Main Cast: Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joan Fontaine, Reginald Gardiner
Release Year: 1937
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Fred Astaire's first RKO musical without his longtime partner Ginger Rogers is one of his best from any period -- even though it's obvious that leading lady Joan Fontaine can't dance a step. Written by P. G. Wodehouse, Damsel in Distress casts Astaire as Jerry, an American entertainer appearing in London. Poor Jerry gets sucked into a wager conducted among servants of country squire Lord Mashmorton (Montague Love) He is "elected" to rescue his Lordship's daughter Lady Alyce (Joan Fontaine) from an arranged marriage with orchestra leader Reggie (Ray Noble), a likeable chap who steadfastly refuses to play the villain of the piece. Weaving in and out of all this are Jerry's business manager George (George Burns) and his daffy secretary Gracie (Gracie Allen). In addition to including such Gershwin standards as "A Foggy Day" and "Nice Work if You Can Get It," not to mention Fred Astaire's untoppable "drum dance," A Damsel in Distress affords George Burns and Gracie Allen their best-ever screen roles; the team is permitted to join Astaire in the elaborate "round-and-round" production number "Things are Looking Up," as well as a delightful whisk-broom dance (which, it is said, George and Gracie taught to Fred, rather than the other way around). As Lady Alyce's duplicitous butler, Reginald Gardiner enjoys his own comic highlight with an interesting variation on his "musical cop" routine in Born to Dance. As for 19-year-old Joan Fontaine, she's quite lovely and charming, and Astaire does his very best to camouflage her utter lack of terpsichorean ability. Amazingly, A Damsel in Distress lost money at the box office, compelling RKO Radio to play safe by quickly reteaming Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Carefree. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A Damsel in Distress stars Fred Astaire and therefore is worth watching, but while it's charming and diverting, it's still a bit of a disappointment overall. There are problems with the script -- a few dead spots, some forced humor -- but no more so than in most musicals of the period. Unfortunately, George Stevens' uneven direction, which doesn't create the sense of spontaneity that a lightweight vehicle such as this requires, keeps the film from taking off as much as it needs to. He is not helped by Joan Fontaine, whose nascent dramatic abilities do not compensate for her slender musical and (especially) terpsichorean abilities. Fortunately, Astaire is on hand to make up for his co-star's shortcomings, which he does in spades, especially in his famous "drum dance," an atmospheric "A Foggy Day," a close-harmony "Nice Work if You Can Get It" and a charming "Things Are Looking Up." Fred is helped enormously by George Burns and Gracie Allen, in what may be their best big screen performance. The three have a delightful broom dance, and Gracie sells "Stiff Upper Lip" with her bizarrely unique brand of charm. This trio of chums and the dazzling Gershwin brothers score lift Damsel up quite a few notches, even if it's not enough to make it a classic of the genre. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Constance Collier - Lady Caroline Marshmorton; Ray Noble - Reggie; Montagu Love - Lord John Marshmorton; Harry Watson - Albert; Jan Duggan - Miss Ruggles; Mario Berini - Gardiner [singing]; Ralph Brooks; Mary Gordon - Cook; Sam Harris - Dance Extra; Fred Kelsey - Sightseer; Frank Moran - Bobby; Ken Terrell - Drunk; Jack George - Madrigal Singer; W.J. O'Brien - Chauffeur; Charles Bennett - Carnival Barker
Credit
Van Nest Polglase - Art Director, Fred Astaire - Choreography, Hermes Pan - Choreography, Argyle Nelson - First Assistant Director, George Stevens - Director, Harry Berman - Editor, George Gershwin - Composer (Music Score), Victor Baravalle - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ira Gershwin - Songwriter, Carroll Clark - Production Designer, Joseph H. August - Cinematographer, Pandro S. Berman - Producer, Darrell Silvera - Set Designer, Vernon Walker - Special Effects, A. Earl Wolcott - Sound/Sound Designer, S.K. Lauren - Screenwriter, Ernest Pagano - Screenwriter, P.G. Wodehouse - Screenwriter, P.G. Wodehouse - Book Author, Ian Hay - Play Author
The film was made at George Gershwin's instigation, an enthusiasm that Wodehouse mischievously attributed[1] to the fact that his novel was about a successful American songwriter named George Bevan. George Gershwin died of a brain tumour while the film was in production.
The first Astaire RKO film not to feature Ginger Rogers, the nineteen year-old Fontaine was chosen, with Burns and Allen drafted in to provide the comedy. It soon emerged that Fontaine couldn't dance, but Stevens persuaded Astaire not to replace her with Ruby Keeler.[2] The film was the first Astaire picture to lose money, costing $1,305,000 to produce and losing $65,000.[1] The "Stiff Upper Lip" routine garnered co-choreographerHermes Pan the 1937 Academy Award for Best Dance Direction.
Key songs and dance routines
The choreography explores dancing around, past, and through obstacles, and in confined spaces.
"I Can't Be Bothered Now": sung by Astaire while executing a tap solo with cane in the middle of a London street and escaping on a bus.
"Put Me to the Test": Astaire, Burns, and Allen comic tap dance with whisk brooms, a routine inspired by vaudeville duo Evans and Evans and introduced to Astaire by Burns, who quipped: "Gracie and I ended up teaching Astaire how to dance".[3]
"Stiff Upper Lip": sung by Gracie Allen and followed by an innovative extended comic dance by Astaire, Burns, and Allen through a fairground obstacle course.
"Things Are Looking Up": Astaire sings one of Gershwin's "most beautiful, yet underappreciated ballads",[1] followed by a romantic dance through the woods with Fontaine, where George Stevens artfully uses trees to hide Fontaine's terpsichorean shortcomings.
"Nice Work If You Can Get It": the film's second Gershwin standard is introduced by Astaire and chorus, followed by an Astaire tap solo, executed while confined by and playing a set of drums. It was shot in one continuous take and makes use of a very early version of the zoom lens.
The movie also features two faux madrigals written by the Gershwins: "Sing of Spring" and "The Jolly Tar and the Milkmaid". These are performed by a group of madrigal singers, with Astaire joining in on the latter song.
Notes and references
^ abcMueller, John (1986). Astaire Dancing - The Musical Films. London: Hamish Hamilton. pp. 126–137. ISBN0-241-11749-6.
^Thomas, Bob (1985). Astaire, the Man, the Dancer. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 148. ISBN0-297-78402-1.
^Burns, George. Gracie: A Love Story. G.P Putnam and Sons. pp. 204–206.
