{"id":28858,"date":"2012-12-04T11:58:17","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T18:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28858"},"modified":"2021-02-05T00:01:42","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T07:01:42","slug":"story-of-vernon-and-irene-castle-the-1939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28858","title":{"rendered":"Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, The (1939)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Who&#8217;s gonna pay money to see a man dance with his wife?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Vernon-and-Irene-Castle-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Vernon-and-Irene-Castle-Poster-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-28859\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Vernon-and-Irene-Castle-Poster-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Vernon-and-Irene-Castle-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Vernon-and-Irene-Castle-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nNear the turn of the 20th century, married couple Vernon (Fred Astaire) and Irene (Ginger Rogers) Castle become a cultural phenomenon, known the world over for their elegant ballroom dancing &#8212; but with World War I on the horizon, their happiness is ultimately short-lived.\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>Biopic<\/li>\n<li>Dancers<\/li>\n<li>Fred Astaire Films<\/li>\n<li>Ginger Rogers Films<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis biopic of the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vernon_and_Irene_Castle\">world&#8217;s most famous married dancing couple<\/a> seems like a no-brainer casting choice for long-time dancing &#8220;couple&#8221; Astaire and Rogers, who inhabit their based-on-real-life roles with grace and respect, remaining true to the dancing styles of the era while exhibiting their characteristic genius on the dance floor. It&#8217;s nice to see the duo in a non-combative onscreen collaboration (for the first time since their earliest films), and the Castles&#8217; ongoing marital devotion is nicely portrayed. Knowing that Vernon Castle died in a plane crash during WWI adds a level of poignancy to the material, as one watches the events unfold with a sense of impending doom; to that end, the final half-hour &#8212; as we&#8217;re kept in suspense about exactly when and how Castle&#8217;s death will occur &#8212; eventually feels a bit drawn-out. But the &#8220;rise to fame&#8221; story that&#8217;s taken place until then is pleasantly handled, and will surely appeal to those curious about the phenomenal fame of the Castles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Astaire&#8217;s informal &#8220;soft shoe&#8221; while at the train station<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Astaire-Soft-Shoe.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Astaire-Soft-Shoe.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28863\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Astaire-Soft-Shoe.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Astaire-Soft-Shoe-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Astaire-Soft-Shoe-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Astaire and Rogers dancing the &#8220;Castle Walk&#8221;, among other popular dance<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Castle-Walk.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Castle-Walk.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28864\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Castle-Walk.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Castle-Walk-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Castle-Walk-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Clever use of special effects<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28866\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects1-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28867\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28868\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects3.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects3-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Special-Effects3-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A refreshing glimpse of Astaire and Rogers playing a loving married couple<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Romance.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Romance.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28865\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Romance.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Romance-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Story-of-Castles-Romance-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s a lovely &#8220;finale&#8221; to Astaire and Rogers&#8217; long-time RKO collaboration. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0031983\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1939\/03\/31\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-astaire-and-rogers-repeat-the-tragic-story-of.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=\"http:\/\/www.tcm.com\/this-month\/article\/86497|0\/The-Story-of-Vernon-and-Irene-Castle.html\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s gonna pay money to see a man dance with his wife?&#8221; Synopsis: Near the turn of the 20th century, married couple Vernon (Fred Astaire) and Irene (Ginger Rogers) Castle become a cultural phenomenon, known the world over for their elegant ballroom dancing &#8212; but with World War I on the horizon, their happiness is ultimately short-lived. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Biopic Dancers Fred Astaire Films Ginger Rogers Films Historical Drama Musicals Review: This biopic of the world&#8217;s most&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28858\"> 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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28858","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=28858"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68842,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28858\/revisions\/68842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}