Top Hat (1935) | |
| Director(s) | Mark Sandrich |
| Producer(s) | Pandro S. Berman |
| Top Genres | Comedy, Musical, Romance |
| Top Topics | Dance, Mistaken Identity, Romance (Comic), Romance (Musical), Screwball Comedy, Show Business |
Featured Cast:
Top Hat Overview:
Top Hat (1935) was a Comedy - Musical Film directed by Mark Sandrich and produced by Pandro S. Berman.
SYNOPSIS
Astaire, Rogers, Irving Berlin, choreography by Hermes Pan and Astaire: all the elements that define the classic Astaire-Rogers picture and, therefore, the height of the '30s musical. When dancer Astaire hits London for the debut of his new show, his tap practice in his agent's (Horton) hotel room wakes his downstairs neighbor, Rogers. With one look at her face, a smitten Astaire chases her all over London and even to Venice after she believes he's really married to Horton's wife, Broderick. Despite her marriage in a fury to an Italian designer, the lovers are reunited in a gondola at the end. The plot's made meaningless, of course, by the elegance and bravura of the Deco sets, the perfectly integrated musical set pieces, and the justly famous pairing of Astaire and Rogers, including their renowned interpretation of "Cheek to Cheek." All 5 Berlin tunes, including "Cheek to Cheek" and "Top Hat," made it to the top of the charts.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.Top Hat was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1990.
Academy Awards 1935 --- Ceremony Number 8 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Art Direction | Van Nest Polglase, Carroll Clark | Nominated |
| Best Music - Song | Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin | Nominated |
| Best Picture | RKO Radio | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
Musical Monday: Top Hat (1935)
on Aug 26, 2024 From Comet Over HollywoodIt?s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week?s musical:Top Hat (1935) ? Musical #99 S... Read full article
You're Invited! HISTORY OF FASHION IN FILM 1930s + TOP HAT at Egyptian Theatre 3/17
on Mar 4, 2018 From GlamAmorMy HISTORY OF FASHION IN FILM screening series at the Egyptian Theatre continues with the 1930s on March 17! This series is 7 parts - one event per decade from the 1920s to the 1980s - and each will be followed by a screening of a film featured in the talk. Some of the incredible style we celebrate... Read full article
DOUBLE BILL #3 Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936)
By Carol Martinheira on Jun 4, 2017 From The Old Hollywood GardenDOUBLE BILL #3 Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936) On June 4, 2017June 4, 2017 By CarolIn Uncategorized Musicals of the 1930s are pretty much screwball comedies with songs. And they?re absolutely fabulous. Especially Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers ones. Ten adorable l... Read full article
Top Hat (1935) – Updated
By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 14, 2016 From 4 Star FilmsPerhaps Astaire and Rogers most famous film together, Top Hat has them at top form once more,?seemingly defying gravity at the full peak of the powers. The beauty of their partnership is that they’re able to tell the progression of a love story through dance, but they do it with such ease and ... Read full article
Review: Top Hat (1935) (1)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 14, 2016 From 4 Star FilmsPerhaps Astaire and Rogers most famous film together, Top Hat has them at top form once more,?seemingly defying gravity at the full peak of the powers. The beauty of their partnership is that they’re able to tell the progression of a love story through dance, but they do it with such ease and ... Read full article
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Quotes from
Jerry Travers: Heaven, I'm in heaven and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak. And I seem to find the happiness I seek when we're out together dancing cheek to cheek. Heaven, I'm in heaven and the cares that hung around me through the week. Seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak when we're out together dancing (swinging) cheek to cheek. Oh I love to climb a mountain and reach the highest peak but it doesn't thrill me half as much as dancing cheek to cheek. Oh I love to go out fishing In a river or a creek but I don't enjoy it half as much as dancing cheek to cheek. Dance with me -- I want my arms about you. That charm about you will carry me through... to heaven, I'm in heaven and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak And I seem to find the happiness I seek when we're out together dancing cheek to cheek.
Jerry Travers: In dealing with a girl or horse, one just lets nature take its course.
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Facts about
Mark Sandrich, who directed five of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals, was a physicist before he got into filmmaking, and would devise blueprints for every scene, so he would know exactly where to put the cameras and the actors.
For the "Cheek to Cheek" number, Ginger Rogers wanted to wear an elaborate blue dress heavily decked out with ostrich feathers. When director Mark Sandrich and Fred Astaire saw the dress, they knew it would be impractical for the dance. Sandrich suggested that Rogers wear the white gown she had worn performing "Night and Day" in The Gay Divorcee. Rogers walked off the set, finally returning when Sandrich agreed to let her wear the offending blue dress. As there was no time for rehearsals, Ginger Rogers wore the blue feathered dress for the first time during filming, and as Astaire and Sandrich had feared, feathers started coming off the dress. Astaire later claimed it was like "a chicken being attacked by a coyote". In the final film, some stray feathers can be seen drifting off it. To patch up the rift between them, Astaire presented Rogers with a locket of a gold feather. This was the origin of Rogers' nickname "Feathers". The shedding feathers episode was recreated to hilarious results in a scene from Easter Parade in which Fred Astaire danced with a clumsy, comical dancer playedread more facts about Top Hat...
