A World Without Fred & Ginger

Can you image a world without Fred & Ginger? Or a world without Adele Astaire or Claire Luce? Both Adele and Claire are two very important key figures in shaping Fred Astaire’s dance career. Adele kicked off Fred’s interest in dance when she had to take him to her dance classes. Claire helped him gain confidence in finding his sex appeal and inspired the pattern to Night And Day. So a world without Adele & Claire, we wouldn’t have Fred Astaire. And Ginger wouldn’t have met Fred, so there. Fred & Ginger wouldn’t happen without the two girls who helped Fred Astaire push on with his career. It’s funny that people sees Fred & Ginger films as Fred & Ginger films without looking into their past works on stage. There are plenty of information about Girl Crazy, Lady Be Good, and Gay Divorce (just to name a few) online to read. It made me realize how important the people who they worked with in the past to their careers, especially Claire Luce because without her, The Gay Divorcee wouldn’t happen. She was Mimi. She created the role. And Pandro S Berman, he was the driving force of behind Fred & Ginger. The world would be different without those people. I thank them for being there behind the scenes to make Fred & Ginger possible. They were the important people in Fred & Ginger's lives, which includes their parents for bringing them into the world.  We can not forget about Lela Rogers and her work trying to help Ginger be the best that she could be. It sickens me that they are not getting the recognition that they deserve as the forces behind it all. Yes, Fred & Ginger were the face of the product but let's be honest here; they wouldn't be the face of Astaire-Rogers without the people who made them who they are. A world without Fred & Ginger is like a world without the work behind the product. So thank you: Adele Astaire, Claire Luce, Pandro, and others. Without them, Fred & Ginger wouldn’t have collaborated at all.

Favorite Actor

For our favorite actor, we are torned between Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby.

Top 10: Fred Astaire dances

I'm not going to be obvious and make everything on this list, an Astaire-Rogers top 10 list as many people would do when they think Fred Astaire. To me, Fred Astaire's dances are one of a kind, whether or not, he is dancing with Ginger Rogers or someone like Debbie Reynolds in a non-musical film. Fred Astaire's talents in dance will always make anyone smile. No matter who you are and what you're in to.

Top 10 Fred Astaire Dances

#10 He Loves And She Loves with Audrey Hepburn from Funny Face. This dance is a very romantic one because the scene starts off with with Audrey's character confessing to Fred's character. She tells him that she doesn't want to leave Paris because she loves the place. She also tells him that she loves him. Fred responds to her confession by overcoming his fear and singing He Loves And She Loves to her. The pair then engages in a romantic dance duet as Fred realizes that he is starting to fall for Audrey's character. -Liana Sheridan

"And they love so won't you

love me as I love you?"

#9 The Shorty George with Rita Hayworth from You Were Never Lovelier. This dance is a fun and up beat, up tempoed that made me laugh. Both Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire doing a tap dance together, makes my day get brighter. I love these two together in their two films together. It also makes me wonder if they treat each other as siblings off-screen because of who Rita was to Fred, and they are also quite different in style. -Liana Sheridan

"A dance for a man

about so big."

#8 Baby Doll with Vera-Ellen from The Belle Of New York. This song is the essence of romance. I think that the song is one of the most romantic dances that Fred Astaire has ever done. Both Fred and Vera-Ellen looked like they were into each other during the dance. This dance is one of the reasons why I'm in love with Fred Astaire's talents. -Sophie Leigh

"You beautiful baby doll."

#7 This Heart Of Mine with Lucille Bremer from Ziegfeld Follies is Fred's most romantic dances that he has ever done. I believe that it was this particular dance that made me think that they have done it right and that they were carefree with love. The dance, itself, is romantic enough as a stand alone musical short; however, one chorus girl missed her queue but was quickly covered up by a stage hand, but that was only one mistake and it happened in the background. -Liana Sheridan

"This heart of mine

is gayly dancing now."

#6 The Babbitt And The Bromide with Gene Kelly from Ziegfeld Follies. The Babbitt And The Bromide is the next dance on our countdown. This dance begins with a humorous sketch between Fred and Gene calling each other "Rita Hayworth" and "Ginger Rogers" as well as Fred not being able to place Gene in any profession. A little fan fact about this dance: Fred Astaire did something quite similar with his sister, Adele Astaire in The Gershwin's Funny Face.  -Liana Sheridan

"Gotta fly."

#5 Sluefoot with Leslie Caron from Daddy Long Legs. The Sluefoot was one of those dances that always makes me smile. I love how much faith Fred Astaire had for the dance and how he wanted to make the dance succeed, though learning that his wife of twenty or so years passed during the filming of the film. If you look closely at his face, you might catch his eyes being swollen or red from crying over the lost of Phyllis Potter. -Sophie Leigh

Astaire with first wife, Phyllis Potter in front
of their Los Angeles home.

#4 When That Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves For Alabam with Judy Garland from Easter Parade. When I first saw this film, I loved every moment of it; however, the most memorable moment of the film that I enjoyed the most is this particular scene. Both Judy and Fred looked like they were having fun. Yet, I keep on calling Judy, Dorothy throughout the film, itself. -Sophie Leigh

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

#3 The Jukebox Duet with Eleanor Powell from The Broadway Melody of 1940.  Eleanor Powell danced like a man is what Fred Astaire said about Eleanor. In 1981, Eleanor Powell would later say that they would rehearse over and over again, just to make every step perfect and well done. She also stated that she wanted to it one more time. Both Ellie and Freddie were Hollywood's biggest hoofing perfectionists. And perfect they were! -Liana Sheridan

Astaire with Eleanor Powell, 1940.

"I have tried it but I don't

quite get the same thing."

#2 Dancing In the Dark with Cyd Charisse from The Band Wagon. This number is one of those dances that Fred done or saw being done during his Broadway days with his sister, Adele in 1931. And both Liana and I agreed that this dance would have been different during the 1930s, or has been replicated if any documented footage of rehearsal had been leaked to the public. -Sophie Leigh

"Cyd Charisse is a terrific dancer, a wonderful partner,"

[Fred] Astaire would admit later. "She had precision

plus -- beautiful dynamite, I call it. When you

danced with her, you stayed danced with her."

#1 A Couple Of Song And Dance Men with Bing Crosby from Blue Skies and Together. This number is one of our favorites of Astaire's. It was this dance that I thought that Fred nailed it, and that he proved to everyone that he could dance and teach at the same time on-screen. -Sophie Leigh

"I couldn't even reach the steps he throws away."

~Adele Astaire

"Come on, Fred, I'm not your sister, you know."

~ Claire Luce

Film that got us into Old Hollywood

Mary Poppins was the film that got me into Old Hollywood and Classic Disney for that matter.

-Sophie Leigh

The Belle of New York.

~Liana Sheridan

Photo of the Week

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in a promotional shot for Fly Me Down to Rio (1933).

Four films that we'd pick as the TCM Guest Programmers

Swing Time (1933) - Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers.

I Love Melvin (1953) - Donald O'Connor,  Debbie Reynolds.

Holiday Inn (1942) - Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra.

The first film that we would pick is Swing Time. Swing Time is about a showman who finds himself romancing a dance instructor. The film has the most romantic  scoring by Jerome Kern, and we thought that it's one of Jerome's best work and beautifully sang by Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and the rest of the cast. The second film that we would go for is I Love Melvin because it's one of those films that everyone needs to watch. It's funny. It's romantic. It has singing and dancing. And importantly, it has Cosmo Brown and Kathy Selden (Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds) in love with each other. The next one on our list will be Holiday Inn starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. It is the second film of Fred's on our list and one of my favorite films to watch in the summertime. Though, both of us has seen the colorized version of the film since it has the best quality. We'd still appreciate seeing the black and white version. The last film that we would show is Take Me Out To The Ballgame starting Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Esther Williams because of the running gag between Kelly and Williams, which is they courtship between the pair. Kelly is first introduced to her as a lady, but he called her a fathead then further into the story, he starts to call her, baby doll, which she repeats to him.

30 Day Old Hollywood Meme

This things will be short and about a paragraph long each. I will also do more if you guys want for me to do more. Also, if you guys want to contact me or my co-owner, Ms Sophie Leigh; the comments section is the way to go for discussions and inputs. We'd love to hear from you guys.

Day 01- Four films you’d pick as the TCM Guest Programmer


Day 02- Film that got you interested in Old Hollywood


Day 03- Favorite Actor


Day 04- Favorite Actress


Day 05- Actor or Actress you think is underrated


Day 06- Favorite movie from your favorite Actor


Day 07- Favorite movie from your favorite Actress


Day 08- Favorite Old Hollywood couple


Day 09- Old Hollywood stars you wish had worked together


Day 10- Favorite movie


Day 11- Team Bette or Team Joan


Day 12- Favorite Barrymore


Day 13- Classic movie you just couldn’t get into


Day 14- A legend everyone appreciates, but you can’t personally stand


Day 15- An Actor or Actress you’ve been meaning to give a chance, but haven’t gotten around to it yet


Day 16- Favorite director


Day 17- Favorite line from a film


Day 18- Actor or Actress who should have won an Oscar


Day 19- Who’d you like to party it up with in the afterlife


Day 20- Favorite Silent film star


Day 21- Old Hollywood couple you’d watch a sex tape of


Day 22- If you could go back in time and trade places with an Old Hollywood star, who would it be


Day 23- A film you think is underrated


Day 24- Favorite film from Hollywood’s greatest year, 1939


Day 25- Which character from a film do you fantasize about being


Day 26- Which unsolved scandal would you most like the answer to


Day 27- Who’s death hit you the hardest and why


Day 28- A movie you never expected yourself to enjoy


Day 29- Who’s private lifestyle shocked you the most


Day 30- Which 5 Old Hollywood stars would you invite to dinner