Come and join us for our showing on Friday 23rd June: Doors will open at 5.30 pm. Pie, peas and mash supper is served at 6.00 pm followed by John’s introduction to the film and then the movie. Cost is £10 for non-members of the OSM and £8 for members.
Astaire and Rogers — the best dance pairing in the history of movie-making? Why is there even a question mark? Fred and Ginger made a total of 10 movies together and, by popular consensus, Top Hat, made in 1935, is regarded as the best of the series. No arguments from me on that score.
True, Swing Time can boast dances that are the equal of those in Top Hat but in no other of their movies did all the magic mesh together so seamlessly. The plot is barmy (although the mistaken identity ruse is quite deftly handled) but none the worse for that. Early films in this series leaned heavily on French farce. Who cares? The comedy couldn’t be in the hands of a more capable cast of support players than Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Helen Broderick and Eric Blore.
And then there’s Fred and Ginger, lighting up, as they did in all of their movies together, every bit of screen time they occupy. Even when not dancing, they’re a delight. And when they are … well, come on! The phrase ‘Poetry in motion’ might just as well have been coined for them.
If you have holidays booked for the end of June, be it a weekend in Blackpool or a Caribbean cruise, cancel them. It’s Top Hat!
