You Were Never Lovelier [1942]
£27.50
Simply Lovely - In Gilda and Affair in Trinidad , Rita Hayworth performs dance routines which are not the kind of routines found in movie musicals. The routines in Gilda and Trinidad give the impression that Hayworth is a musical and rhythmical person who is responding naturally to the music but is not a dancer. These routines work very well as Rita is a great mover but if anyone is in any doubt about her talent as a dancer then watch You Were Never Lovelier - she is a sheer delight to watch. She is a fabulous dancer and a wonderful partner for Fred Astaire. The Shorty George , a tap routine, is my favourite next to Astaire s wonderful solo number.This film has a silly, nonsensical storyline but this is part of its charm. The characters are engaging, the music is lovely, the dance routines are a joy and Adolphe Menjou is very funny in the role of Eduardo Acuna.Movies were never lovelier.
Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer...And I m Old Fashioned - In some of Fred Astaire s movies there s only one excellent reason to watch, and that s to watch Fred Astaire. In You Were Never Lovelier there are three other excellent reasons. Rita Hayworth. Jerome Kern. Johnny Mercer. The four of them have concocted a romantic and funny South American fable that features some great dancing by both Astaire and Hayworth and some memorable songs by Kern and Mercer. Eduardo Acuna (Adolphe Menjou), a wealthy Buenos Aires businessman, has four beautiful daughters, and in the Acuna family they must marry in age order. The eldest fulfills her responsibilities and the two youngest have beaus they re now anxious to share vows with. But the second eldest, Maria (Rita Hayworth) is in no hurry. She wants romance and charm and the men she meets are just panting boys. Then she sees Robert Davis (Fred Astaire), a very charming, down-on-his-luck dancer, singing Dearly Beloved at her elder sister s wedding. He tries to chat her up, she stares him down. Then the plot intervenes. Before long she knows what she wants. Robert knows what he wants. Eduardo Acuna knows what he doesn t want...a down-on-his-luck dancer in the family. From then on it s songs, dances, romance and misunderstandings, which moves into songs, dances and romance. The plot feels sluggish at times and there s way too much Xavier Cugat and his orchestra, but Astaire and Hayworth are at their peak, Kern has written some memorable melodies and few could top Mercer at lyric writing, none in Hollywood. Hayworth not only was a gorgeous creature, she was a gifted dancer, many think she was the best Astaire worked with. Technically, she not only handled the steps Astaire created, she did so without a hint of effort. After you ve watched the dances a couple of times, go back and watch again, but this time concentrate on her face and her hand and arm action. She gives every indication of being utterly relaxed and enjoying herself, even in the fast tap routines. She seems naturally to find the most graceful attitude for an extended arm, a turn of her head, a raised hand. She may not be quite as good as Astaire, but she s good enough. Among the stand-out routines are: --The Audition Dance. Robert shows up at Acuna s office and demands a chance to show his stuff as a dancer. From there Astaire takes off on a fast tap routine that takes him all over the floor, onto Acuna s desk, the sofa and chairs. He works into the dance a cane, a rug, the drapes and Acuna s head. --I m Old Fashioned. This is probably the best romantic wooing dance Astaire did. It s all fluid motion and spontaneous recognition, danced on the elegant, polished outdoor landing of Acuna s mansion. Rita Hayworth is a vision, and matches him step for step. We move from Maria declaring with humor and assurance that Robert s the man for her, to Robert s protestation that he s just a guy from Omaha, Nebraska, to the dance that brings them closer and closer together until we know through the dance that a love match has just happened. The funny exit through the doors and back into the living-room, bumping into each other, each giving way, bumping again and then going in together arm in arm hits just the right note. The dance works so well in part because Kern and Mercer came up with a classic: I m old fashioned, I love the moonlight, I love the old fashioned things. The sound of rain Upon a window pane, The starry song that April sings. This year s fancies Are passing fancies But sighing sighs, holding hands, These my heart understands. I m old fashioned But I don t mind it. That s how I want to be, As long as you agree, To stay old fashioned with me. --The Shorty George. This fast tap routine starts out with Maria visiting Robert at a rehearsal. He sings The Shorty George and she takes a couple of lines. He looks surprised that she knows the song. He starts to dance and invites her to join him. Hayworth stays right with Astaire and looks like she s having the time of her life. --You Were Never Lovelier. Robert declares his feelings for Maria, but more misunderstandings occur. Finally, everything is resolved. Robert shakes off some knight s armor he was wearing (there is sort of a reason) and appears below Maria s bedroom window in black tie. She rushes down...and off they go dancing while all the members of the Acuna family look on approvingly. And the Johnny Mercer lyrics and Jerome Kern music brings us to the happy end: You were never lovelier, you were never so fair, Dreams were never lovelier, Pardon me if I stare. Down the sky the moonbeams fly to light your face, I can only say they chose the proper place. You were never lovelier, and to coin a new phrase, I was never luckier In my palmiest days. Make a note, and you can quote me, honor bright, You were never lovelier than you are tonight.
I don t think she ever was! - I ve waited a while to review this since buying the DVD. I ve watched it half a dozen times since and it still seems as fresh as when I first saw it too many years ago. I fell in love with Rita Hayworth then (as an impressionable teenager and have probably been `in love ever since). In my view she was then, and still is now, the most beautiful woman ever to grace the silver screen and, in this film, she was `never lovelier (and I have seen Gilda and Cover Girl - many times!). I don t like comparing - Fred had some wonderful partners and I m not really qualified to comment on their respective abilities but Rita is my favourite - for obvious reasons. She dances sublimely and, as a reviewer below has commented, `I m Old-fashioned is superb amongst several dance numbers (I wonder what her singing voice actually was like - her singing was dubbed).Of the two films with Fred this is the best and, in my view, better than Cover Girl, although that is in colour and she is again beautifully photographed. I probably prefer this film because I prefer Astaire to Kelly - again I make no judgement, I just like Fred s style more than Kelly s.Yes the plot is of it s time and shouldn t be taken seriously (I doubt it really was when it was made) but just seen as a vehicle for a fantastic score, great dancing, and a chance to see a truly beautiful woman beautifully photographed.A must for Astaire fans and an absolute necessity for anyone who likes Rita Hayworth. Interestingly, I do think that he dances differently with Rita than with Ginger. Mind you, that might be because when he dances with Rita I watch her, when he dances with Ginger I watch them both!
The Wonderful Rita and Fred - Superb, superb, superb, what can one say to add to the below reviews just breathtaking dance sequences with a wonderful Fred and Rita, what a pity they never danced more together than on two films, the world is a sadder place for this! Ginger Rogers move over Rita has such lightness and swiftness of foot, in comparison to heavy footed Ginger!!!I would recommend this DVD to anyone who enjoys nostalgia and also You Will Never Get Rich, which duos Rita and Fred again.
Delightfully corny - The storyline for this is hilarous to modern-day women, with gems of lines such as remember not to act too intelligent on your honeymoon dear, I made that mistake with your father, and a storyline that makes out that a woman s life just isn t complete unless she marries :-)The dance routine to I m Old Fashioned makes me cry every time I watch it - the combination of the beautiful song and the elegant dancing just turns me to jelly. Jerome Kern was THE best songwriter of that era! An enjoyable if corny romp!