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Subsequently The Go-Between has the joke, aristo and pleb mediated by the pint-sized page (here it's part of a wager among the castle's servants). The American in England (Fred Astaire) is an entertainer perpetually on the run from female fans, "a young lady who stands still for one second" is his dream. The meet-cute with the lord's pretty daughter (Joan Fontaine) takes place in the back of a cab, the obligatory romantic misunderstanding gets underway as he taps on a busy street and hops on a double-decker to ditch a bobby. "You see, I'm dancing and I can't be bothered now." The maiden in the tower is rather fickle, her father (Montagu Love) gets her suitors mixed, the boat ride in and out of shadow is drolly timed for a kiss and a slap. "How old-fashioned! Horsewhipping in this day and age, when they can just run over him." Wodehouse plot, Gershwin tunes, George Stevens tempo. George Burns and Gracie Allen are unexpectedly nimble partners for Astaire, teamed up in a lithe run-through for the "Good Morning" number in Singin' in the Rain. (Elsewhere, a moving camera on a tree-studded long shot aims to camouflage Fontaine's timid pirouettes in "Things Are Looking Up.") Humorous madrigals, Ray Noble's band in full swing, an Italian aria from the valet (Reginald Gardiner) who simply cannot resist the urge. "Stiff Upper Lip" at the funhouse, up and down the slide and round and round the walkway, a tour de force capped by Dalían limbs at the hall of mirrors. "For suddenly I saw you there, and through foggy London town the sun was shining everywhere." Royal Wedding further pursues the Anglo-Yank theme. With Constance Collier, Harry Watson, and Jan Duggan. In black and white.
--- Fernando F. Croce |