Astaire and Rogers FROM THE PUBLISHER
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers endure in the American imagination. The charm and grace of their dancing in the ten films they made together, including Top Hat and Swing Time, elicit nostalgia even today. Whether they are embarking on a number, dancing through it, or bringing it to its triumphant conclusion, they seem to exude a sense of ease, accessibility, even intimacy -- one feels at home with them to the extent that it seems natural to refer to them by their first names. Most books about the Astaire-Rogers films focus exclusively on the music and dance scenes, but this book shows that the films are much more than the sum of those scenes, which, after all, account for only approximately one-third of their films' running times. Gallafent argues that, contrary to received opinion, the musical numbers are not discrete, generic moments dropped in to enliven the films. Instead, the music and dance routines advance the movies' themes.
Gallafent shows how dialogue, plotting, and the audience's perception of this striking professional couple affect the context, and thus meaning, for the song and dance routines. The book examines how the Astaire-Rogers musicals, which were produced and originally viewed as a series, relate to one another and to other musicals of their day. Gallafent also provides an illuminating account of the films Astaire and Rogers made separately after their first nine RKO films together in the thirties before their final reunion in The Barkleys of Broadway. The book concludes by tracing the development of their star personas both together and apart, and shows how the films were designed around those personas. Lavishly illustrated with evocative stills, Astaire and Rogers provides a unique account of two of Hollywood's most memorable performers. It will be enjoyed by the couple's many lifelong fans and by anyone who has savored the almost weightless elegance of their dancing.
SYNOPSIS
Astaire and Rogers´ musical numbers are more than token moments dropped in to enliven their films -they are related to the larger narrative context in which they appear. Gallafent shows that the dance scenes stages themes that have already been introduced in the film´s narrative material. Context, and thus meaning, for the song and da
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Gallafent (Clint Eastwood) offers here a dry, densely meticulous closeup of the careers of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The first third covers nine black-and-white RKO musicals, from 1933's Flying Down to Rio through 1939's The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle. Gallafent claims that the pair's dazzling dance routines obscured the artistic value of the films themselves. If music is his standard, judging from scores created for the series by Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and George Gershwin, there's some validity to this premise. Similar attempts to elevate the farcical, often foolish plot lines only accentuate how lightweight they are. Portions discussing Rogers's solo dramatic career are more incisive, particularly treatments of Kitty Foyle (for which she won an Oscar), Roxie Hart and The Major and the Minor. Gallafent analyzes Astaire's post-Rogers pictures, too, including Second Chorus, two barely remembered vehicles with Rita Hayworth (You'll Never Get Rich and You Were Never Lovelier) and his triumphant Easter Parade with Judy Garland. Coverage of 1949's The Barkleys of Broadway, the only Astaire-Rogers musical in color, knowledgeably points out parallels between the film's plot and the actors' own real-life breakup. But this examination misses the Astaire-Rogers essence: Fred and Ginger weren't serious, remote icons they were light, playful and funny figures that brought joy to millions of Depression-weary moviegoers. Gallafent's detail-laden work rarely captures these soaring qualities. This volume will be of moderate interest to devoted fans, but others, seeking familiarity with their movies, will be discouraged by the book's inflated, ponderously academic tone. (Mar.) Forecast: Diehard devotees of Astaire and Rogers may want to add this book to their collection, but even they will be disappointed by the lack of clarity, wit and warmth. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Gallafent contends that the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were more than merely vehicles for their stars' extraordinary talents; in fact, they constitute a cycle worthy of critique. The first part of his book looks at films made by the couple at RKO in 1933-39. The second (and more hefty) part which less successfully propels the thesis examines some of the films that Rogers and Astaire made separately before reuniting in their last film, The Barkleys of Broadway (1949). These interim films depended on the personas of their stars as developed in their previous work together, building on Rogers's democratic appeal as working-class heroine and Astaire's cavalierism. Gallafent, a lecturer in film studies, provides close readings of the films and shows that a critique of even "frothy" products of popular culture is possible. Although this method of analysis occasionally proves pedestrian, his book nevertheless helps enhance our appreciation of the work of two relatively overlooked stars. Recommended for film studies collections. Jayne Plymale, Univ. of Georgia, Athens Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Booknews
Rather than a fawning and light survey of the Astaire-Rogers films (though the author is clearly fond of them), this volume is unusual in containing a serious critical analyses of the films, their treatment of plot and characterization, and the role in both of the dance numbers. Gallafent teaches film and English at the Warwick U. in the UK. The book, which is illustrated with many b&w plates, was originally published by Cameron & Hollis in Scotland. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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