Blake Peterson
To attain musical perfection is a feat rarely mimicked in the grasp of the take-it-or-leave-it genre. A manicured finger playing the why wasn't the movie successful blame game could easily point at too much spectacle, not enough comedy, or too much comedy, not enough spectacle. But to have neither issue — to run harmoniously, to exist in a cloud of escapist contemplation — that is an exploit worthy of endless praise.This is why the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers remain to tread on such sacred ground. They're miles away from the Technicolor escapades of Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Betty Grable; they start champagne drenched fires in a luminous black-and-white where reality fades and cinematic exhilaration placates the area. They're simultaneously artificial and real; here, artificiality is real. While The Great Depression wore on and midwesterners were gagging on dust, film took a detour into the extravagant and invented worlds where ordinary folks were rich, dressed expensively, traveled to the most beautiful parts of the world, lounged in the most luxurious hotels, found love with someone just as wealthy as them. In these worlds, international problems don't exist — more important ones, such as romantic misunderstandings and how will they get out of this one comedic situations, act as quaint replacements.It's all a bit ironic (considering the plight of the 1930s), but the heightened determination to make life seem happy/joyful/hopeful/fun/adorable ended up causing an influx of delicious screwball comedies and a superiorly pristine, dressed-to-impressed batch of musicals. The worst of them are still decent, sitting pretty while tickling our senses. But the best, most noticeably the (cough cough) Rogers and Astaire partnerings, are overwhelming in their dedication to wow. "Top Hat", the fourth pairing of the quick-footed legends, is their most famous, most acclaimed moment. (Though I'm not so sure I agree with its frequent "best of the best" placement — "Swing Time" and "The Gay Divorcée" are pretty damn spectacular.) A delirious blend of slapstick antics, tuneful Irving Berlin melodies (including the instantaneously classic "Cheek to Cheek"), and awe-inspiring choreography, the film pulls off a fluffy plot with its keen sense of wit and dizzying amount of artistic talent.Astaire portrays Jerry Travers, a dancer staying in London to prepare for his starring role in an upcoming musical. While practicing one of his complicated tap routines in his ritzy hotel suite, he awakens the beautiful Dale Tremont (Rogers), who immediately flies upstairs to complain. Dale is irritated, but Jerry is attracted, deciding to spend the rest of his stay attempting to win her heart.Enter Conflict: Dale is under the impression that Jerry is Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton), the producer of the show and the husband of her best friend, Madge (Helen Broderick). Figuring he's a pig, as he's cheating on his wife, Dale does everything she can to dissuade him from chasing after her, attempting to romance a flamboyant fashion designer Alberto Beddini (Erik Rhodes) to rid of him. But even tired mishaps can't stop them from unconsciously coupling.Roger Ebert called out "Top Hat" for its Idiot Plot and still deemed the film one of the "Great Movies". It has a paint-by-numbers storyline, sure, but in a musical, a sound screenplay is the least of one's troubles. We want to be amazed, shocked, satisfied; "Top Hat" delivers more than we could expect. (Though for a Rogers and Astaire movie, it's everything we could hope for.) It's not that it does anything revolutionary — it's that it transitions from plot to song to dance so evenly that the popular notion of a musical (aka "characters suddenly bursting into song!") is completely thrown away. Consider the famous "Cheek to Cheek" sequence. It begins with Astaire and Rogers in romantic conversation, continues into a sweet serenade, and delves into a flashy, unbroken ballroom dance that dares us to blink. Most scenes in "Top Hat" work like this; they range from scrambling to sentimental to hilarious, but never does something feel out of place, unwanted. Many musicals suffer from the ugh, another song? complex — "Top Hat" doesn't. But, once again, it isn't a normal musical. It's a parfait of genial entertainment, impossible to dislike.
l_rawjalaurence
TOP HAT's musical score contains a remarkable number of standards - a testament to Irving Berlin's genius as a songwriter. They include "isn't This a Lovely Day?," "Cheek to Cheek," "No Strings," "The Piccolino," and the title song "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails." Just listening to the score is a joyful experience in itself.Mark Sandrich's film takes the elements that made THE GAY Divorcée of the year before so popular - a Hollywood English setting (to go with an Italian setting), a series of jokes at the expense of the stuffy Brits, and a supporting cast boasting Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore and - and rehashes them into another memorable musical confection. The plot once again revolves around a comic misunderstanding involving Astaire, Everett Horton and Rogers, which leads to some amusing comic routines that normally end up with Everett Horton suffering in one way or another. He ends up with a black eye at one point. Yet the plot is not really significant: what matters are the song-and- dance sequences involving the two stars. They ooze style as they glide across the dance-floor, no more so than in "The Piccolino" sequence towards the end of the film. David Abel's camera sweeps across the set in a series of slow pans, that dissolve into aerial shots of the dancers accompanying the stars, and dissolve back once again into close-ups of Astaire and Rogers. The sequence creates a dream-world in which dancing is the only thing that matters.TOP HAT gives plenty of opportunities for comic relief that prove just how good Blore and Everett Horton actually are. Everett Horton is especially adept at the double-take as he continues a conversation until he realizes just what his interlocutor has actually said. He pauses, stares for a moment and then tries to continue the conversation, albeit haltingly. Blore's eyework is especially memorable: when engaged in one of his frequent arguments with Everett Horton, he has the habit of looking down at the ground and rolling his eyes, as if unable to fathom just what a chump his employer actually is. His most memorable moment comes in a sequence where he talks to an Italian police officer whom he thinks does not know English. He rolls his tongue round a series of gorgeous insults, but his mood abruptly changes when the officer replies to him in perfect English. He sighs, looks up at the sky, then from side to side, and reluctantly allows himself to be taken to prison.TOP HAT is perhaps the most shining example of a pre-1939 musical comedy, combining music, dance and routines in a wonderful soufflé. It is the kind of film that remains fresh and enjoyable even after repeated viewings.
spitfire2356
Still very watchable. Fred Astaire is Fred Astaire even if he comes as too aware of his star status throughout the film. Ginger is an excellent actress but unfortunately her dancing steps are mostly criminally hidden by too long dresses. The dancing does not take over the whole film and has a measure of spontaneity in it, making it more natural. The sets are laughably prewar, rooms without ceilings - the bridal suite for example - but taken in stride. The characters are likable and the script is witty. Unfortunately the soundtrack quality is terrible by today's standards and while good enough to understand the dialog, renders the music to scratchy gramophone days. Nostalgic yes but cramps the style somewhat.
