Roberta

(Spoilers, sort of) Everyone seems to be saying the same thing about this film: great music, burdensome plot. But virtually all 9 RKO Astaire-Rogers films borrowed their plots from one another. They were, after all, the comic relief in 3 different films- including FLYING DOWN TO RIO and FOLLOW THE FLEET. These films- in terms of chronological release- alternated with GAY Divorcée, TOP HAT, and SWING TIME- all which had some combination of Erik Rhodes, Helen Broderick, and Eric Blore as comic support. I could stand the 'two-couple' formula a little more so, because Astaire and Rogers weren't carrying the heavier half of the plot. They usually already know each other and make wicked sideline commentary while waiting to go on the dance floor. This is most evident in their first duet in ROBERTA, "I'll Be Hard To Handle," which appears completely spontaneous, even though it is a rehearsal. Astaire and Rogers wear matching shirts and slacks and enjoy a very funny debate with their tapping feet. We seamlessly go from this sequence to a breathtaking moment with Irene Dunne and title character Helen Westley framed around the song "Yesterdays." (It's a bewitching moment when the light dims in the room as the vocal simultaneously fades away.) And to those of you complaining about the excessive fashion show sequences: well, that's the plot of the movie; didn't you see that coming? All the crazy clothes are worth seeing for the Astaire-Rogers duet of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes." Following a cameo by a platinum-haired Lucille Ball, Rogers emerges as one of the models on parade in a satin gown and joins Astaire for a tender 'walk-around-the-floor' turn. Sublime stuff.

... because when it was made Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire were still supporting players. The real stars of the film are Randolph Scott in modern dress not western garb,and queen and songbird of the RKO lot at the time, Irene Dunne. A somewhat musical rom-com, it has Huck Haines (Fred Astaire) and his big band arriving in France only to learn that their promised gig has fallen through. Huck's best friend John Kent (Randolph Scott) decides to look up his aunt, a dressmaker named Roberta (Helen Westley) to see if she has any advice on work for the band.

John ends up inheriting the dressmaking firm with Roberta's death, and he falls for lead designer Stephanie (Irene Dunne), while Huck meets up with Lizzie Gatz (Ginger Rogers) a neighborhood gal pretending to be European aristocracy.

Give this one a chance. I All four leads are charming and on top of their game. The costumes are elaborate, and the models are stunning, including a young blonde Lucille Ball. The songs are good, too, including the standard "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".

I grew up in the 1940s, and my sister and I went to the movies all the time. I recalled the name Irene Dunne, but I had never seen her in a movie. Well, last night I did in "Roberta" (1935). What a voice, like a nightingale. Her rendition of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" was the most beautiful version that I have ever heard. I found myself wishing she would sing for at least another half hour.

There were also the exquisite, exciting, beautiful gowns and furs. My own mother was a real beauty in the l940s, and seeing the fashions of that time really made me wish I was a woman during that era rather than a child. Then too, I loved the sets, done predominantly in white and ever so glamorous!

As if that wasn't enough of a treat we had the exquisite team of Astaire and Rodgers. Their numbers were breathtaking, two bodies that moved as one, smooth, free-flowing, what grace! I found the storyline boring, but the talent and beauty that filled the screen sure made up for that.

Huckleberry Haines (Fred Astaire) and his band, the Wabash Indianians, arrive at Le Havre, in France, for a season in a Russian nightclub. However, the owner Alexander Petrovitch Moskovich Voyda (Luis Alberni) expects the arrival of an Indian band and he calls off their contract.

Haines and the band head to Paris, and his friend John Kent (Randolph Scott) decides to visit his Aunt Minnie (Helen Westley), who owns the fashion house Roberta, to use her influence to find a work for the band. John meets the manager Stephanie (Irene Dunne) and they immediately feel attracted for each other. Huck Haines meets in the Roberta's salon his old friend Liz with the artistic identity of Comtesse Scharwenka (Ginger Rogers) and she helps him to get a job with Voyda.

When Aunt Minnie passes away, John Kent is the heir of her fortune and also Roberta. However he decides to give the fashion house for Stephanie, but she proposes a partnership between them two. But when John's old passion, the gold digger Sophie Teale (Claire Dodd) seeks out John, the infatuated Stephanie decides to leave the business and travel abroad with the Russian Prince Ladislaw (Victor Varconi).

"Roberta" is an adorable musical with one of the most beautiful songs of the cinema ever. With music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Otto A. Harbach, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is performed by Irene Dunne. The plot is naive, but the musical numbers, the dances and the fashion parade are delightful. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Roberta"

I found this to be a very entertaining musical with some decent mixture of songs, comedy and romance. There are no less than three leading ladies and they all look good. Two of them are big names: Irene Dunne and Ginger Rogers.

There's Fred Astaire in here, too, so I guess we can call this another "Astaire- Rogers film." If so, I think it's one of their best and certainly one of their most underrated. You don't hear much about this movie, and that's unfair.

Rogers and Astaire both have some funny lines in this film and I wish Ginger's role had been bigger. She and Astaire do a couple of tap dance numbers that are excellent - some of their best work together. Dunne's first two songs aren't bad but you have the rest. Her soprano voice almost broke my eardrums, especially with "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes."

Randolph Scott, Helen Westley and Claire Dodd also star in this dated-but-generally fun movie.