The Barkleys of Broadway

For their reunion and final screen pairing, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were teamed again by MGM in The Barkleys of Broadway. They play a pair of musical comedy performers who do have their occasional spats off the stage.

One thing Arthur Freed at MGM did for the pair was give them a better and more mature story to work with than they ever did at RKO back in the Thirties. That was part of the charm though, you didn't really care about the silliness of the plots with music written by folks like, Kern, Gershwin, Porter, and Berlin.

As in real life Fred was the creative one of the pair and he's criticizing Ginger a bit too much at times. So much so that she's very receptive to French director Jacques Francois's overtures to star in a straight dramatic play about young Sarah Bernhardt. This presents quite the dilemma for Fred in his professional and personal life.

Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin wrote the score for The Barkleys of Broadway. I like very much the song You'd Be Hard To Replace it so fits Fred and Ginger for singing and dancing.

Creative continuity was established with the RKO films as They Can't Take That Away From Me which was introduced in Shall We Dance and written by Ira and George Gershwin sung and danced elegantly here. It's one of my favorite ballads ever.

Oscar Levant is his usual laconic and witty self here who inflicts the Saber Dance on party guests and later does Tschaikovsky's Concerto in B Flat in the grand and classical style. Levant's reputation as a wit overshadows his very real skill as a pianist, but not in this film. Also his close association with the Gershwin brothers gives some more official continuity with this film.

I suppose Fred and Ginger could have done more films together, but I suppose that in The Barkleys of Broadway they left their fans on a high note. They'll never dancing partners like them ever again.

I see written everywhere (thus replicating the words of Leonard Maltin in his 'Movie and Video Guide') that Ginger Rogers declaiming 'La Marseillaise' at the end of 'The Barkleys of Broadway' is the LOW POINT of the movie. Let me say that, as a French viewer, I totally disagree. What Miss Rogers does here is remarkable on the contrary: she actually brilliantly mimics her model, drama diva Sarah Bernhardt whose style of acting was pompous and bombastic. Such a style sure looks very outdated today but was very much admired and in demand at the time. Now, just imagine Sarah had underplayed her scene the way Ginger does so well in other circumstances, she would never have been accepted by the stiff and starchy jury of the Comédie Française! Even more impressive is the American actress's accent: she indeed delivers her tirade in more than passable French. Well, Americans may think this sequence ridiculous, but not French people. In any case, gallically speaking, it by no means constitutes a LOW but a HIGH POINT of this altogether excellent musical comedy.

Except this vehicle is nothing like their other films at RKO. This is a MGM musical in the big MGM tradition. The whole thing was an accident. Judy Garland was supposed to have Ginger Rogers' role, but her chronic illness made a replacement necessary. Rogers and Astaire have the same old chemistry even if it is a different studio. They play feuding song and dance team Josh and Dinah Barkeley who break up personally and professionally over Dinah's desire to do dramatic acting and Josh's jealousy over who the author of the play is - a flirty Frenchman, Jacques.

At first Josh says he wants Dinah to fall on her face. But when he sees her actually stumble in rehearsals when he sneaks in to catch a peek, he blames it all on Jacques, who he says does not know how to direct her. So Josh comes up with a ruse in which he calls Dinah after rehearsals and pretends to be Jacques, complete with fake French accent, giving her cues on how to improve her performance based on what he has seen. Unfortunately it works too well. Dinah thinks even more of Jacques since he is helping her out with great tips, and Jacques is bowled over by Dinah's inexplicable improvement. How will this work out? Watch and find out.

Of course MGM spared no expense in the late 40s with the Arthur Freed unit, which made this film. There is beautiful Technicolor, comedy and masterful piano work from Oscar Levant, a great piece of special effects work by MGM and dancing by Astaire in the number "Shoes with Wings On" in which Astaire seems to be dancing side by side with pairs of tap shoes, and a ballroom number in which Fred and Ginger dance to "They Can't Take That Away From Me". Fred sang it to Ginger but the two did not dance to it in 1937's "Shall We Dance". Finally, Ginger's recitation of "La Marseillaise" when she plays "Young Sarah Bernhardt" in Jacques' play is a (probably) unintentional camp classic. Fortunately the French are forgiving people.

It was an unexpected reunion, but for fans of the big MGM musicals of the period and of Fred and Ginger in particular, I would highly recommend it.

Nice to see that when Ginger Rogers put her dancing shoes on again for a reunion with Astaire, she was still a great trouper even though years had flown by in films without Fred. Lucky she was available! Seems that Judy Garland was unable to go on and had to be replaced by Ginger who was relaxing at her farm in Oregon. The script by Betty and Adolph Green had to be revamped to suit Fred and Ginger--and the result is pure gold! Rumors had it that Judy wasn't too happy about being replaced and gave Ginger a hard time by showing up on the set. None of the strain shows in Ginger's performance.

By no means is the storyline a new one--but the manner in which Fred, Ginger, Oscar Levant, Billie Burke and others play it is what makes the film so watchable. And the singing and dancing numbers can't be faulted. Fred has his solo routine with "Shoes With Wings On" (a number, by the way, which would have been impossible to perform on a real stage as he does here)-- but things like that never bothered filmgoers in the '40s. Ginger and Fred have a fine time with their 'My One and Only Highland Fling' routine (in kilts with brogues) and join forces for an elegant version of 'They Can't Take That Away From Me' in formal attire which -- for me at least -- was the highlight of their team effort. Acid-tongued Oscar Levant has plenty of chance to dazzle too with his nimble piano work on 'Sabre Dance' and even joins the two for "A Walk in the Country" which gets the story off to a jaunty start.

Though Judy's fans missed the opportunity to see her again with Astaire after "Easter Parade", nobody was disappointed with the results. For their fans, this was their only chance to see Fred and Ginger together in a Technicolor musical with no expense spared. The results were Grade A entertainment.

Ginger's Sarah Bernhardt recitation has become a camp classic--good for laughs! The less said about it, the better. Nevertheless, it's easy to see why Astaire welcomed her back with open arms.

The Barkleys of Broadway is directed by Charles Walters and written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant, Billie Burke, Gale Robbins and Jacques François. Music is by Lennie Hayton and cinematography by Harry Stradling Sr.

Fred and Ginger play the Barkleys, a successful husband and wife musical comedy team that seems to thrive on feuding. However, one day it goes too far and a break up appears certain when the wife entertains an offer from Jacques François to become a serious actress.

Firsts and lasts here as it was the first film Astaire and Rogers did for MGM, their first in colour, and their last they would make together after reconvening after 10 years - Rogers stepping in when Judy Garland fell to her troubled wayside. The screenplay is pretty thin, serving only as a thin piece of meat to the dance and musical numbers sandwich, but with stand-outs like the wonderful "Shoes with Wings On" and the joyous uplift of 'They Can't Take That Away from Me' to spend time with, it's a film to brighten the darkest of days. 7/10