The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
by H.C. Potter

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Edna May Oliver, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Lew Fields, Walter Brennan
Director: H.C. Potter
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Robert De Grasse
Editor: William Hamilton
Producer: George Haight
Writer: Dorothy Yost
Writer: Irene Castle
Writer: Oscar Hammerstein II
Writer: Richard Sherman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-10-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Turner Home Ent

Movie Reviews of The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

Movie Review: A classy biography
Summary: 4 Stars

"The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle"(1939) was a change of pace film for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was the only time they starred in a true story. It was also their last film togehter at RKO studios.
During the 1910's, Vernon (Fred) and Irene (Ginger) became world famous dancers, introducing several popular dances to Americans for the first time, including the fox trot, polka, and their own "Castle Walk".
After Vernon and Irene marry, Irene encourages Vernon to give up his flop comedy carrer and focus on his dancing instead. With the help of their friend Maggie (character actress Edna May Oliver in a good performance), they become the toast of Paris before hitting it big in the states.
It should be noted that Irene was an American and Vernon British.
After their fame in the US, Vernon and Irene became trendsetters, not only with their dancing, but with many products with their name on them. Shortly afterward, WWI begins, and Vernon decides to join the royal air force.
Some facts were changed for the movie. The Castles' friend played by Walter Brennan was black in real life. His race was changed in the script because southern exhibiters in 1939 would otherwise have refused to show the film. The lady that Oliver's character was based on was a lesbian, but that was against the censorship code in place at that time. Despite the changes, the movie is still pretty good.It is nicely acted and is a classy way for Fred and Ginger to go out. They were reunited ten years later at MGM for "The Berkleys of Broadway".
The DVD includes the first Tom and Jerry cartoon, "Puss Gets the Boot", in which Tom was named Jasper. Nice bit of history. On the down side, there is also a terrible musical short.
"The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" tanked at the box office in 1939, but this DVD is a good way to rediscover it.

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Summary of The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

Who else but the fabulous Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the greatest dancing team of all time, could portray Vernon & Irene Castle, the renowned ballroom dancers of the years preceding World War I? Fred and Ginger dance up a storm as they dramatize the careers of the Castles. The pair first unite when Irene persuades Vernon to give up his corny vaudeville clowning to cultivate his obvious dancing abilities. After some lean years, a sharp agent sponsors the team and their rise to fame is phenomenal. Soon they are setting Paris aglow with their stunning routines. Then the first World War intervenes and brings a shocking tragedy. Vernon is killed in a crash on a training field in Texas abruptly ending the Castles' reign on the dance floor. Astaire and Rogers are at their most appealing.

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle was the last of nine films Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together for RKO Pictures, and it is unlike any other. For the only time, Fred and Ginger play historical characters--the legendary dancing duo that was all the rage between 1912 and 1916--and a married couple, no less. Instead of their usual innovative, plot-driving dances, Fred and Ginger perform pastiches of what the Castles made famous--the fox trot, polka, and tango. And rather than an original score of great American standards by Berlin, Kern, or the Gershwins, the film uses a collection of period tunes, including "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" and "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee." No, this is not Top Hat, but fans will enjoy the film anyway. Vernon and Irene Castle is an affectionate tribute to a bygone era and to a team that Fred said was "a tremendous influence" on his career. As portrayed in the film (which was based on Irene Castle's memoirs and input), Vernon Castle is a small-time vaudeville comedian when he meets and marries Irene. The two not only manage to forge a career as proper, respectable dancers, they become the essence of style, setting national trends for dance, fashion, and even women's hairstyles. The film briefly touches on Fred and Ginger's usual themes of pursuit and union, but mostly they are warm and tender together as they deal with real-life problems, perhaps portraying the earlier films' characters after those "happily ever after" fantasy endings. And as we watch the Castles' performing career rise and decline, straight through to the film's touching last shot, we realize that Fred and Ginger are saying farewell, which makes The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle an appropriate finale to the most glorious partnership in Hollywood history. --David Horiuchi

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