Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

vert001 I wonder what kind of press campaign THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE was given back in 1939? Many customers knew the fate of Vernon Castle before they ever entered the theaters, but there's no doubt that many did not (Astaire mentions that his own wife had no idea who Vernon and Irene were). For them the tragic ending may have been something of a shock, even a cheat as advertisements are virtually never downbeat, and such reactions are unlikely to help a film's reputation. The Castle film is so different from the rest of the Rogers/Astaire series that I fear it's continued to be unfairly slated by audiences and critics alike. How is THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE different? Let us count the ways. We have a new director, H. C. Potter. We have a true story, a biography, to present rather than a fictional bedroom farce or screwball comedy. Consequently, our stars are playing real, non-wisecracking people rather than fictional characters. The Art Deco sets are gone, replaced with historically realistic trappings. Ditto for the costuming. Rather than the brilliant new musical scores to which we've become accustomed, we get a brilliant use of period musical pieces, and the choreography likewise is derivative rather than original. The comedy tends to be gentle and situational rather than verbal and brittle. And most different of all, in the end we're not dealing with comedy, but with a tragedy. When you come to think of it, that's a lot to take in for an unprepared audience.There were many biographies made in Hollywood around this time, and among the musical ones THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE strikes me as one of the most successful, perhaps even the most successful (I'm not a fan of YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, and most of the rest hardly bear mentioning). We receive a genuine history lesson regarding the popularization of ballroom dancing in America and Europe, and I, for one, was very surprised at the commercialization accompanying the rising fame of these pre-World War One dancers. Not many dancing couples have the acting chops to successfully take on roles that branch out from romantic comedy all the way to tragedy (Kelly and Garland?) but Astaire and Rogers prove well up to the task. And while Fred probably doesn't rise above the level of competent, Ginger has the opportunity to make an actual character journey from gawky but talented teenager to loving and serious young wife. She may have pressed a bit at the beginning to play ten years younger than her actual self but it seems to me that she hit the ball perfectly during the second half of the picture.There's more dancing in VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE than it's usually given credit for. Fred has his usual solo, pleasant but unspectacular, Ginger has a tricky specialty number meant to show her character off as gauche yet talented which she pulls off nicely, there's a lively rehearsal number to 'Waiting for the Robert E. Lee', and there are the various examples of the Castles' dances, with perhaps 'The Maxixe' being outstanding among them. They are all performed brilliantly by Fred and Ginger, and their final waltz, the last dance they did for RKO, gives us one last beautiful image to admire and one final emotional rush to feel. It was a great run.CASTLE provided RKO with approximately the same revenue as had FLYING DOWN TO RIO, but the expenses were now far greater and the film suffered a small net loss. As a result, Astaire was offered a new contract at about half the old salary, but he felt (correctly so) that he could command his old figure on a picture by picture basis with other studios. Such was the un-romantic ending to the famous Astaire/Rogers partnership at RKO. They would both go on to have enormous success separately but are probably destined to always remain best known together. There are worse fates.

richard-1787 I can see how fans of the previous Astaire - Rogers musicals would have been disappointed with this movie. It's really barely a musical - virtually no new musical numbers - and there isn't that much dancing in it. Most of what there is isn't of the sweepingly romantic style that the couple had done so well in their previous movies. This is more of a drama with an occasional dance step and, frankly, not a particularly interesting one, as the Castles, at least as presented here, didn't have any interesting problems in their lives.What I did find interesting was the end, the part devoted to World War I. If you put it in the context of its era - the movie was released in 1939, as war loomed up once again over Europe - the last part can be seen as part of the interventionist propaganda that Hollywood produced from 1939 until Pearl Harbor, and which included such much better pictures as Casablanca, some of Erol Flynn's movies, and even Mrs. Miniver. The joy of the French when America enters the war "because now it will come to a quick end" was certainly meant to suggest that if America only intervened in any new European conflict, it too would end quickly. (That's not how it worked out, but who could have known that in 1939?) There isn't a single memorable number in this movie, either in terms of the music or the dancing. And the story just isn't that interesting. Astaire - Rogers fans could skip this one, as could others, and feel that they have missed very little.

Jem Odewahn This today seems to be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers least known film together as a team. That's a real shame, as this film is lovely, very watchable and great showcase for their fancy footwork. Who better to portray famed ballroom dancers of the 1910's Vernon and Irene Castle than the most brilliant dancing team of 1930's, and possibly all time? RKO certainly knew what they were doing. Maybe the real life of the Castles was not as wholesome as seen here, but I especially enjoyed this film because Ginger and Fred are married virtually the whole way through. No funny, but silly, mistaken identity plots, no Fred chasing Ginger-- while Top Hat and Swing Time are immeasurably better films, it's nice to see a change in plot and style with this one. It's also the most downbeat of all their musicals, as the Castle's real-life story ended in tragedy. But, oh we have the dancing!

ccthemovieman-1 Here's one of those rare films that I like where there are no villains, just a nice, old-fashioned story with good people.Of all the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers films, I would guess this gets the least amount of publicity and if that's true, it's a shame.There are plenty of dance scenes in here. I prefer the tap dancing to ballroom, but that's just my personal tastes. The famous dancing duo are great with any style. I like Walter Brennan, so it's nice to see him in this film and it also was nice to see Edna May Oliver play a nice character, for a change.The only complaint was the ending was so predictable. You see it coming a mile away. How true this story is, I can't say, but overall it's one of my favorite Astaire-Rogers movies. I am sorry it gets so little attention.