This film (one of the better ones Astaire and Rogers did) probably doesn't get quite the praise it merits because Top Hat and The Gay Divorcee are so widely praised (rightly so). But this movie is equally well executed and any movie that has in it's score the songs, "Shall We Dance", "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and especially "They Can't Take That Away" deserves to be warmly remembered. There's a score by Gershwin, dancing by Astaire, Rogers and others and Edard Everett Horton and Eric Blore in support (they appeared in so many of the Astaire-Rogers films that their casting must have been legally required!). Well worth your time. Recommended.

As is stated above, this is a very good film. And, if it wasn't for a string of other prior Astaire-Rogers films that are better, I might have scored this a little higher. While a good film, the old familiar formula perfected in their prior films is just getting a bit old--you know that Astaire will initially annoy Rogers, they will later start to fall in love, a misunderstanding will occur to drive them apart, only to be reunited in the end. You can only see this so many times until it loses something. For my time, I'd much rather see THE GAY Divorcée (1934),TOP HAT (1935) or SWING TIME (1936). While as I already stated that part of the attraction of the earlier films was greater originality, I also think the Gershwin songs aren't quite up to the quality of the Irving Berlin and Cole Porter songs in the other films. Gershwin was an amazing genius--it's just that here he wasn't at his very best. Also, the plot seems to drag a bit near the end--ending it a bit sooner would have maintained the momentum. However, given that it's Astaire and Rogers and they are supported by Eric Blore and Edward Everett Horton, you STILL can't go wrong seeing this movie. And, when it comes to classy and entertaining musicals, it doesn't get better than an Astaire and Rogers film!

By the way--get a load of that amazingly clean engine room on the ship! I bet ships coming off the assembly line aren't that clean!! Also, isn't that dance number with the women all using Ginger masks a bit creepy!

The story is rather thin and silly and Ketti Gallian's performance came across as vapid; the rest however is sheer pleasure. The film is beautifully shot with extravagant, if not quite as sophisticated as Top Hat and particularly Swing Time, production values, particularly apparent in Let's Call the Whole Thing Off. George and Ira Gershwin's score and songs don't disappoint either, really quite wonderful actually. Standing out were the catchy Let's Call the Whole Thing Off and the touchingly melancholic They Can't Take That Away From Me. The choreography dazzles and shows great energy and poise, just seeing Fred and Ginger in roller skates for Let's Call the Whole Thing Off makes one envious of how they were able to do that and make it seem so easy. The dialogue has a real warmth and wit, the dialogue during the jail scene is just hilarious and that scene came across as the best from a comedic point of view, and the gags and such are good-natured and enjoyably daft. Shall We Dance is not without heart either, it is very difficult not to be moved by You Can't Take That Away From Me. Fred Astaire is immensely charming and likable and dances a dream as always, it more than makes up for that he's not all that convincing as a Russian. Ginger Rogers looks gorgeous and interacts and dances with Astaire wonderfully, you are not quite as emotionally invested in Linda Keene as you are with some of her other characters but Rogers still gives everything she's got. In supporting roles, Eric Blore was a joy and provided some of the film's funniest moments(the aforementioned jail scene),though Edward Everett Horton and Jerome Cowan are very enjoyable as well. To conclude, a great piece of escapism. 9/10 Bethany Cox