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Swing Time Overview:

Swing Time (1936) was a Comedy - Musical Film directed by George Stevens and produced by Pandro S. Berman.

SYNOPSIS

Here is one of the high points of the Astaire-Rogers team, and, therefore, one of the greatest of Depression-era song-and-dance spectaculars. The story involves a gambler and dancer (Astaire - and how many times do you see that combination?) who's engaged to marry Furness, but first must raise $25,000 to prove he can support her. When he meets dance teacher Rogers at Blore's dance academy, all thoughts of money fly away. The scene in which Rogers teaches Astaire to dance and the justly famous "The Way You Look Tonight" sequence are standouts. Stevens gives the familiar formula a witty lift and the Kern-Fields numbers delight. Priceless. The laserdisc edition includes audio commentary by John Mueller (author of Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films), a photo scrapbook of behind-the-scenes stills, and a clip for the 1935 RKO film Hooray for Love, with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Fats Waller.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Swing Time was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2004.

Academy Awards 1936 --- Ceremony Number 9 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Music - SongMusic by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Dorothy FieldsWon
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Swing Time BlogHub Articles:

Swing Time (1936)

By Cameron on Oct 25, 2017 From The Blonde At The Film

via: http://beverlygray.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/lights-out-for-la-la-land.html   Unless otherwise noted, all images are my own. Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire are back in their sixth of ten films together. Swing Time (1936) is usually considered one of the best of the bunch, mostly because of the sc... Read full article

DOUBLE BILL #3 Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936)

By Carol Martinheira on Jun 4, 2017 From The Old Hollywood Garden

DOUBLE BILL #3 Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936) On June 4, 2017June 4, 2017 By CarolIn Uncategorized Musicals of the 1930s are pretty much screwball comedies with songs. And they’re absolutely fabulous. Especially Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers ones. Ten adorable... Read full article

Swing Time (1936) – Updated

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 13, 2016 From 4 Star Films

I wondered to myself, after watching Swing Time once again, if anyone else might have easily taken Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ places as films greatest dancing couple, and then I quickly discarded this heretical idea. They appeared in 10 films together with this film directed by George Ste... Read full article

Review: Swing Time (1936)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 13, 2016 From 4 Star Films

I wondered to myself, after watching Swing Time once again, if anyone else might have easily taken Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ places as films greatest dancing couple, and then I quickly discarded this heretical idea. They appeared in 10 films together with this film directed by George Ste... Read full article

Review: Swing Time (1936)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 13, 2016 From 4 Star Films

I wondered to myself, after watching Swing Time once again, if anyone else might have easily taken Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ places as films greatest dancing couple, and then I quickly discarded this heretical idea. They appeared in 10 films together with this film directed by George Ste... Read full article

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Swing Time Quotes:

Lucky Garnett: A fine romance, with no kisses. A fine romance, my friend, this is. We should be like a couple of hot tomatoes. But you're as cold as yesterday's mashed potatoes. A fine romance, you won't nestle. A fine romance, you won't wrestle. I've never mussed a crease in your blue serge pants. I never had the chance. This is a fine romance. A fine romance, my good fellow. You take romance. I'll take jello. You're calmer than the seals in the Arctic Ocean. At least they flap their fins to express emotion. A fine romance, with no quarrels, with no insults, and all the morals. You're just as hard to land as the Ile de France. I never get the chance. This is a fine romance. A fine romance, with no kisses. A fine romance, my friend, this is. True love should have the thrills that a healthy climb has. We don't have half the thrills that "The March of Time" has. A fine romance, with no clinches. A fine romance, with no pinches. You never give the orchids I send a glance. No, you like cactus plants. This is a fine romance.
Pop Cardetti: Lucky, please don't feel bad. You still got me. Course I ain't a young and pretty girl. I ain't even a girl, but I'll stick. I'll never leave you.
Mabel Anderson: [after having just been hit in the face with a snowball] You know, snow tastes just as bad as water.
Penny Carroll: Listen. No one could teach you to dance in a million years. Take my advice and save your money!
Lucky Garnett: Some day, when I'm awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you... And the way you look tonight. Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm and your cheeks so soft. There is nothing for me but to love you, and the way you look tonight. With each word your tenderness grows, tearing my fear apart... And that laugh that wrinkles your nose, touches my foolish heart. Lovely ... Never, ever change. Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I love you ... and the way you look tonight.
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Swing Time Facts
The shadow dance idea for "Bojangles of Harlem" occurred to choreographer Hermes Pan and Fred Astaire during rehearsals, when three different light sources illuminating Astaire produced three shadows.
In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #90 Greatest Movie of All Time. It was the first inclusion of this film on the list.
Fred Astaire always insisted that his dance routines be filmed in one continuous camera shot, showing the dancer(s) from head to foot. However, in the "Never Gonna Dance" number, there is an obvious moment when 'Astaire and Rogers' reach the tops of their respective winding staircases that the camera shot changes quickly to reflect the fact that the filming camera had to be brought upstairs to shoot the close-up finale of the dance number.
The film originally began with a musical number, "It's Not in the Cards," which was cut due the film's length and because the number was judged as not very good. Only a bit remains in the final version. The music is also used in the background during the first few scenes.
In "The Way You Look Tonight", Ginger Rogers is seen to be washing her hair. The crew tried various soaps, shampoos, and even egg white, but it always ran down her face too quickly. They achieved success with whipped cream.
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