Roberta (1935)

Roberta
Directed by William A. Seiter
1935/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
Repeat viewing

[box] I won’t dance, why should I?/ I won’t dance, how could I? I won’t dance/ Merci beaucoup, I know that music leads the way to romance/ So if I hold you in my arms I won’t dance —  “I Won’t Dance”, lyrics by by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh[/box]

Astaire and Rogers are fine in supporting roles in this screen adaptation of a Broadway musical penned by Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Otto Harbach.

Roberta is the chicest of Parisian fashion houses.   John (Randolph Scott), a sports hero who knows nothing about fashion inherits it from his Aunt Minnie who founded the business.  He becomes partners with his aunt’s assistant and house designer Stephanie (Irene Dunne), a deposed Russian princess.  The “Countess Scharwenka” (Ginger Rogers) is an important client and leading nightclub entertainer.  It turns out that she is actually Liz, a boyhood neighbor of bandleader Huck (Fred Astaire).  Liz gets Huck work in her act and John and Stephanie fall in love, not without many misadventures along the way.

As usual, Fred and Ginger put a smile on my face.  Ginger is particularly good here as the fake countess, complete with Polish accent.  Irene Dunne is in top form both as an actress and a singer.  Even Randolph Scott cracks a smile and loosens up a bit.  Some beautiful standards came out of this: “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” ; “I’ll Be Hard to Handle”; “Lovely to Look At”; and “I Won’t Dance.”  All the lovely 30’s dresses are an additional bonus.

“I Won’t Dance” – And he can play the piano like that!