderick owns her role. As everyone will tell you, watch for the clunky dialog from the flower girl, who is Lucille Ball at the start of her career.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore.
Directed by: Mark Sandrich