Roberta (1935)

Roberta: Directed by William A. Seiter. With Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott. An American jazzman and his buddy woo a Russian princess and a fake countess in Paris.

“It seems really bizarre that after starring in u0026quot;The Gay Divorcée,u0026quot; Rodgers and Astaire went back to playing supporting roles in this one. Leads Randolph Scott are Irene Dunne are fine, but Rodgers and Astaire are on blazing whenever theyu0026#39;re on screen, so Scott and Dunne get pushed into the background.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story is contrived and theatrical and not a particularly exciting one. However, four great songs and dances lift it into the must see category: u0026quot;Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,u0026quot; u0026quot;Lovely to Look At,u0026quot; u0026quot;I Wonu0026#39;t Dance,u0026quot; and Iu0026#39;ll Be Hard to Handle.u0026quot; Please note that the last three have lyrics by Dorothy Fields. She may have been the greatest lyricist of the 20th century with songs like u0026quot;Sunnyside of the Street,u0026quot; u0026quot;A Fine Romance,u0026quot; u0026quot;Iu0026#39;m in the Mood for Loveu0026quot; and u0026quot;Big Spenderu0026quot; to her credit.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie is a little dated and tedious at an hour and forty minutes, but, at least 30 of those minutes with Ginger and Fred are enchanting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Nous Sommes étonné.u0026quot; as Fred says in the movie.”