Top Hat
One of many Ginger Roger/Fred Astaire dancing movies proves to be what it should be hyped up as. Directed by Mark Sandrich in 1935, Top Hat is filled with constantly wonderful orchestral music, obnoxious plot details, goofy acting, and ridiculously inventive tap dancing.
The plot itself is very stereotypical of a dancing musical old movie. In essence, the plot is just a mere carrier for the singing and dancing. The story line is very unrealistic, with many twists that the characters don't realize until the end, but completely perfect for the mood the movie gives you. The fact that Jerry (Astaire) is a professional dancer makes the spontaneous dancing spurts seem a lot more believable than if he had just been a man in dressy clothes. Of course, Jerry falls madly in love with Dale (Ginger Rogers) and their affair includes tap dancing, ballroom dancing, cheesy love lines, and many amusing complications.
For the time period of the 1930s, the costumes are perfectly believable and essential to the feeling of elegance of the movie. Since filmed in black and white, the men wearing suits and bowties all the time seem very standard- just a normal outfit. In contrast, the outfits of Dale (Ginger Rogers) are extremely elaborate to fight the lack of color. They are definitely noticeable dresses, with feathers, shiny things, beads, or obnoxiously large skirts/sleeves. Her costumes can a bit detract from the dancing when she's with Astaire, but it's all forgivable. The sets are also rather fun; when there's a room that looks like half the furniture has been cleared away you know there might be a dance scene coming up.
The sound editing is key in this movie. The switches between diegetic and nondiegetic sounds are always keeping the audience alert. What one may think is just lovely background music may turn out to be a live orchestra positioned right near the main action. Also, the tap dancing is always heard very clearly above the music to show off the unique rhythms of Astaire.
The dialogues between the characters in this film are very scripted with trying-for-laughs one liners. There is something about the charm of the conversations that makes one want to forgive the cheesy-ness of the dialogue and focus on the brilliant dancing.
The filming itself is very basic but it definitely shows off what it was intended to show off. The dancing. Whenever Fred Astaire is dancing, the camera has him in full view, no flashy zoom ins or fade outs, it's all about Astaire's dancing. He fills the frame and does all the fancy footwork without the audience missing a beat.
One big confusing miscommunication after another, the characters finally are all straightened out in the end with a resolution lasting maybe two whole minutes.
