In Shall We Dance, a ballet dancer and a showgirl fake their marriage for publicity purposes before falling in love for real in this delightful musical comedy starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their seventh film together. Numerous mistaken-identity gags ensue.
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Flying down to Rio is an RKO musical, built around a romantic triangle. The main characters are played by Dolores del Rio, Gene Raymond and Raul Roulien. But it’s remembered for the third- and fourth-billed couple. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are paired for the first time, and steal the show. When the film ends, the last image we see isn’t the leads. It’s Fred and Ginger.
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Fred Astaire sang and danced his last musical lead in Finian’s Rainbow, director Francis Ford Coppola’s movie of the 1947 Broadway hit. Astaire plays an Irish rogue who plants a stolen crock of leprechaun gold in the soil near Fort Knox to reap what he thinks will be a rich harvest. In tow are his spirited daughter (Petula Clark), a lovestruck leprechaun (Tommy Steele) and a bigoted Southern senator (Keenan Wynn) transformed by misbegotten magic.
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The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is a wonderful Hollywood biography. It tells the story of the husband-and-wife ballroom dancing team Vernon and Irene Castle.
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Let’s say it with firecrackers
And banners held high
Let’s have a real old-fashioned noisy Fourth of July
In your Easter bonnet
With all the frills upon it
You’ll be the grandest lady
In the Easter parade
I could say that you’re homely
Just as homely as pie
But this is Washington’s birthday
And I’ve got to say you’re beautiful
‘Cause I can’t tell a lie
I could dance nightly
Just holding you tightly, my sweet
I could keep right on
Because you’re so light on your feet
You’re easy to dance with
Here she comes, down the street
My, oh my, ain’t she sweet?
Why, here comes my hot toddy
Over my dead body