Somewhere I read that you'll think more highly of the Astaire/Rogers SHALL WE DANCE if it's the first of their movies that you've seen. Watching them in order leaves you with the impression that we've seen all this before, and what's more, that we've seen it all done better before as well.Unquestionably the great strength of the film is its musical score, by my count the fifth great musical score in a row for the series, but I'd have to agree with George Gershwin that it wasn't used very well. The main problem: Ginger and Fred don't dance together enough. Indeed, they only have one major duet in the whole movie, danced to 'They All Laughed'. It's a dandy, but even here they'd done comparable dances even more brilliantly in ROBERTA, TOP HAT AND SWING TIME. Of course, they also roller skate, and practically everyone adores the scene so who am I to knock it? Nevertheless, I miss them dancing, and the final duet to the title song comes and goes in about 30 seconds and only whets my appetite for more.After giving possibly the best performance in the entire series in SWING TIME, Ginger Rogers seems off here, irritable practically from beginning to end and considerably less fun than she was in the rest of the series (and during practically the rest of her career). The fact that she was the victim of an extortion attempt during the film's shooting may have had something to do with it. For those interested, she received a note demanding $50,000 or else they would kill Ginger's mother. Turning it over to the FBI, the fellow was apprehended at the scheduled drop point and turned out to be a sailor who was simply after the money, not the mother. He'd chosen Ginger because she was his favorite actress!But getting back to the movie, unlike in the rest of the series the songs are generally ill-fitted into the plot. While it's not unusual for Fred's solo to be a simple exhibition of his dancing ability that has little to do with the rest of the film, it is unusual for their major duets to move the plot exactly nowhere. As John Mueller points out in ASTAIRE DANCES, during the marvelous dance to 'They All Laughed', Ginger's character seems to be loosening up emotionally and moving closer to Fred's, the typical character movement in their up tempo numbers, but here she simply reverts to exactly where she had been before, i.e., simply resentful towards him. It's as if the dance had never happened. And what her motivation was for the reconciliation dance at the end I'll never understand. Would you be attracted to someone dancing with people wearing masks of you? I'd more likely call the nearest mental hospital.Speaking of motivation, what exactly would possess Fred to suddenly play hard to get once Ginger had finally invited him into her apartment on their wedding night? It did lead to probably the most artful shot that Mark Sandrich devised in the entire series (the one of them both hesitating before opposite sides of the door between them), but still...Ah, I'm sure I'm being too hard on SHALL WE DANCE. It's an elaborate production featuring two great performers, a few laughs, and terrific music. Who could ask for anything more?

Peter P Peters is an American ballet dancer who's known as Petrov.He wants to blend classical ballet with modern jazz, and then when he sees the picture of tap dancer Linda Keene, he immediately falls in love with her.Before they know it, they're married.Or at least the press thinks so.Shall We Dance from 1937 is directed by Mark Sandrich.Its producer is Pandro S. Berman.Behind the music are the brothers George and Ira Gershwin.This is the seventh of the ten Astaire-Rogers movies.The chemistry between the leading couple works, as always.Edward Everett Horton plays Jeffrey Baird.Eric Blore is Cecil Flintridge.James Cowan plays Arthur Miller.Ketti Gallian is Lady Denise Tarrington.The movie has some great comedy and musical bits.It's quite amusing when Fred pretends to be the Russian guy to Ginger, doing the accent and all.It's amazing to watch Fred doing the tap dance routine in a ship's engine room to the song "Slap That Bass".The song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" works and doing the tap dance on an ice-rink wearing roller blades.In one memorable scene Fred dances with many Gingers, only one being real.This movie is very entertaining, like any Fred and Ginger movie is.

Surely one of the silliest and most improbable plots in all the Astaire-Rogers series –-and that's saying a lot! — this 1937 film still features many delights: foremost among them of course are the dances of Fred solo and with Ginger, and the now classic songs of the Gershwin brothers. Amazingly, some of the best of these, the immortal "They Can't Take That Away from Me" for example, take up only a minute or two of screen time, as if the producers at RKO couldn't wait to get them over with so they could get back to the story. More time in the film is given over to the confused and outraged antics of floor manager Eric Blore than to some greatest songs in the great American Song Book. The film ends, however, with a breath-taking bit of pure exuberance, American dancing at its very, very best. The quarreling lovers are reunited singing and dancing to the title song. "Shall we dance or keep on moping?" As then and now a very good question. Absurd plot line and bad jokes aside, a film classic well worth watching again and again.

My second film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers {following the magnificent 'Top Hat (1935)'} confirms what I had initially suspected: I don't think I'll ever get sick of these guys! Throughout their careers, the pair co-starred opposite each other on no less than ten occasions, and 'Shall We Dance (1937)' marked their seventh collaboration. Brimming with catchy, stupendously-entertaining musical numbers, and a lightweight screwball storyline highlighted by a slew of accomplished comedy performers, the film was the brainchild of George Gershwin, who wrote the score, and his older brother Ira Gershwin, who penned the lyrics. Director Mark Sandrich returned, once again, to helm the production, which offers little different from the previous Astaire-Rogers pictures, but, in doing so, gave audiences precisely what they wanted. The society inhabited by Petrov and Linda Keene glitters with wealth, class and elegance, presenting American audiences – still suffering the effects of the Great Depression – with a sophisticated fantasy world in which they could immerse themselves.Notably, the film was the first in which Fred Astaire experimented with the blending of ballet and tap-dancing, his character expressing the desire to "combine the technique of ballet with the warmth and passion of this other mood." In this, Astaire proves moderately successful, though he obviously appears most comfortable when tappin' away on a hardwood floor, and it would eventually fall to Gene Kelly to perfect the combination in such films as 'An American in Paris (1951)' and, of course, 'Singin' in the Rain (1952).' Astaire's efforts are culminated in a wonderful and elaborate ballet-hybrid stage show, which features the title song, a Depession-era number that appeals to the audience to look on the brighter side of life by slipping on a pair of dancing shoes, and which concludes with a brief reprisal of "They All Laughed (At Christopher Columbus)" – an ode to the triumphant nature of love against all adversity. "Slap That Bass" is an unusual but gratifying mixed-race musical number, in which Astaire watches an African American jam-session in the engine room of their ship, demonstrating that happiness lies not with those with money, but rather with those possessing "rhythm."The story itself often wanders into rather silly territory {only Hollywood could possibly think to dispel marriage rumours by actually getting married}, but there is more than enough fun to go around. Edward Everett Horton is absolutely hilarious as Jeffrey Baird, Petrov's (Astaire) proud and indignant ballet manager, who not only detests the tap-dancing of which Astaire is so fond, but also disapproves of his budding relationship with Linda Keene (Rogers). Horton's reaction to seeing the scandalous nighttime photograph of the pair - a silent and completely unexpected offscreen pass-out - made me laugh so hard that I started to choke on my glass of water. Jerome Miller is also exceedingly likable as Linda's scheming manager, despite his suspect motivations in aiding Petrov's plight to marry her. Also amusing is Eric Blore, whose accommodating hotel manager Cecil Flintridge finds himself tormented by the conflicting gossip about the two stars' marital status, and later encounters much trouble trying to have himself bailed out of gaol. 'Shall We Dance' makes for an immensely enjoyable musical evening, and you'll find yourself humming "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" for days afterward.