The Astaire and Rogers partnership was in its third year, and at its peak in quality and popularity, when producer Pandro S. Berman decided to switch director Mark Sandrich (who had the helmed classics The Gay Divorcée, Top Hat and Follow the Fleet) with up-and-coming George Stevens. Stevens' background was in "B" comedy, and he had recently graduated to "A" drama with 1935's Alice Adams, so had been judged ready to handle the franchise that was RKO's biggest moneymaker. The resulting film was the greatest of the Astaire-Rogers pictures, and a highlight of the 30s musical.
Although Stevens did not have the light, rhythmic touch that characterises the Sandrich musicals, he added an emotional depth that the series had never had before. Fred and Ginger were a pair of talented dancers with a flair for comedy, and RKO had never used them for anything more than that. Stevens really allows them to act. The overall plot is in the same vein of romantic comedy as Top Hat, yet here and there is a little hint of poignancy. For example, when Astaire's old band mates hunker down and begin gambling with their earnings, he gives a quick mournful look he as strolls past them, as if he knows he's losing a part of his life. Later, when Ginger realises that Fred's fiancé is in the room, she is held in a lengthy close-up, and emotes brilliantly for the camera. The significance of these little moments is that they make us really care about the characters, the way we cared about Katherine Hepburn in Alice Adams. We want their relationship to work rather than simply wait for the inevitable conclusion.
Of course, Stevens was also a brilliant comedy director, and he is always willing to punctuate the most sentimental moments with a gag, such as when "The Way you Look Tonight" ironically ends with Astaire turning round and realising Rogers actually looks a bit of a sight as she is halfway through washing her hair.
As well as the different director Swing Time also sees something of a shake-up to the regular supporting cast. It makes a change to see Eric Blore playing something other than a butler for once, and the marvellous comic actress Helen Broderick is thankfully back after almost stealing the show as far as comedy was concerned in Top Hat. Georges Metaxa seems to be a replacement for the pretentious foreign love-rival normally played by Erik Rhodes, and while not as comical as Rhodes, does not do at all badly. On the other hand Victor Moore, while very good, is not a patch on Edward Everett Horton, who is the perfect "buddy" for Astaire.
A common misconception about musicals of the 1930s is that they were not "integrated" – that is, the songs were musical breaks inserted into the narrative rather than being part of the story in themselves. Of course this is not the case as a glance at the Ernst Lubitsch Paramount musicals will prove, but even those of Astaire and Rogers had their own form of integration. While it's true that the numbers tended to be fairly generic love songs, functioning mainly to lead into a dance routine, it was the dances themselves that often carried the plot along and revealed character. Every up and down of the romance revolved around a dance, and the first time Fred and Ginger dance together, that's the moment they fall in love.
In the case of Swing Time the songs actually do bear some relevance to the storyline, thanks mainly to some intelligent lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Jerome Kern also provides some fantastically soulful music that goes hand-in-hand with the picture's deeper emotional feel. And let's not forget the amazing dance numbers dreamed up by Astaire and choreographer Hermes Pan. The routines in these pictures were becoming increasingly extravagant and inventive as Pan continuously tried to outdo his last effort, and there is a sense of his clutching at straws for fresh ideas in the later pictures as the series' popularity declined. Here however the choreography is still on top form, and the Bojangles of Harlem number has to rank among his best.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the musicals of the 30s and those that came later is not how integrated they were, but how seriously the genre could be taken. The plots of 30s musicals were always clichéd, throwaway romantic comedies, whereas the musicals of the 40s, 50s and 60s had grown up into fully-fledged dramas, equally capable of tackling weighty issues or inducing tears as they were at delighting with song and dance. In that light, the touching romance of Swing Time makes it something of a milestone. However, while the musical genre would continue to move onwards and upwards, the Astaire-Rogers franchise would never be this good again.
Although Stevens did not have the light, rhythmic touch that characterises the Sandrich musicals, he added an emotional depth that the series had never had before. Fred and Ginger were a pair of talented dancers with a flair for comedy, and RKO had never used them for anything more than that. Stevens really allows them to act. The overall plot is in the same vein of romantic comedy as Top Hat, yet here and there is a little hint of poignancy. For example, when Astaire's old band mates hunker down and begin gambling with their earnings, he gives a quick mournful look he as strolls past them, as if he knows he's losing a part of his life. Later, when Ginger realises that Fred's fiancé is in the room, she is held in a lengthy close-up, and emotes brilliantly for the camera. The significance of these little moments is that they make us really care about the characters, the way we cared about Katherine Hepburn in Alice Adams. We want their relationship to work rather than simply wait for the inevitable conclusion.
Of course, Stevens was also a brilliant comedy director, and he is always willing to punctuate the most sentimental moments with a gag, such as when "The Way you Look Tonight" ironically ends with Astaire turning round and realising Rogers actually looks a bit of a sight as she is halfway through washing her hair.
As well as the different director Swing Time also sees something of a shake-up to the regular supporting cast. It makes a change to see Eric Blore playing something other than a butler for once, and the marvellous comic actress Helen Broderick is thankfully back after almost stealing the show as far as comedy was concerned in Top Hat. Georges Metaxa seems to be a replacement for the pretentious foreign love-rival normally played by Erik Rhodes, and while not as comical as Rhodes, does not do at all badly. On the other hand Victor Moore, while very good, is not a patch on Edward Everett Horton, who is the perfect "buddy" for Astaire.
A common misconception about musicals of the 1930s is that they were not "integrated" – that is, the songs were musical breaks inserted into the narrative rather than being part of the story in themselves. Of course this is not the case as a glance at the Ernst Lubitsch Paramount musicals will prove, but even those of Astaire and Rogers had their own form of integration. While it's true that the numbers tended to be fairly generic love songs, functioning mainly to lead into a dance routine, it was the dances themselves that often carried the plot along and revealed character. Every up and down of the romance revolved around a dance, and the first time Fred and Ginger dance together, that's the moment they fall in love.
In the case of Swing Time the songs actually do bear some relevance to the storyline, thanks mainly to some intelligent lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Jerome Kern also provides some fantastically soulful music that goes hand-in-hand with the picture's deeper emotional feel. And let's not forget the amazing dance numbers dreamed up by Astaire and choreographer Hermes Pan. The routines in these pictures were becoming increasingly extravagant and inventive as Pan continuously tried to outdo his last effort, and there is a sense of his clutching at straws for fresh ideas in the later pictures as the series' popularity declined. Here however the choreography is still on top form, and the Bojangles of Harlem number has to rank among his best.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the musicals of the 30s and those that came later is not how integrated they were, but how seriously the genre could be taken. The plots of 30s musicals were always clichéd, throwaway romantic comedies, whereas the musicals of the 40s, 50s and 60s had grown up into fully-fledged dramas, equally capable of tackling weighty issues or inducing tears as they were at delighting with song and dance. In that light, the touching romance of Swing Time makes it something of a milestone. However, while the musical genre would continue to move onwards and upwards, the Astaire-Rogers franchise would never be this good again.