Themes: Opposites Attract, Breakups and Divorces, Dancer's Life
Main Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant, Billie Burke, Gale Robbins
Release Year: 1949
Country: US
Run Time: 109 minutes
Plot
The Barkleys of Broadway became Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' "reunion" picture purely by accident. Originally conceived as a follow-up to the successful Astaire-Judy Garland vehicle Easter Parade, Barkleys was to have starred Fred and Judy as a successful musical comedy team that breaks up when the female half decides to become a "serious" artist. Just before shooting started, Garland fell ill, Rogers replaced her, and the rest, as they say, is history. The script is as thin as a spider's web, a mere coat-rack upon which to hang several topnotch musical numbers. Fred and Ginger aren't quite as footloose and fancy-free as they were in their RKO heyday, but they still work together seamlessly. The film's highlights include "My One and Only Highland Fling," "You'd Be Hard to Replace," a reprise of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (originally performed by Astaire and Rogers in Shall We Dance?), and Oscar Levant's keyboard rendition of "The Sabre Dance." The film's least memorable moment is the play-within-a-play wherein Rogers, cast as the young Sarah Bernhardt, passionately recites "The Marseillaise" as an audition piece! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers went out with a bang in The Barkleys of Broadway, and if it's not the big explosion that they deserved, it's still more than serviceable. Barkleys' biggest assets, of course, are the stars themselves, who have lost none of their luster or, more importantly, their chemistry despite the ten years separating Barkleys from their earlier classics. Indeed, for those who simply want to watch this incomparable pair and do not care about the vehicle, there is plenty to relish: the incomparable way in which they bicker, the ease with which they fall back into each other's arms, a delightfully outlandish Scottish pastiche, a sparkling swing trot to open the proceedings, a typically brilliant Astaire solo with a half-dozen pairs of dancing shoes, and a graceful, sensuous, slightly melancholic "They Can't Take That Away From Me." These elements pack a great deal of punch; whether they pack enough to make up for Betty Comden and Adolph Green's so-so screenplay is another question. Part of the problem is that the basic setup -- musical comedy star attempts a bio of Sarah Bernhardt -- is the kind of situation that Comden and Green are so adept at spoofing, but they're asked to play it straight here. They can't quite do it, so there's always a hint that the situation is going to turn satirical, but it never does -- though the audition sequence does become unintentionally funny. Still, fans of the stars will definitely find the film's flaws to be minor, and even those who feel more strongly about those flaws will probably be won over by this last pairing of the cinema's greatest dance team. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Jacques Francois - Jacques Barredout; George Zucco - The Judge; Clinton Sundberg - Bert Felsher; Inez Cooper - Pamela Driscoll; Carol Brewster - Gloria Amboy; Wilson Wood - Larry; Jean Andren - First Woman; Louis Austin - Guest in Theater Lobby; Margaret Bert - Mary the Maid; Betty Blythe - Guest in Theater Lobby; George Boyce - Photographer; Claire Carleton - Marie; Hans Conried - Ladislaus Ladi; Mimi Doyle - Actress; Helen Eby-Rock - Sarah's Aunt; Mary Jo Ellis - Clementine; Frank Ferguson - Mr. Perkins; Bess Flowers - Guest in Theater Lobby; Sherry Hall - Chauffeur; Mahlon Hamilton - Apartment Doorman; Nolan Leary - Stage Doorman; Wilbur Mack - Guest; Joyce Mathews - Genevieve; Forbes Murray - Guest in Theater Lobby; Jack Rice - Ticket Man; Reginald Simpson - Husband; Esther Somers - Sarah's Mother; Larry Steers - Guest; Laura Treadwell - Second Woman; Dee Turnell - Blonde; Lillian West - Guest; Allen Wood - Taxi Driver; William Tannen - Doorman at Theater; John Albright - Photographer; Roger Moore - First Man
Credit
Edward C. Carfagno - Art Director, Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, Irving G. Ries - Animator, Roger Edens - Associate Producer, Robert Alton - Choreography, Hermes Pan - Choreography, Irene Valles - Costume Designer, Wallace Worsley, Sr. - First Assistant Director, Charles Walters - Director, Albert Akst - Editor, Lennie Hayton - Composer (Music Score), Harry Warren - Composer (Music Score), Lennie Hayton - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ira Gershwin - Songwriter, Harry Warren - Songwriter, Jack Dawn - Makeup, Harry Stradling - Cinematographer, Arthur Freed - Producer, Arthur Krams - Set Designer, Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer, Warren Newcombe - Special Effects, Douglas Shearer - Sound/Sound Designer, Betty Comden - Screenwriter, Adolph Green - Screenwriter, Sidney Sheldon - Screenwriter, Alex Romero - Assistant Choreographer
Rogers came in as a last minute replacement for Judy Garland, whose frequent absences due to a dependency on prescription medication cost her the role. This turned out to be the last film that Astaire and Rogers made together, and their only film in color. Many critics at the time remarked upon Rogers' changed figure, noting that the elfin girl of the 30's had made way for a sturdy, athletic woman.
Josh and Dinah Barkley (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) are a husband-and-wife musical comedy team at the peak of their careers, but when serious French playwright Jacques Pierre Barredout (Jacques François) suggests that Dinah should take up dramatic acting, it eventually splits the couple up. Their good friend, acerbic composer Ezra Miller (Oscar Levant) tries to trick them back together again, but fails. When Josh secretly watches Dinah's rehearsals for Barredout's new play and sees how she is struggling, he calls her up and pretends to be the Frenchman, giving her notes that help her to understand her part, the young Sara Bernhardt. Dinah gives a brilliant performance, and she accidentally learns that her late-night mentor was Josh and not Barredout, opening the way for their reconciliation as a couple and their return to the stage as a team.
Production
The Barkleys of Broadway began with the title "You Made Me Love You", and with Judy Garland in the lead role opposite Fred Astaire, a repeat of their pairing in Easter Parade. In fact, producer Arthur Freed had Comden and Green working on the script for the new film even before Easter Parade was finished.[1]
The film went into rehearsals with Garland, but it was soon clear that she would not be physically and emotionally able to do it. Freed contacted Ginger Rogers to see if she was interested in reuniting with Astaire: there had been rumors, denied by both, that the Astaire-Rogers working relationship was frosty, and they had not worked together since The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle in 1939. Rogers was interested, and The Barkleys of Broadway became their tenth and final film together, and the only color film.[1]
The production period was from 8 August through 30 October 1948, with some additional work on 28 December. The Technicolor process was still relatively new at the time, and required very bright lights which were uncomfortable to work under. While the film was in production, Fred Astaire won an honorary Academy Award for "his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures," presented to him at the awards ceremony by Ginger Rogers.[1]
The Barkleys of Broadway premiered in New York on 4 May 1949 and went into general American release shortly after.[2]
MGM borrowed Jacques François from Universal Pictures. Barkleys was his first film in English, and was to be his last American film, although he did two U.K.-based productions. His French film career was extensive: he worked up until his death in 2003.[3]
Songs
"Swing Trot" - music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Dance critic Arlene Croce called this the best number in the film. Seen through the opening credits, it was released without visual impediment on That's Entertainment III (1997).[1]
"You'd be Hard to Replace" - by Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin
"Bouncin' the Blues" - by Harry Warren
"My One and Only Highland Fling" - by Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin
"Weekend in the Country" - by Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin. Performed by Astaire, Rogers and Oscar Levant, whose singing voice can be described as unique.
"Shoes with Wings On" - by Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin. Fred Astaire performs this number alone, as part of the show that Josh Barkley does by himself. It utilized green screen technology to have Astaire, a cobbler, dance with many pairs of shoes.
"They Can't Take That Away From Me" - by George Gershwin (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics). This song was also used in RKO's 1937 Astaire-Rogers film Shall We Dance, where Astaire had sung it to Rogers. Their dance duet here, one of their most effective, was the first time they danced it together.[1]
"Manhattan Down Beat" - by Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin
Three other Harry Warren-Ira Gershwin songs were intended for the film but never used: "The Courtin' of Elmer and Ella," "Natchez on the Mississippi," and "Poetry in Motion."[4]
Response
Critical response to The Barkleys of Broadway was mixed but positive.[1] The film earned $3.2 million in the U.S. and $5.42 million worldwide, compared to its estimated cost of $2,325,420.[5]
A radio version of the film was broadcast on 1 January 1951 as an episode of the Lux Radio Theatre, with Ginger Rogers reprising the role of Dinah Barkley, and George Murphy playing her husband and partner Josh.
Awards
Although the film did not win any awards, it did receive several nominations. Cinematographer Harry Stradling Sr. was nominated for a 1950 Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography, and writers Comden and Green were nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical.[6]
