You Were Never Lovelier
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Movie Reviews of You Were Never Lovelier
Movie Review: You Were Never Lovelier
Summary: 5 Stars
Really good film. If you like Fred Astaire films then you will enjoy this one. Songs are very soothing and, of course, the dance scenes are great.Movie Review: Fred Astaire
Summary: 5 Stars
As a historian on the movie industry, it is always good to have copies of the great musicals and other movies to refer to from time to time.Movie Review: Rita the Love Goddess
Summary: 5 Stars
She was Fred's favorite dance partner.
Good good movie if you are a Rita fan.
Movie Review: Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer...And "I'm Old Fashioned"
Summary: 4 Stars
In some of Fred Astaire's movies there's only one excellent reason to watch, and that's to watch Fred Astaire. In You Were Never Lovelier there are three other excellent reasons. Rita Hayworth. Jerome Kern. Johnny Mercer. The four of them have concocted a romantic and funny South American fable that features some great dancing by both Astaire and Hayworth and some memorable songs by Kern and Mercer.
Eduardo Acuna (Adolphe Menjou), a wealthy Buenos Aires businessman, has four beautiful daughters, and in the Acuna family they must marry in age order. The eldest fulfills her responsibilities and the two youngest have beaus they're now anxious to share vows with. But the second eldest, Maria (Rita Hayworth) is in no hurry. She wants romance and charm and the men she meets are just panting boys. Then she sees Robert Davis (Fred Astaire), a very charming, down-on-his-luck dancer, singing Dearly Beloved at her elder sister's wedding. He tries to chat her up; she stares him down. Then the plot intervenes. Before long she knows what she wants. Robert knows what he wants. Eduardo Acuna knows what he doesn't want...a down-on-his-luck dancer in the family. From then on it's songs, dances, romance and misunderstandings, which moves into songs, dances and romance. The plot feels sluggish at times and there's way too much Xavier Cugat and his orchestra, but Astaire and Hayworth are at their peak, Kern has written some memorable melodies and few could top Mercer at lyric writing, none in Hollywood.
Hayworth not only was a gorgeous creature, she was a gifted dancer; many think she was the best Astaire worked with. Technically, she not only handled the steps Astaire created, she did so without a hint of effort. After you've watched the dances a couple of times, go back and watch again, but this time concentrate on her face and her hand and arm action. She gives every indication of being utterly relaxed and enjoying herself, even in the fast tap routines. She seems naturally to find the most graceful attitude for an extended arm, a turn of her head, a raised hand. She may not be quite as good as Astaire, but she's good enough.
Among the stand-out routines are:
--The Audition Dance. Robert shows up at Acuna's office and demands a chance to show his stuff as a dancer. From there Astaire takes off on a fast tap routine that takes him all over the floor, onto Acuna's desk, the sofa and chairs. He works into the dance a cane, a rug, the drapes and Acuna's head.
--I'm Old Fashioned. This is probably the best romantic wooing dance Astaire did. It's all fluid motion and spontaneous recognition, danced on the elegant, polished outdoor landing of Acuna's mansion. Rita Hayworth is a vision, and matches him step for step. We move from Maria declaring with humor and assurance that Robert's the man for her, to Robert's protestation that he's just a guy from Omaha, Nebraska, to the dance that brings them closer and closer together until we know through the dance that a love match has just happened. The funny exit through the doors and back into the living-room, bumping into each other, each giving way, bumping again and then going in together arm in arm hits just the right note. The dance works so well in part because Kern and Mercer came up with a classic:
I'm old fashioned,
I love the moonlight,
I love the old fashioned things.
The sound of rain
Upon a window pane,
The starry song that April sings.
This year's fancies
Are passing fancies
But sighing sighs, holding hands,
These my heart understands.
I'm old fashioned
But I don't mind it.
That's how I want to be,
As long as you agree,
To stay old fashioned with me.
--The Shorty George. This fast tap routine starts out with Maria visiting Robert at a rehearsal. He sings The Shorty George and she takes a couple of lines. He looks surprised that she knows the song. He starts to dance and invites her to join him. Hayworth stays right with Astaire and looks like she's having the time of her life.
--You Were Never Lovelier. Robert declares his feelings for Maria, but more misunderstandings occur. Finally, everything is resolved. Robert shakes off some knight's armor he was wearing (there is sort of a reason) and appears below Maria's bedroom window in black tie. She rushes down...and off they go dancing while all the members of the Acuna family look on approvingly. And the Johnny Mercer lyrics and Jerome Kern music brings us to the happy end:
You were never lovelier, you were never so fair;
Dreams were never lovelier,
Pardon me if I stare.
Down the sky the moonbeams fly to light your face;
I can only say they chose the proper place.
You were never lovelier, and to coin a new phrase,
I was never luckier
In my palmiest days.
Make a note, and you can quote me, honor bright,
You were never lovelier than you are tonight.
Movie Review: Who Is That Dancing With Fred Astaire?
Summary: 4 Stars
The first paragraph below is taken from other reviews about Rita Hayworth although the male stars are different here, except they all have a similar feature; they all are smitten very smitten by Ms. Hayworth's charms. Join the line, boys:
"Okay, let me bring you up to speed on the obscure meaning of the headline. See, a while back I was smitten by a film star, an old time black and white film star from the 1940s, Rita Hayworth. The film that sent me into a tailspin: the black and white <em>noir</em> classic Gilda where she played a "good" femme fatale who gets in a jam with a no good monomaniacal crook. But that part is not important femme fatales, good or bad, get mixed up with wrong gees all the time. It's an occupational hazard. What is important though is that I got all swoony over lovely, alluring Rita. And as happens when I get my periodic "bugs" I had to go out and see what else she performed in. Of course Lady From Shang-hai came next. There she plays a "bad" blondish femme fatale (against a smitten Orson Welles)."
And now this film under review, You Were Never Lovelier. We are caught up.
Now the plot line here, the never-ending boy meets girl plot line that Hollywood mass-produced (and mass-produces) is pretty simple, except that it takes place in Buenos Aires (although the twelve dollars spent on fake stage place-settings made me think of little white houses with picket fences in Indiana, or some place like that). When all is said and done, despite the machinations of Maria's (Rita Hayworth) father (Adophe Menjou) Broadway show dance man Fred Astaire is smitten, very smitten (join the line, the now long line, Fred) by her "Spanish" charms and her sweet coquettishness. And from there the hi-jinks really begin as all parties, wives, aunts, sisters, Christ, even grandma, and a much put upon father's business assistant try to get this pair matched up. And as these Hollywood boy meet girl things often turn out, we will hear wedding bells before the end.
But forget the story line really. This thing, like almost all Fred Astaire vehicles, and righteously so, is strictly about Fred's dancing, dancing alone, dancing with a partner, dancing up a wall (oops that was another film) but dancing with so much style it is impossible to keep your eyes off him (saying how did he do that all the while). For style, grace, and physical moves every one of those guys you see on shows like Dancing With The Stars, well, just tell them to move on over, and watch a real pro. Hey, wait a minute, what about Rita? Ya, what about her. Here she is just along for the ride, although less so than in the previously reviewed You'll Never Get Rich. She is more in synch here with Fred's moves but it is still Fred's dancing which draws the eye. As I noted before though, she, however, has other charms, okay.
Note: The music of Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer need no further comment, nor does the work of band leader Xavier Cugat. These are all pros from the old Tin Pan Alley music days of the American songbook. Enough said