User reviews

With a fluff plot that's sillier than usual, Shall We Dance marks the one and only time the brothers Gershwin wrote a score for an Astaire/ Rogers musical. Fred was certainly no stranger to George and Ira, they had written Funny Face on Broadway for him and also had done Damsel in Distress which he co-starred with Joan Fontaine the year before.

This also is the last complete score the Gershwins did for the screen. While writing the score for the Goldwyn Follies, George would suddenly die of a brain tumor. It's a beautiful selection of songs, topped off by They Can't Take That Away From Me, a song forever after identified with Fred Astaire. It's also one of my favorite Gershwin songs, in fact one of my favorites period.

Fred's a hoofer at heart, but he's pretending to be a Russian ballet star named Petrov, appropriate for a guy named Peter Peters in real life. The girl he's infatuated with, musical comedy star Ginger Rogers is sailing to America on the same ship.

Through an incredible combination of circumstances rumor gets around that the two of them are in fact married. All the doing of her producer Jerome Cowan and Fred's manager Edward Everett Horton. They actually have to get married to keep the ruse going. Of course I needn't say what happens after that.

Two other Gershwin standards, They All Laughed and Nice Work If You Can Get It are sung and danced by the pair, the latter on roller skates. I also liked Fred's solo number with the engine room men on the ocean liner, Slap That Bass. The brothers Gershwin obviously saw the success Astaire had with Bojangles of Harlem in Swing Time and decided to imitate shall we say.

Look for a nice performance also by Eric Blore who plays the frustrated hotel manager who is getting positively flustered about how to handle the married/unmarried pair of Astaire and Rogers in his hotel.

There is a touch of sadness to this musical realizing that an incredible talent in George Gershwin would be stilled very shortly. I do love that man's music so.

You'll keep the memory of this film long after seeing it even once.

The big takeaway on Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is how well they danced together. My big takeaway from "Shall We Dance" is how well they acted.

It's one thing to give a good performance in a musical like "Carousel" or "Singing In The Rain", and quite another to deliver amid the creaky jokes, plummy patter, and contrived plot twists that make up "Shall We Dance". But they do, and thanks to them, the show turns out not only okay but rather fine.

Astaire is a faux-Russian ballet dancer, Petrov, who dreams of pairing up with celebrated tap dancer Linda Keene (Rogers) both on-stage and off. Linda just wants to retire, but Petrov's earnestness begins to win her over - until she is led to believe he is using her. She leaves him just as word spreads that the two are married (and really spreads, in the form of front-page news stories and radio flashes), forcing them to face a surreal prospect.

"We're the only people in the world who don't think we're married!" Linda exclaims.

People watching "Shall We Dance" for the first time need patience. Astaire and Rogers don't dance for an hour, their one musical moment all that time involving walking a dog around a ship in time to a musical theme (provided by one George Gershwin, who did the score with his lyricist brother Ira). Matters are too often dominated by Edward Everett Horton's over-the-top eye rolls and leaden asides as Petrov's snooty, disapproving manager. Later on William Brisbane arrives as Linda's rich-guy suitor, adding more overbaked ham to the menu.

But Astaire keeps his end up, dancing to a skipping record or later overplaying a mock Russian accent in his first face-to-face with Linda. "You don't want to dance with the great Petrov," he declares, playing up a Slavic superiority trip. "Don't be a silly horse." The way he elongates that last "o" is positively indecent.

Some reviewers here say Rogers seems bored in this film. She's playing a withdrawn character, though, and does give off passion when called upon. A big musical moment between her and Astaire, when he declares "They Can't Take That Away From Me", is a remarkable duet despite the fact she doesn't sing a note, just looks off with tear-filled eyes. Yet she gets the song's one close-up, and rightly so. When they have their first performance in front of an audience and he dances up a storm by way of an introduction, the look on her face is priceless. "What am I supposed to do?" she deadpans.

Give director Mark Sandrich credit for keeping things light. Too light at times, like when Linda's manager somehow gets a photo of the couple in bed together by using a manikin of her he just happens to have in his closet (better I guess we don't know why he does). Sandrich does make the good scenes better with doses of gentle humor, like the capper to a roller-skating dance that is the movie's best moment. There are some nice dissolves from scene to scene, like a flip-book view of Linda dancing that melts into the real thing.

Watching this the first time, the minutes stretched like rubber. The second time things flew much faster, because I knew what I wanted to see and could look forward to its arrival. I guess audiences of the 1930s had that expectation built in, one reason perhaps why these movies were so popular and no one cared when they were a bit inane.

In recent years, the title of this film has become overshadowed by two modern movies of the same name: a superb Japanese movie and its American remake, respectively entitled Shall We Dansu? and Shall We Dance. Yet this 1937 classic is worth revisiting not only for its famous Gershwin numbers, but as the last of a series of classic-format films between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Deeply flawed, yet the tremendous effort poured into its production is evident. And, when viewed as part of a series, touchingly beautiful.

Utilising talent from their earlier films, Shall We Dance pushes the established formula of light romantic farce coupled with stunning dance routines. But here are many innovations and subtle references to delight fans. At the end of their previous film together (Swing Time), Fred serenaded Ginger with the song Never Gonna Dance, so Shall We Dance? suggests a delightful comeback through association. Their respective characters have grown through successive films, as has their on screen relationship. Now, for the first time, both play fully fledged divas in their own right. Fred is Petrov, a Russian ballet star, and Ginger is Linda, a celebrated jazz dancer. Many of the gags involve rumours about the characters being secretly married or having children. By way of a complex plot, half conducted on a transatlantic liner, the couple do actually get married for the first time in their films together. Copy picture

The star personas of both Astaire and Rogers have been carefully managed by the studios since their debut together in Flying Down to Rio (1933). Fred woos her with increasing conviction or intensity in each successive movie. To suspend disbelief effectively, the audience has to be thoroughly confused for a while about the nature of their relationship (in real life, both Astaire and Rogers are married to other people at this time). The on screen characters are not married at the start of the story – Fred is pursuing Ginger, as usual. But an offhand comment by Petrov to an over-persistent admirer (to the effect that he and Linda are secretly married) is blown up by the newspapers in the story. The only way they can dispel rumours is to get a divorce – which means they first have to get married.

In terms of dance routines, most things had been done already, so Shall We Dance has to come up with something new. One idea is a duet on roller skates. Depending on which account we read, it took filming up to fifty takes to complete (unusually, as Fred would mostly insist on a single one). It's filmed in Central Park, and the idea is to make it look like something people would naturally be doing. It's also the longest dance Fred and Ginger have together in the film, and is made even more enjoyable by their singing Let's Call the Whole Thing Off.

Another innovation is the way the story line is tied up. (Note – a light spoiler follows, but I think it's worth knowing what is coming in this case, so as not to miss the full effect). Petrov, now distraught that Linda won't dance with him, has a choreographed scene where he serenades with numerous showgirls who wear Linda masks. This in itself recalls earlier scenes involving a dummy positioned next to a sleeping Petrov, to 'prove' in the tabloids that they are married; and also in a flick-book he has that creates moving images of Linda. Unbeknown to Petrov, Linda yearns for them to be together. She insists on being taken backstage. Petrov's dance involves unmasking the lookalikes only to find that none are the real Linda. When he touches the real Linda's chin, he finds it is not a mask but really her. She extends her hand and, whoever the 'real' Petrov and Linda have been (they both have several identities even within the film), the audience is satisfied that the real living couple finally have a dance of love. Almost all the emotion of the film has been saved for this moment.

Shall We Dance not only reprises two established stars; it examines the real life pressures and glare of publicity facing them. They were both under pressure: during filming, Ginger Rogers received a real-life extortion notice and a death threat to her mother. The movie's final dance scene maybe hints at something that is beyond words, beyond the glare of the limelight, and something eternally personal – as the song implies: "They Can't Take That Away from Me."

The film's weaknesses include living up to expectations when a formula has peaked. In earlier pairings, Fred's character woos Ginger through dance rather than words. Here, they enjoy some comedy together but there are maybe one too many dance solos. The plot and characterisation has weaknesses too – Astaire is a very accomplished dancer performing balletic moves, but he was the first to admit he is no ballet star. Dance fans may feel unconvinced (similarly, the songs have been covered by much more competent singers). One of the main dance routines sees Harriet Hoctor, not Ginger, imported to dance with Fred – largely on account of her ability to tap through remarkable back-bends. Shall We Dance lacks much of the natural dance chemistry between Fred and Ginger displayed in earlier films, but it is an outstanding piece of their film history that should not be missed.

It was a delight to come across the movie on DVD. 'Shall We Dance' was the only Fred and Ginger movie of 1937 and didn't do as well as previous efforts, making less than half a million dollars profit at the time (ref. 'The RKO Story' by Jewell and Harbin). Obviously I'd never be able to pick a money-maker as I found it totally brilliant from beginning to end! A wonderful sound track and beautiful score - the only one George and Ira Gershwin ever wrote for Fred and Ginger, more's the pity.

The skimpy story involving romances, misunderstandings and a luxury liner across the Atlantic has been done numerous times but here it seems to work, thanks to the wonderful Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton and a good supporting cast, with the exception of Ketti Gallian. This lady seems out of place, not unlike the unfortunate Randolph Scott in 'Follow the Fleet'. The musical numbers are a knockout, especially the ship's engine room and roller-skating sequences. Fred plays one of his most endearing parts while Ginger is spellbindingly gorgeous. Viewing a sharp transfer really does show up a lot of things missed when watching less than good prints on television. Ginger's eyes kept me transfixed whenever she appeared :)

A movie to be viewed, and enjoyed, again and again. As good as 'Swing Time' and not far short of my favourite Fred and Ginger movie, 'Flying Down to Rio'.

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.

Perhaps the best number in this is Fred and Ginger's dance 'n tap on roller-skates, but the terrific Gershwin score helps a lot (including 'Let's Call The Whole Thing Off', 'They Can't Take That Away From Me' and several others).

This is one of the pair's best, with the usual strong support from Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore and Jerome Cowan. A silly plot, with Astaire as a Russian ballet dancer (not really Russian, his real name is Peter P Peters!) and Rogers as a musical revue star, who meet and get embroiled in a fake marriage run-around. Horton plays Astaire's fussy manager, Blore plays a pompous hotel manager (the scene in the jail prompting the cop to ask 'what is this, a spelling bee?' is hilarious), and Cowan plays Rogers' manager (a chap distractingly named Arthur Miller).

'Shall We Dance' showcases Ginger Rogers in particular and gives her chance to shine; Fred Astaire remains the usual unattractive pest until he breaks into singing and dancing; and the finale, with a bevy of masked honeys who look like Ginger, has a certain originality. A great team at their very best.

"Shall We Dance" is for this viewer one of the great Astaire-Rogers films, even if some of the comments don't agree. I love it because of the glorious Astaire dancing.

One of my all-time favorite numbers of his is "Slap that Bass" in which Astaire dances to the rhythm of machines. Oh, those pirouettes! Amazing. I rewound and watched it twice more.

Astaire plays a ballet dancer named Petrov. In real life, Astaire was loathe to do ballet because he was self-conscious about his large hands. Who's looking at his hands? Petrov falls hard for singer Linda Keene (Rogers, who else) and arranges to follow her on the same ship to New York.

Everyone has a great time, including the comic relief, Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton, and Jerome Cowan. One of the best scenes occurs as Horton and Cowan smuggle a dummy of Linda (from a number she never did) into Astaire's stateroom to photograph the two together and prove they're married (they're not. And Blore getting arrested and telephoning to get bailed out of the Susquehana jail is wonderful.

But "Shall We Dance," like the previous Astaire-Rogers pairings, isn't about the plot, it's about the music and dance. What music, what dance.

George and Ira Gershwin's score includes "I've Got Beginner's Luck," and "They All Laughed," both sung by Astaire, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" (sung and danced by the pair on roller skates), "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (sung by Astaire), and the music later becomes a ballet sequence with Astaire and Harriet Hoctor. Astaire and Rogers dance to "Shall We Dance" after Astaire sings the number and the two reprise "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off."

You can't beat "Shall We Dance" for pure escapism, breathtaking dance, and great songs.

The plot is a silly one that has Astaire as Petrov, ballet dancer, chasing a musical comedy star, Ginger Rogers, across the ocean with the usual amount of misunderstandings that keep them apart until the finale. But, as with all FRED ASTAIRE and GINGER ROGERS films, it's the music that counts--and the dance numbers.

Fred has an amazing "Slap That Bass" number aboard ship, one of his best solo jobs, but there are only a few other gems in the Gershwin score, like "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "They All Laughed at Christopher Columbus" and "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off." Somehow, they don't get the treatment they deserve but all have become popular standards.

Although the songs are pleasant enough, they're not among Gershwin's best--and the plot is so flimsy it's almost non-existent, something about Astaire and Rogers being mistaken for a married couple.

Fans of the dancing stars will love it and others may find it just slightly less entertaining than some of the other Astaire/Rogers films.

The supporting roles are in the capable hands of ERIC BLORE, EDWARD EVERETT HORTON and JEROME COWAN, but they've all been seen to better advantage in other screwball comedies. Mark Sandrich directed in his usual fast paced style, but I couldn't help noticing that Ginger seemed a little bored with her character.

Ballet star Pete "Petrov" Peters (Fred Astaire) meets dance star Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers) onboard a ship crossing the Atlantic to New York. She's less than impressed but slowly grows to tolerate him. Unbeknownst to them, a publicity and media storm has been launched to pair them together.

It's the seventh pairing of Fred and Ginger. This is good but not great. More could be done on the ship to play with their chemistry. There's a fun little gag with dogs. I wonder if they could have incorporated a dance there but the dogs probably would have gotten into the way. They do finally have a fun dance at around the one hour mark. The hijinx does improve from there. There's "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and the duo gets to show off a bit of their roller-skating. That helps a lot.

A really dull Astaire/Rogers vehicle that doesn't have anywhere near as much pizazz as "Top Hat" or their best film together, "Swing Time."

The plot isn't worth summarizing, because there isn't much of one. There never is in movies like this, which doesn't necessarily have to be a problem. But there's not much of anything else in this film to make up for the lack of story, not humor, not energy, and not even really good musical numbers. It's a good half hour into the movie before Astaire gets to really cut loose in a full-blown production number, one set in the engine room of a ocean liner, and that ends up being the highlight. His dances with Ginger aren't especially memorable, except for one performed on roller skates, and that's only so because Ginger looks somewhat uncertain on them and close to wiping out a couple of times. Character actors Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore, staples of these films, provide their requisite comedy schtick that feels tired this time around.

Sorry to say, but the answer to "Shall We Dance" is "nah...I'll find another partner, thank you very much."

Grade: C-

As a classic movie buff,I can honestly say that this is one of the greatest movies Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire ever made together. The story line is light, however, you must remember that this movie was made in the middle of the Depression, a time when people needed a light story(hence the major reason why Musicals were made in the first place). This movie is in my top 4 favorite Astaire/Rogers musicals, along with Top Hat(1935),Swing Time(1936), and Follow The Fleet(1936).I urge everyone to see those as well. The songs in this movie are wonderful,particularly "They All Laughed" and "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off."

In watching "Shall We Dance" one can imagine George and Ira Gershwin sitting behind the director, Mark Sandrich, watching their old friend Fred Astaire going through his paces with Ginger with a group of inspired numbers and now classics. Although the movies were lucrative to the Gershwins, not having a show play every night on Broadway added to their downtime (not to mention more parties). Actually, "Shall We Dance" is regarded as 'light weight' Astaire/Rogers as compared to "Swing Time", but the songs are as memorable, even though the story line is weaker. This is a fun show with Fred and Ginger at the top of their form. Fred was to make another Gershwin musical that year (Damsel in Distress) but without Rogers, so this is the Gershwin musical to see first.

... because there's not that much Fred and Ginger actually dancing together versus the other Astaire and Rogers films of the 1930s.

As for the plot, Fred Astaire plays Peter Peters, an American ballet dancer billed as "Petrov". Publicity has him billed as such so that he can cultivate the public persona of a demanding and temperamental Russian. He falls for fellow American singer/dancer Linda Keene (Rogers) and finds out she is sailing the next morning on the Queen Anne. He also books passage on the same ship at the same time, hoping to strike up an acquaintance with her on the voyage from Europe to New York. Both Peters and his manager Jeffrey Baird (Edward Everett Horton) tell a woman who is basically stalking Peters -to put it in modern terms - that Peters is secretly married to Linda Keene in order to get her off his case. Instead, this rumor begins to circulate in the press with Linda blaming Peter for telling the press this falsehood, and the resulting misunderstanding threatening any burgeoning relationship. Complications ensue that include a rather frightening looking mannequin in a comedic situation.

It was good to have Eric Blore and Edward Everett Horton back in larger doses in this film. Astaire always made a great comic foil for Horton and Blore and Horton always played off of each other exceedingly well.

Astaire and choreographer Hermes Pan try some new and novel numbers in this one. Included is "slap that bass" with Fred dancing and an African American band singing and playing in the engine room of a ship. Also, there is the dance duo with Astaire and Rogers doing a dance number on roller skates. Astaire liked to do his dance numbers in one take, without editing, but the complexity of this number required multiple takes, and Astaire realized that. The duo skated 80 miles before shooting was complete. Then there is the ballet number that is part of the big finale with ballet soloist Harriet Hoctor whose specialty was performing an elliptical backbend. It hurt just to watch her, and she is probably one of the few people on earth who could kick herself in the head.

If you like the other Astaire/Rogers collaborations you'll like this one. Sure, it's the same basic romantic formula, but the song and dance numbers always delight.

While in Paris, the famous dancer Pete "Petrov" Peters (Fred Astaire) meets the also famous tap dancer Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers) and he makes fun with her pretending that he is a Russian ballet master. He immediately falls in love with her and when he learns that she will travel to New York in an ocean liner, her arranges with his producer Jeffrey Baird (Edward Everett Horton) to travel in the same ship as Linda.

In the departure, the annoying dancer and former affair of Petrov, Lady Denise Tarrington (Ketti Gallian), comes to the harbor and Petrov lies to her, telling that he has secretly married Linda, to get rid off Denise. However, Denise sends a telegram to the ship congratulating the couple and the lie turns into a gossip to the press. Now the lives of Petrov and Linda get very complicated with the situation.

"Shall We Dance" is another naive film of the couple Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, with delightful confusion and musical numbers. The gags are dated but funny and the film is a pleasant entertaining for cinema and dance lovers. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Vamos Dançar?" ("Shall We Dance?")

delightful!

Simply divine viewing has to be my favourite Fred and ginger movie, right up there with swing time. The dance sequences are fabulous and the music is fantastic.

Ginger is at her dazzling best. She lights up the screen. Fred is very likable too. i'm only 18 years old and i am an avid Fred and ginger fan. I think there movies are golden.

they should be shown more to the younger generation. It's time people got to see the golden age of Hollywood.

love it, simply love it

Even by the low standard of Astaire/Rogers movies, the story in Shall We Dance is terrible. It often doesn't make sense and plot points jump out of nowhere. It's like the writers just got drunk and wrote a bunch of stuff and hoped for the best.

The supporting cast also struggles. Even the ever-reliable Edward Everett Horton seems more unlikable than amusing; only Eric Blore manages to drag any laughs out of the material.

Musically the movie is on better footing. Not only are the songs by George Gershwin, but so is the score, which includes a dog-walking theme performed by classical orchestras as "promenade." It contains three of the best songs George & Ira Gershwin ever wrote - Let's Call the Whole Thing Of, They Can't Take That Away from Me, and They All Laughed.

And while it takes an inexcusably long time to get any dance numbers, when they come they're terrific, including a great solo tap number, a roller skating fox trot, and a balletic thing with a very bendable lady named Harriet Hoctor.

The more musical second half of this film is decent, at least relative to the first part, but it's a shame that so much musical talent is undone by such terrible scripting. I suppose the feeling, based on other Astaire movies, was that the bar was pretty low, but the poor box office for this movie proved that there are limits.

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

Ballet master on an ocean liner from Paris to New York City inadvertently starts a rumor that he is a newly-married man; the manager of a hot-tempered American dancer also on-board exploits his client as the would-be betrothed strictly for the publicity. Lackluster Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical-comedy has about enough plot for a short subject. The singing and dancing are wonderful (including a famous sequence on roller skates); however, with so little connection between the two stars, the romantic angle of the picture never quite comes to life. Rogers is in a perpetual foul mood throughout--and when Astaire dances solo, playing right to the camera, it smacks of ostentation. The George and Ira Gershwin songs (including the Oscar-nominated "They Can't Take That Away From Me") are a nice compensation for the lack of sparks. The RKO sets gleam with artificiality, while Edward Everett Horton and funny Eric Blore supply the wacky comedic asides. ** from ****