Year: 1935
Director: Mark Sandrich
Country: US
Language: English
Cheek to Cheek has to be my favourite musical number in all of cinema. It's not flashy like Moulin Rouge and doesn't strive to be emotionally powerful like Casablanca's La Marseillaise scene, but it does contain two of the greatest dancers in Cinematic history; Fred Estaire and Ginger Rogers. Together they make the perfect on-screen couple and that song really emphasizes their chemistry. I felt the music was so good that I included it in my wedding.
In Top Hat an American dancer (Fred Estaire) comes to Britain and falls for a model (Ginger Rogers) whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.
In addition to "Cheek to Cheek", Top Hat has quite a few musical numbers, perhaps the second best being Isn't This a Lovely Day. Made during the Depression in 1935, I can certainly see why such a lovely and carefree film was needed. Estaire, who believed that movie dance numbers should be shot in unbroken takes that ran as long as possible, proves he has enormous stamina as he smiles when other dancers would likely be gasping for breath.
Ginger Rogers is perhaps more so remarkable, as the common joke at the time about the duo was "Ginger Rogers did everything Fred did, and she did it backwards and in high heels." The plot itself is a repeat of the same successful formula, and even though by now we've seen it many times it doesn't feel stale. Perhaps this is because plot takes second fiddle to breathtaking choreography, inspiring cinematography and brilliant music by Irving Berlin.
Top Hat is a great picture that deserves repeat viewings along with Estair and Rogers' many other movies. This was their third film for RKO pictures and, if it wasn't obvious, was critically and commercially successful at the time of theatrical distribution.
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