Movie #982 "The Barkleys of Broadway" -- I think I had seen this a while ago, after all it is an Astaire & Rogers' film, and so I wasn't going to watch it, but I had TCM on in the background and was listening to all the pre-comments and didn't know the real story behind it, and when I did, I was pulled in to watching it again. I didn't know it was the only color Astaire-Rogers film, that this is the last one and that there was a decade from the last one to this one. Also, Judy Garland was supposed to be in it, but she pulled out, wanting to do more serious acting (ironically, that's what Ginger Rogers had been doing all this time, winning an academy award during that time) and so if you look and see what the film is about, both ladies would understand this character in the film ---- a woman dancer (with her hubby as her partner) wants to see what life would be like on her own seriously acting ---- anyway, when Judy left the project, she took all the great music with her (because she's a much better singer) so that left a bunch of not so good songs, but in a way, that was okay to me because I always thought Ginger Rogers was the best dancer with Astaire ---- she brings style, class, smoothness, that sexual tension in dance that no one else was ever able to accomplish. Judy was a hoofer, so the numbers had to be character numbers like hobos or whatever.....but with Ginger, it's class, spins, ballroom dancing in heels....I adored them, and had a tear in my eye in the last number, knowing that they would never be seen dancing together again.........well, until the next time you watch the movie, but you know what I mean. If you are interested in all of the history here, and just want to watch these two getting back together again in an okay movie with some great dancing, see this. You won't be wasting your time. Gosh, I love watching these two!
The Barkleys of Broadway
I'd give this 3.5 out of 5 stars (if I was just rating the dancing it would be 5 out of 5, but there's a story in between)
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers play the Barkleys of Broadway in this delightful MGM musical. Fed up with being in the shadow of husband Josh (Astaire), Dinah Barkley (Rogers) decides to switch gears from a song-and-dance woman to a dramatic actress. Co-starring Billie Burke and Oscar Levant, the film includes Fred and Ginger dancing to "They Can't Take That Away from Me," the song they made famous in Shall We Dance.
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