artsmeme is lucky to have good friends who collect fabulous Hollywood dance photos like the one above, given to us by Bison Archive’s Marc Wanamaker. It’s a soundstage shot of the making of the superlative movie-musical from RKO, “Top Hat” (1935). In our photo, director Mark Sandrich, in his own swank chapeau, directs a brief scene between the two squabbler/lovers, Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) and Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers.) Ginger is caught a bit off-line, while Fred gazes downward. My guess is that while Sandrich has a momentary pow-wow with the script guy, the two actors are in standby mode, holding emotions. In the actual movie, they look like this. Ginger has that same blank stare!
Our candid-camera-capture appears at at 01:29 in A.O. Scott’s 2013 appreciation of Top Hat:
I very much agree, Karen. I’m glad it gave you pleasure, it did me too.
A shout out to A.O. Scott for his beautiful voice and cadence in narrating this film Top Hat. He has a fine timbre, so wonderfully natural and warm that doesn’t compete or overplay the footage. Made viewing the action so much more enjoyable.