donniefriedman

The story-telling was okay and did keep my attention most of the way through. But the psychological overlay was pretentious and, to my mind, just tacked on the give the series some gravitas. It didn't work. And I believe there was a significant flaw in that the viewer is supposed to learn the truth along with the protagonist, Aggie, but then in one of the later episodes, all is revealed directly to the viewer through an extended flashback. Is this not a violation of basic point of view?

Rodgers and Hart are my favorite song-writing team, and I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. It isn't a biopic in any sense. But it offers an authentic assessment of the genius of Larry Hart as a lyricist...unsentimental and yet deeply felt. No one did it better. It was lovely hearing the wonderful tunes on the soundtrack, great selections from the American songbook, mostly but not all by R and H. But Larry Hart was a lyricist, and I would have expected to hear some rendition of some of his lyrics. I had expected that, and I felt that was a missing piece.

This movie was made in 1934, a year before the Hayes Code was enacted, that required Hollywood movies to adhere to a moral standard regarding relations between men and women and other such matters. So the double entrendres and sexy banter of this movie is a nice taste of what went before the Code came into effect. I wonder even if this storyline would have been possible after the Code. Fred and Ginger in this early pairing are delightful. Falling in love through dance is a pattern that would be repeated in future cinematic collaborations. It reminds me of the saying: When you're so in love that you can't speak, you sing. And when you can't sing, you dance. That about sums it up.