Top Hat – 1935
Have you seen The Gay Divorcee? Then you’ve seen Top Hat. They were the same movie… literally. The two movies were ridiculously similar. They had the same plot, the same humor, the same cast of actors and the same dancing. The only things that were different about the two films were the costumes and the settings.
I was aghast that this film was nominated for Best Picture. I mean, sure, it was an entertaining film. But there wasn’t anything original about it. Once was enough when I watched The Gay Divorcee, which I enjoyed well enough. But there was nothing new here.
Let’s go over the similarities between the two films and see. They both starred Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as the two leads. In this case the characters are named Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont. In both movies Astaire plays a professional dancer who is in town to do a show. While there he has a chance meeting with the beautiful Rogers. He falls instantly in love with her, but she emphatically rejects his advances. He pursues her relentlessly, all the while being rebuffed. He eventually he traps her in a situation where she cannot leave. He then dances for her, which makes her fall in love with him.
But then there is a misunderstanding which causes her to hate him, thinking him a cad or a philanderer. He is confused but continues to woo her. Eventually, the truth comes out. He is not only an honorable man with good intentions, but he is ready to dance with her to prove it. And thank goodness that in each film there is a new dance craze for them to showcase in a big dance number. The now-happy couple has resolved all the mistaken identities and misunderstandings. The final scenes for both films feature the two of them doing a happy dance together.
The rest of the cast was even the exact same people with only one exception. The Gay Divorcee had Alice Brady, though in Top Hat, the same role was filled by Helen Broderick. Aside from that, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes and Eric Blore all returned to repeat the same roles with different names. Each character had basically the same function within the plot.
The two films were so similar. Even the big dance number in The Gay Divorcee, The Continental, was redone as The Piccolino in Top Hat. So here’s the strange thing. After seeing the first draft of the script, Fred Astaire reacted negatively, saying that it was too much like The Gay Divorcee. So a rewrite was done to make it different. Goodness! What must that first draft have been like?
So what were the differences? Well, the names were changed, the locations changed, the costumes changed and the music changed. Also, Fred Astaire’s acting was slightly better, though not much. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Astaire is not a very god actor. But I’ll admit that, in my uneducated opinion, his dancing was noticeably improved. In The Gay Divorcee, he seemed gangly and his moves, while they were all there, seemed too stiff and jerky. He seemed meticulously practiced, but not very graceful, especially when paired up with Ginger Rogers, whose movements looked incredibly fluid and easy. But in Top Hat, Astaire’s movements seemed much more graceful and not as jarring.
I have to make special mention of the music. Top Hat featured the music of Irving Berlin. The song Cheek to Cheek was a good song that has proven to have staying power. It is still used in movies today. But while the rest of the score was good, it was ultimately unmemorable. However, in my research, I found that it was all very popular when the film was released.
And finally, I have to mention one last thing. I wouldn’t exactly call this a flaw. It was just a poor choice. In the number Cheek to Cheek, Rogers was wearing a dress that she designed herself. The dress was covered with ostrich feathers. Astaire hated it as it left feathers flying everywhere. Apparently it caused him to yell at Rogers who then broke down into tears. Rogers’ mother came charging in like a mother bear protecting her cub. Another night’s work by several seamstresses solved most of the problem, though stray feathers can still be seen flying from the dress in the final cut.