Frankly, while Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had wonderfully chemistry, I don't feel the Astaire/Rogers films were his best movies. Band Wagon, for one, was much better, and in terms of dance partners, Eleanor Powell was much more impressive than Rogers.
Still, I watched all the Astaire/Rogers films when I was in college, and I enjoyed them, less for the dancing (I really like Astaire best in his novelty numbers, like dancing with a coat rack or firecrackers) than with the goofy comedy of supporting players like Edward Everett Horton.
Top Hat is a very good example of the Astaire Rogers formula. Astaire and Rogers coo and snipe, supporting players are amusingly befuddled, the story is an amusing though remarkably dopey comedy of errors, and there is quite a lot of dancing. The songs by Irving Berlin are some of his best, and the dancing is, of course, excellent, even though I'm really more a fan of Gene Kelly's earthier approach.
If you like Astaire/Rogers movies, you'll like this one. If you've never seen one, this is a good place to start. I don't consider it a great movie by any means, but it is consistently entertaining.
Still, I watched all the Astaire/Rogers films when I was in college, and I enjoyed them, less for the dancing (I really like Astaire best in his novelty numbers, like dancing with a coat rack or firecrackers) than with the goofy comedy of supporting players like Edward Everett Horton.
Top Hat is a very good example of the Astaire Rogers formula. Astaire and Rogers coo and snipe, supporting players are amusingly befuddled, the story is an amusing though remarkably dopey comedy of errors, and there is quite a lot of dancing. The songs by Irving Berlin are some of his best, and the dancing is, of course, excellent, even though I'm really more a fan of Gene Kelly's earthier approach.
If you like Astaire/Rogers movies, you'll like this one. If you've never seen one, this is a good place to start. I don't consider it a great movie by any means, but it is consistently entertaining.