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Top Hat Overview:

Top Hat (1935) was a Comedy - Musical Film directed by Mark Sandrich and produced by Pandro S. Berman.

SYNOPSIS

Astaire, Rogers, Irving Berlin, choreography by Hermes Pan and Astaire: all the elements that define the classic Astaire-Rogers picture and, therefore, the height of the '30s musical. When dancer Astaire hits London for the debut of his new show, his tap practice in his agent's (Horton) hotel room wakes his downstairs neighbor, Rogers. With one look at her face, a smitten Astaire chases her all over London and even to Venice after she believes he's really married to Horton's wife, Broderick. Despite her marriage in a fury to an Italian designer, the lovers are reunited in a gondola at the end. The plot's made meaningless, of course, by the elegance and bravura of the Deco sets, the perfectly integrated musical set pieces, and the justly famous pairing of Astaire and Rogers, including their renowned interpretation of "Cheek to Cheek." All 5 Berlin tunes, including "Cheek to Cheek" and "Top Hat," made it to the top of the charts.

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

Top Hat was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1990.

Academy Awards 1935 --- Ceremony Number 8 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Art DirectionVan Nest Polglase, Carroll ClarkNominated
Best Music - SongMusic and Lyrics by Irving BerlinNominated
Best PictureRKO RadioNominated
See More Oscar Winners

Top Hat BlogHub Articles:

Musical Monday: Top Hat (1935)

on Aug 26, 2024 From Comet Over Hollywood

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week’s musical:Top Hat (1935) – Musical... Read full article

You're Invited! HISTORY OF FASHION IN FILM 1930s + TOP HAT at Egyptian Theatre 3/17

on Mar 4, 2018 From GlamAmor

My HISTORY OF FASHION IN FILM screening series at the Egyptian Theatre continues with the 1930s on March 17! This series is 7 parts - one event per decade from the 1920s to the 1980s - and each will be followed by a screening of a film featured in the talk. Some of the incredible style we celebrate... 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

Top Hat (1935) – Updated

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 14, 2016 From 4 Star Films

Perhaps Astaire and Rogers most famous film together, Top Hat has them at top form once more, seemingly defying gravity at the full peak of the powers. The beauty of their partnership is that they’re able to tell the progression of a love story through dance, but they do it with such ease and... Read full article

Review: Top Hat (1935)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 14, 2016 From 4 Star Films

Perhaps Astaire and Rogers most famous film together, Top Hat has them at top form once more, seemingly defying gravity at the full peak of the powers. The beauty of their partnership is that they’re able to tell the progression of a love story through dance, but they do it with such ease and... Read full article

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Top Hat Quotes:

Madge Hardwick: My dear, when you're as old as I am, you take your men as you find them --- if you can find them!
Jerry Travers: All is fair in love and war, and this is revolution!
Alberto Beddini: I promised my dresses that I would take them to Venice and that you would be in them!
Horace Hardwick: You know how wives are.
Jerry Travers: No I don't. How are they?
Jerry Travers: By the Adriatic waters, Venetian sons and daughters are strumming a new tune upon their guitars. It was written by a Latin, a gondolier who sat in his home out in Brooklyn and gazed at the stars. He sent his melody across the sea to Italy, and we know they wrote some words to fit that catchy bit and christened it The Piccolino. And we know that it's the reason why everyone this season is strumming and humming a new melody. Come to the Casino -- and hear them play The Piccolino. Dance with your bambino to the strains of the catchy Piccolino. Drink your glass of vino and when you've had your plate of scallopino, make them play the Piccolino, the catchy Piccolino. And dance to the strains of that new melody, the Piccolino.
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Top Hat Facts
For contrast to the "Big White Set" of the Lido, the water in the canals was dyed black.
Mark Sandrich, who directed five of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals, was a physicist before he got into filmmaking, and would devise blueprints for every scene, so he would know exactly where to put the cameras and the actors.
The first time Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had a screenplay written specifically for them.
Character Alberto Beddini's motto was originally, "For the men the sword, for the women the whip." The script was changed to "For the women the kiss, for the men the sword" after the censors objected.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance together five times in this film. They would dance that many times together in only this film.
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