You Were Never Lovelier

Jerome Kern lovely music is what gives this film LIFE! And the fact that Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire are fantastic in this film.

Fred Astaire was one of the best dancers in motion picture history. But, not a lot of people know that, Rita Hayworth was a very talented dancer too. And believe me, she puts her skills to work in this film.

Now...I'm not going to lie, it's not the best storyline and the acting isn't the best. Although (Adolphe Menjou) really keeps the film going with his short temper and wit.

Robert Davis (Fred Astaire) is a well known dancer who tries to get a contract at Eduardo Acuna (Adolphe Menjou) night club, but he's not having any luck at all.

Through some very insane events Robert and Maria Acuna (Rita Hayworth) begin to have feeling for one another. But her father Eduardo Acuna doesn't want his daughter messing around with a dancer.

But with a number of wonderful tunes and some great moves 'Love' wins-out in the end.

It's a fun little film that all of you will enjoy...You Were Never Lovelier.

Fred Astaire's films are all pretty much the same: quaint romantic hijinks driving a ridiculous but entertaining screwball plot. By the 1940s, he and Ginger Rogers had parted ways (at least until 'The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)'), and the studios were left to find him a suitable new partner. RKO's first experiment, opposite Joan Fontaine in 'A Damsel in Distress (1937),' had been far less than successful, as much as I love Joan Fontaine. Astaire's best prospects came from a lovely young lady named Rita Hayworth, with whom he starred in 'You'll Never Get Rich (1941)' and 'You Were Never Lovelier (1942).' Ah, Rita Hayworth! (Forgive me while I regain my train of thought). This comedy musical, directed by William A. Seiter, features the same unlikely romantic mix-ups you'd expect to find in a Fred and Ginger movie of the 1930s. In fact, the director had previously made 'Roberta (1935),' and he improves upon that film.

Eduardo Acuña (Adolphe Menjou) is a man very much used to getting his own way. Determined that his second daughter Maria (Hayworth) should fall in love, he begins writing her anonymous love letters, only for her to mistake American dancer Bob Davis (Astaire) for her nameless romantic suitor. Bob reluctantly agrees to carry on the deception, but soon falls for Maria himself. It doesn't take a genius to guess where this is going, but, like Astaire's previous films, it is well worth watching for the marvellous chemistry of the two leads. Put simply, Hayworth is endlessly, stunningly, ravishingly gorgeous. Though Ginger Rogers' exquisite comedic timing is noticeably absent (leaving Fred to take up the comedic slack), every scene with Hayworth is spent in breathtaking company. And she's not just a pretty face: the young actress is a very talented dancer, keeping up with Astaire step-for-step.

It would have been nice had this not been World War II and we could actually have done this film in Buenos Aires. As it is, except for a few newsreel shots at the beginning of the film, this might as well have taken place in San Diego.

Having said that this tinsel of a story is put over by the charm and beauty of its two leads, Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth. Not to mention a good supporting cast led by Adolphe Menjou who is busy poaching on the preserve of Hollywood cranky fathers usually inhabited by folks like Eugene Palette and George Barbier.

Menjou's got some strange ideas. He wants to see his daughters get married, but in descending order. Rita is number two daughter and she's holding things up for three and four. Of course numbers three and four have fiancés panting at the bit.

Through the usual comedy of errors that are prevalent in Fred Astaire movies, Menjou's conceived a dislike for Fred and Rita's seeing something in him. How will it all work out?

Astaire movies always have flimsy or silly plot lines, but they have him and an attractive female partner dancing to some of the best music ever written for the screen. And when it's Jerome Kern's music, it don't get much better than that.

And the dancing partners don't get more talented than Rita Hayworth. She is positively radiant in this film. And she and Fred dance divinely to one of my favorite Jerome Kern ballads, I'm Old Fashioned.

Reason enough to see this film.

Set in Hollywood's fanciful concept of Buenos Aires during the early 1940's, "You Were Never Lovelier" is pure escapist fluff that has been filmed with class. Of course, Fred Astaire adds class to any film in which he appears, and the ravishing Rita Hayworth is eye candy with talent. Astaire always refused to say who was his favorite dancing partner, but, based on the rapport and coordination between the two, Hayworth must have been high on his list. She is a beautiful trained dancer, and the sight of Rita tossing her long red mane while gracefully keeping step with Astaire makes one wish that Astaire-Hayworth musicals had been as numerous as those with Astaire-Rogers.

The film's flimsy plot revolves around a wealthy Argentine patriarch's refusal to let his daughters marry out of age order, and Hayworth's disinterest in marriage is delaying the weddings of her two younger sisters. Adolphe Menjou, who plays the father of four daughters, dreams up a mystery suitor, and eventually Rita confuses Astaire with this imaginary beau. But, never mind the lack of Latin flavor or the transparent silliness of the script. The plot has no surprises, but enough Jerome Kern songs and elegant dance routines, either solo by Astaire or Astaire and Hayworth together, punctuate the proceedings to keep viewers entertained.

Of course, audiences have to suspend disbelief and accept that a love goddess like Rita would fall for a skinny, somewhat older, and ordinary looking Fred, when dozens of tall, dark, and handsome Latin men were panting for her attention. But, like the sound-stage Argentine sets, this is fantasy, and Fred always wins the gorgeous girl, be she Ginger Rogers, Audrey Hepburn, or Judy Garland. Of his dancing partners, only Gene Kelly got away. Women must be won over by Fred's moves, and what great moves they are. "You Were Never Lovelier" boasts some excellent dance routines, and Astaire's work with Hayworth ranks with his best. If the nonsensical plot fails to engage you, hold on, because the dancing will carry you away.

Pop quiz: Who was Fred Astaire's favorite female dancing partner? If your answer is the obvious one, Ginger Rogers, guess again. Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Judy Garland, Joan Leslie, Eleanor Powell? Still wrong. Surprisingly, Astaire long maintained that his favorite was none other than Rita Hayworth. Rita, he once said, could be taught a complicated piece of choreography in the morning and have it down pat after lunch! The two made a pair of films together, "You'll Never Get Rich" in 1941 and "You Were Never Lovelier" in '42. A look at Hayworth's work in the latter film will demonstrate what a remarkable learner she apparently was. She and Fred share several musical numbers here, including the moonlit garden waltz to "I'm Old Fashioned" and the remarkably high-spirited and dynamic "Shorty George," and the two do make a marvelous pair. As for the rest of the film, it is a typical Astaire comedy, replete with mistaken identities, concerning Rita's father, Adolphe Menjou, convincing Fred to impersonate the fictitious lover that he has devised for her. The viewer must wait almost 40 full minutes to see Fred dance in this one, but that wait is well repaid when Astaire explodes in a brash and frenetic audition number for ol' Adolphe. The film's script is bright and amusing, Xavier Cugat's orchestra adds colorful support, and Rita is at least as beautiful, if not more so, than in 1946's overrated "Gilda." Bottom line: This is no Fred & Ginger picture, but it sure does have its compensations...Rita Hayworth surely being one of them.