A Famous Movie of its time, Top Hat, made in 1935 was one of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’s bestselling movies. Some even call it a “screwball comedy,” with the funny talent of Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore. This movie was an instant success achieving second place in worldwide box office receipts for 1935.
It was most well known for some of its musical scores, “Top Hat White Tie and Tail,” “Check to Check,” “The Piccolo,” “No Strings,” “Isn’t This a Lovely Day,” and many more. Fred and Ginger were in many movies together throughout the years and made 10 films in total acting side by side. They all had somewhat similar plots but all the actors played different roles. In Top Hat, Fred Astaire plays Jerry Travers, while Ginger Rogers plays Dale Tremont. Although this movie is almost 90 years old, people can’t get enough of the king and queen of tap.
This is a fun-filled story with love and romance. It follows one of the more classic storylines. Although it is old, I still think there are many good reasons to watch this movie. Firstly, it shows a lot about the past and what the time was like before most of us were born. This is a time that most people’s great-grandparents lived through. It shows how the style of clothing was different. Beware this movie has a couple of stereotypical scenes because it was made in the 1930s. However, it is a good chance for younger people to learn from our mistakes of the past when it comes to racism. Most of the movie, however, is fine; without any racism apart from a couple of scenes.
I find that Top Hat is a good movie for all ages above 12 and up. Anyone younger than that might have a hard time understanding the story and plot. There is no bad language or anything inappropriate. This is a great movie to show teens and adults. It truly is a good representation of how we have evolved. Some kids today don’t even know what something as simple as a car looked like at this time. We need to educate our community on our past so we know why the world we live in today looks like it does.
The movie starts with a wealthy young woman named Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers). She has been on holiday in London and Venice. She meets a man named Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire), whom she falls in love with. Before they know it they are dancing in the park and in love. But Dale soon learns that Jerry Travers is the husband of her friend Madge (Helen Broderick) who is really the wife of Jerry’s business manager Horse Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton). dale regrets falling in love with Jerry, but there is nothing she can do about it. Throughout the film, Jerry keeps trying to impress Dale but she still doesn’t know who Jerry truly is until the end when she finds out that Jerry is not horse Hardwick. The film ends with Jerry and dale getting married in Italy. It turns out to be a happy ending.
In total, I would give this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10. It meets all of the good movie requirements that I look for in a film. It allows the person watching to connect and get to know the characters. I think this is a great movie for anyone who wants to watch a feel-good movie.