Du warst nie berückender (1942)
37KDu warst nie berückender: Directed by William A. Seiter. With Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou, Isobel Elsom. In Buenos Aires, a man who has decreed that his daughters must marry in order of age allows an American dancer to perform at his club under the condition that he play suitor to his second-oldest daughter.
“Pop quiz: Who was Fred Astaireu0026#39;s favorite female dancing partner? If your answer is the obvious one, Ginger Rogers, guess again. Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Judy Garland, Joan Leslie, Eleanor Powell? Still wrong. Surprisingly, Astaire long maintained that his favorite was none other than Rita Hayworth. Rita, he once said, could be taught a complicated piece of choreography in the morning and have it down pat after lunch! The two made a pair of films together, u0026quot;Youu0026#39;ll Never Get Richu0026quot; in 1941 and u0026quot;You Were Never Lovelieru0026quot; in u0026#39;42. A look at Hayworthu0026#39;s work in the latter film will demonstrate what a remarkable learner she apparently was. She and Fred share several musical numbers here, including the moonlit garden waltz to u0026quot;Iu0026#39;m Old Fashionedu0026quot; and the remarkably high-spirited and dynamic u0026quot;Shorty George,u0026quot; and the two do make a marvelous pair. As for the rest of the film, it is a typical Astaire comedy, replete with mistaken identities, concerning Ritau0026#39;s father, Adolphe Menjou, convincing Fred to impersonate the fictitious lover that he has devised for her. The viewer must wait almost 40 full minutes to see Fred dance in this one, but that wait is well repaid when Astaire explodes in a brash and frenetic audition number for olu0026#39; Adolphe. The filmu0026#39;s script is bright and amusing, Xavier Cugatu0026#39;s orchestra adds colorful support, and Rita is at least as beautiful, if not more so, than in 1946u0026#39;s overrated u0026quot;Gilda.u0026quot; Bottom line: This is no Fred u0026amp; Ginger picture, but it sure does have its compensations…Rita Hayworth surely being one of them.”
