Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

vert001 I was in an awful mood when I started watching THE GAY Divorcée, but by the time I was finished everything seemed right with the world. Can you say anything better about a film?THE GAY Divorcée is the first proper 'Fred and Ginger' film, a rewritten and re-scored version of a successful musical play that Astaire had performed in New York and London. By most testimonies it's the best version despite having jettisoned most of Cole Porter's score (the exception being the brilliant 'Night and Day'). Replacement songs included 'The Continental', first Academy Award winner for Best Original Song (Night and Day, of course, wasn't eligible) and the even better 'Needle in a Haystack'. And Divorcée serves as a template for much of what will follow in the series. In most ways, few of their later efforts would better it.As in most of the Astaire/Rogers musicals we get a standard French Farce type of plot grounded in mistaken identities and general misunderstandings within which are strung various Vaudevillian-type comedy routines featuring a superb ing cast (Edward Everett Horton, Alice Brady, the two Erics, even Betty Grable) and several dances by our principals. THE GAY Divorcée differs from the others in having two of our ing actors (Horton and Grable) doing the terpsichorean honors in the first (happy, high-spirited, allegro, getting-to-know-you style) duet, and as good as Betty (only seventeen) is, and as fun as it is to see Horton shuffling about (he actually had experience on the stage in musical comedies), the routine (Let's K-Knock Knees) pretty much stops the movie dead, and I for one very much miss Ginger and Fred in it. Without them the little production number does nothing to further the plot, an innovation that this series pioneered (apparently director Mark Sandrich made a major contribution in this respect).You can't say the same about the great duet danced to 'Night and Day'. Something of a choreographic miracle (Fred had never designed a romantic duet before), it remains one of the finest dances ever put on film despite a certain stiffness on Ginger's part, a deficiency (she was not a trained dancer and had never done anything like this) that she would overcome in later films, and which was more than made up for by her brilliant acting ability, bringing an emotional clarity and depth to the number that would later prove to be lacking with many of the technically better trained partners of Astaire.The perfect introduction to Astaire's genius is his earlier solo to 'Needle in a Haystack', a wonderful example of complexity within simplicity as he dresses to go out looking for Ginger while manipulating props, combining explosions of tap with flashes of ballet, and making everything seem absolutely effortless while doing so. He would do more elaborate solos later on, but for my taste he would never do a better one.The celebratory Continental dance, however, is charming so long as Fred and Ginger are doing the dancing but goes on far too long when the chorus takes over. No such problem for our delightful epilogue, a joyous dance over the furniture and out the door, whetting the audience's appetite for more.I find the comedy funnier in THE GAY Divorcée than in any of the other Astaire/Rogers films, with wonderfully witty lines delivered by expert performers popping up everywhere. Besides the great dancing and electric chemistry between them, Fred was a perfectly competent light comedian, exceptional in a great dancer, and an excellent singer (in manner if not in the quality of his voice), while Ginger was an excellent actress of extraordinary range, positively unique in someone who could do dances of the complexity and difficulty that she could manage. It isn't any surprise that we haven't seen their likes since.

tavm After causing a sensation in Flying Down to Rio with their dance sequence there, RKO decided to give Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers a whole movie to themselves the following year. This would eventually lead to a series of films starring them to mostly great box office results. As it was, this would be the first time that Astaire would pursue Ms. Rogers with the latter resisting at first before a mistaken identity plot also takes effect. The comedy involving them and ing players like Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes was funny enough to me but it's really the songs and dances that really makes these movies enjoyable enough for repeat viewings. The "Night & Day" sequence, especially, really puts the Astaire-Rogers dance numbers in full force and the later one called "The Continental" provides some fun among other dancers not to mention a now-forgotten singer named Lilian Miles. Oh, and Betty Grable-who was 17 at the time-also does a fine number called "Let's K-nock K-nees" with Horton who seemed game enough. Really, all I'll say now is The Gay Divorcée is well worth seeing for the emergence of the classic movie dance team of Astaire & Rogers! Trivia note: William Austin, who plays Ginger's husband she's trying to divorce, eventually played Alfred the butler in the Batman serials in the '40s. His look there would eventually inspire DC Comics to change their previous physical look for Alfred to one that's thin and has facial hair.

Jackson Booth-Millard I was really lucky to catch this film when it was being shown, I only missed the first two minutes, had I of known it was the first film starring the famous dancing star couple together I wouldn't have ignored it, thank goodness I spotted it, from director Amrk Sandrich (Top Hat, Shall We Dance). Basically in Brightbourne, Brighton, England arrives Mimi Glossop (Ginger Rogers) from America who seeks a divorce from her geologist husband Cyril (William Austin) who she hasn't seen for several years. Her domineering Aunt Hortense (Alice Brady), who has been married numerous times herself, is there to give her guidance and get bumbling and slightly incompetent lawyer Egbert 'Pinky' Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton) to consult them, he also happens to a former fiancé. He tries to get an adulterous relationship started as they spend a night in the hotel he found them, and professional co-respondent Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes) is who he has hired to try and make it happen. He forgets though to hire private detectives to "catch them in the act", leaving Mimi free to do whatever she wants, and coincidently she again meets American dancer Guy Holden (Fred Astaire), they met briefly on her arrival. Guy is a friend of Egbert's and is now besotted with Mimi staying in the same hotel, and he is also mistaken as the co-respondent she is meant to be caught with. They are eventually caught by Tonetti who "holds them prisoner" as they wait to clear up the mess, and Cyril also arrives to speak his mind about the situation, but in the end Guy and Mimi escape to dance the night away and live happily ever after. Also starring Eric Blore as The Waiter, Lillian Miles as Singer, Continental Number, Charles Coleman as Guy's Valet and Betty Grable as Dance Specialty. Astaire is lovable and charming, Rogers is beautiful and innocent, and together their scenes are filled with fantastic chemistry, the film is has of course wonderful songs, with the Oscar winning "The Continental", "Night and Day", "Let's K-nock K-nees" and "A Needle In A Haystack", the dialogue is witty and funny which creates most of the best jokes, overall a delightful musical comedy. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Music for Max Steiner, Best Sound and Best Picture. Fred Astaire was number 81 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, and he was number 5 on 100 Years, 100 Stars - Men, Ginger Rogers was number 14 on 100 Years, 100 Stars - Women. Very good!

kenjha Ginger's aunt concocts a scheme to get her out of her unhappy marriage, but complications arise. This film became the template for all the Astaire-Rogers films to follow - a silly plot involving mistaken identities, snappy musical numbers, and ing cast featuring some combination of scene stealers Horton, Blore, and Rhodes. The formula would be perfected the following year with "Top Hat," but this is entertaining enough in its own right. The big musical number is "The Continental," which is enjoyable despite going on for more than 17 minutes. Sandrich directs the first of his five Astaire-Rogers films, borrowing a few tricks from Busby Berkeley.