{"id":28706,"date":"2012-11-26T11:12:55","date_gmt":"2012-11-26T18:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28706"},"modified":"2021-01-24T21:21:54","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T04:21:54","slug":"gay-divorcee-the-1934","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28706","title":{"rendered":"Gay Divorcee, The (1934)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Chances are that fate is foolish.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-28709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Poster.jpg 493w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA professional dancer (Fred Astaire) falls in love-at-first-sight with a beautiful young woman (Ginger Rogers) while she&#8217;s traveling through Paris with her aunt (Alice Brady). After a fruitless attempt to successfully woo her, their paths accidentally cross again when Astaire accompanies his lawyer-friend (Edward Everett Horton) to a hotel where Horton is helping Rogers seek a divorce from her stuffy husband (William Austin), courtesy of a hired co-respondent (Erik Rhodes).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Divorce<\/li>\n<li>Fred Astaire Films<\/li>\n<li>Ginger Rogers Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptations<\/li>\n<li>Romantic Comedy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that &#8220;having stolen <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28768\"><em>Flying Down to Rio<\/em> [1933]<\/a> from its topbilled stars, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were given their first lead roles in this delightful adaptation of Dwight Taylor&#8217;s stage musical, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gay_Divorce\"><em>The Gay Divorce<\/em><\/a>, in which Astaire had just starred in London&#8221;. He correctly points out that the scene in which Rogers finally falls for the persistent Astaire &#8220;after they dance together to&#8230; Porter&#8217;s &#8216;Night and Day&#8217; [is] one of the most elegant, seductive numbers in the entire Astaire-Rogers series&#8221; &#8212; indeed, it epitomizes the role of dance-as-lovemaking in the films, complete with Astaire lighting up a cigarette once the number is done. Peary notes that the &#8220;stars are appealing, playing very likable characters&#8221;; we can&#8217;t help but root for their romance to succeed, and it&#8217;s fun to see how they eventually overcome the mistaken-identity subplot they become immersed in. <\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, of course, the storyline in any Astaire-and-Rogers film matters much less than its dancing, songs, and humor. To that end, it&#8217;s too bad that most of Cole Porter&#8217;s original songs were axed (leaving only his iconic &#8220;Night and Day&#8221;), but Astaire&#8217;s song-and-dance performance of &#8220;A Needle in a Haystack&#8221; is quite memorable, and 17-year-old Betty Grable&#8217;s rendition of &#8220;Let&#8217;s K-nock K-nees&#8221; (sung to Horton) is pleasant as well. I&#8217;m much less a fan of the &#8220;famous, extravagantly produced 17-minute song-dance &#8216;The Continental&#8217;,&#8221; which goes on for far too long &#8212; but it is fun to see how Astaire and Rogers manage to &#8220;slip past Rhodes and onto the ballroom floor&#8221;, courtesy of a clever (if patently obvious) ploy using a silhouette on a record player. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, playing &#8220;the ridiculous Italian co-respondent (a union man), Rhodes is absolutely hilarious&#8221; &#8212; he steals the movie whenever he&#8217;s on screen, whether he&#8217;s bungling his line-of-code (&#8220;Chance is a fool&#8217;s name for fate&#8221;) in an infinitely creative number of ways, or &#8220;calling his wife long distance&#8221; and boasting &#8220;that his nine-year-old son, whom he thinks he heard in the background, already has a voice that&#8217;s becoming deeper&#8221; (!). Alice Brady is effective as the ultimate ditzy socialite, and Horton is well-cast as a bungling lawyer struggling to live up to his father&#8217;s reputation &#8212; though Eric Blore (fresh from the stage play) is unfortunately given too few funny lines to make much of an impression. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Astaire&#8217;s initial seduction-by-dance of Rogers (set to the music of Cole Porter&#8217;s &#8220;Night and Day&#8221;)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Seduction.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Seduction.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Seduction.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Seduction-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Seduction-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Alice Brady as Aunt Hortense<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Brady.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Brady.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28708\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Brady.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Brady-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Brady-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Erik Rhodes as Tonetti<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Rhodes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Rhodes.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Rhodes.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Rhodes-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Rhodes-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A fun and frothy storyline<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Storyline.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Storyline.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28714\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Storyline.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Storyline-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Storyline-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Some fine solo dancing by Astaire<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28716\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire1.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire1-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28715\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire2.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Gay-Divorcee-Astaire2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a most enjoyable Astaire-and-Rogers musical. Nominated as one of the Best Films of the Year in Peary&#8217;s <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#classic\">Genuine Classic<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0025164\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1934\/11\/16\/archives\/the-gay-divorcee-with-fred-astaire-and-ginger-rogers-at-the-music.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2157asta.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/76050\/the-gay-divorcee#articles-reviews?articleId=74675\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-gay-divorcee\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Chances are that fate is foolish.&#8221; Synopsis: A professional dancer (Fred Astaire) falls in love-at-first-sight with a beautiful young woman (Ginger Rogers) while she&#8217;s traveling through Paris with her aunt (Alice Brady). After a fruitless attempt to successfully woo her, their paths accidentally cross again when Astaire accompanies his lawyer-friend (Edward Everett Horton) to a hotel where Horton is helping Rogers seek a divorce from her stuffy husband (William Austin), courtesy of a hired co-respondent (Erik Rhodes). Genres, Themes, Actors,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28706\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28706"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65776,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28706\/revisions\/65776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}