Is there anyone who better defines "elegance" better that Fred and Ginger?

[Stinky The Clown]

Really. Over the entire history of film, has anyone been a better illustration of the word than this pair?

They're on now in Gay Divorcee. Their "Night and Day" routine is the inspiration for this post. But on ly in the immediate sense. When I was a younger clown and an active dancer, Fred Astair was my aspirational figure. I, of course, never came close.

I love the fact that he demanded that all of his routines be shown full height, feet always visible, and uncut.

Ginger is no second fiddle, mind you. She is every bit of everything he is.

Wow. I never tire of these movies.

[rocktivity]

1. "Fred made Ginger look classy; Ginger made Fred look sexy,"

Last edited Sat May 24, 2014, 01:27 AM - Edit history (2)

as Katherine Hepburn once said.

rocktivity

[Angry Dragon]

2. Nick and Nora

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I love Nick and Nora as much or more than I love Fred and Ginger . . . . but . . . .

Nick and Nora were trying to be elegant in the style of the era. Mostly they pulled it off with dialogue, situation, outlook. Their looks, while elegant, were secondary to their more well defined characters.

Fred and Ginger played shallow characters, but were a truly physically beautiful couple.

By the way, my take on Nick and Nora is that they did the very best "sophisticated" adult comedy, maybe ever. They were uproariously funny, they remain funny today, and the most they ever did was minor double entendre. They proved you don't need to use hard language or show a boob popping out to get laughs. Our movies today could take lessons from them. (yes, I know they were playing characters and were not responsible for the overall production)

[lavenderdiva]

4. No, there's not!

and don't forget 'Grace'! They are both elegant and graceful. I love their dance to 'Night and Day', but my favorite is Ginger in her feather dress (that purportedly Fred hated because it kept shedding on him), and Fred dancing to 'Cheek To Cheek' in 'Tophat'. Here's a little background on the infamous feather dress from imdb:

For the "Cheek to Cheek" number, Ginger Rogers wanted to wear an elaborate blue dress heavily decked out with ostrich feathers. When director Mark Sandrich and Fred Astaire saw the dress, they knew it would be impractical for the dance. Sandrich suggested that Rogers wear the white gown she had worn performing "Night and Day" in The Gay Divorcee. Rogers walked off the set, finally returning when Sandrich agreed to let her wear the offending blue dress. As there was no time for rehearsals, Ginger Rogers wore the blue feathered dress for the first time during filming, and as Astaire and Sandrich had feared, feathers started coming off the dress. Astaire later claimed it was like "a chicken being attacked by a coyote". In the final film, some stray feathers can be seen drifting off it. To patch up the rift between them, Astaire presented Rogers with a locket of a gold feather. This was the origin of Rogers' nickname "Feathers". The shedding feathers episode was recreated to hilarious results in a scene from Easter Parade in which Fred Astaire danced with a clumsy, comical dancer played by Judy Garland.

[northoftheborder]

5. Thanks for that clip of lovely dancing. That dress was marvelous.