Light and frothy Fred Astaire musical paired this time with the young and very lovely Rita Hayworth as his unlikely paramour. Amazing that surrounded by a horde of young hunks in their best bib and tuckers rich ingénue Hayworth falls for old hair-receding lantern-jawed Fred, but hey, hooray for Hollywood, go with the flow and accept this pleasant confection for what it is. Adolphe Menjou enters into the spirit of the piece with an endearing turn as Hayworth's crusty papa who of course eventually relents and accepts Fred into the family. The rest of the cast ditter and fritter about pleasantly, in their fine clothes and slight roles in a narrative replete with the customary ups and downs, coincidences and happy ending of every Fred musical ever made. The interior settings are plush befitting Menjou's part as the richest man, it would appear, in the whole of South America and the direction is brisk - I always find myself watching for the cuts in the dancing sequences, cleverly disguised as usual. The music I found a little ho-hum, all moon-in-June rhyming down Dingly Dell, certainly no Hart or Porter - type witticisms present here. Fred is Fred as usual, a little bit hammy, unbelievable, as I've indicated as Hayworth's love interest but great in his dance routines as ever (shame about his singing). Hayworth is best of all, alluring and sophisticated and already hinting here and there at the depths of future parts such as "Gilda" and "The Lady From Shanghai". Here she is captured, however, in her innocent youth, lighting up the screen, dancing well into the bargain opposite the maestro. In summary, not a movie on a par with the Fred and Ginger classics of the 30's but enjoyable on its own terms for all that.
Review of You Were Never Lovelier
