The Gay Divorcee | Larsen On Film

Contents:

• THE GAY DIVORCEE
• THE GAY DIVORCEE
• GAY DIVORCEE, THE - (ORIGAL TRAILER)
• THE GAY DIVORCEE
• MIL MONDAY: THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934)
• THE GAY DIVORCEE
• THE GAY DIVORCEE
• THE GAY DIVORCEE
• THE GAY DIVORCEE

THE GAY DIVORCEE

(mil play "Gay Divorce") (uncreded). Based on the mil The Gay Divorce, book by Dwight Taylor, mil adaptatn by Kenh Webb and Samuel Hoffenste, mic and lyrics by Cole Porter (New York, 29 Nov 1932).

A classic pairg of one of the Hollywood mil's most famo upl, The Gay Divorcee (1934) was the send film team-up of Fred Astaire and Gger Rogers and follows the tratg efforts of Amerin dancer Guy Holn (Astaire) to woo an unhappily married woman, Mimi Glossop (Rogers), who's the procs of divorcg her adbeat hband.

The batn of smashg mil numbers and loopy ic cint The Gay Divorcee is bt exemplified by the film's openg number ("Don't Let It Bother You") at a Paris nightclub floorshow, where a bevy of betiful dam on a rotatg stage make ty lady hand puppets dance chos le synchronizatn. Other dance numbers The Gay Divorcee prove more reprentative of the magic Astaire/Rogers touch.

THE GAY DIVORCEE

Meant to palize on their succs wh Flyg Down to R (1933), The Gay Divorcee was the first time the team's ne llaboratns that they received top billg after havg only sendary rol R. Oddly enough, the amount of time the uple spent actually dancg The Gay Divorcee totals a meager 10 mut. Director Mark Sandrich's film was actually based on a Broadway mil by Dwight Taylor and Cole Porter lled The Gay Divorce which Astaire, Erik Rhos and Eric Blore all appeared.

Hollywood's censorship-prone Hays Admistratn sisted that the tle be changed to The Gay Divorcee wh the strange reasong that divorce uld not be a happy. Consired one of the bt Deprsn-era mils, The Gay Divorcee was nomated for a slew of Amy Awards and won the first Bt Song Osr® for that tchy tune, "The Contental. A publicy stunt for The Gay Divorcee which RKO anized "Contental" monstratns and parti never really helped the dance tch on, but one thg that extravagant number did start a fad.

mil play The Gay Divorce by Dwight Taylor and Cole Porter. The Gay Divorcee - The Gay Divorcee.

GAY DIVORCEE, THE - (ORIGAL TRAILER)

The origal movie on which this mil was based was lled "The Gay Divorce", but bee of problems arisg om the sensor, was renamed "The Gay Divorcee" (one 'e' add) for the silver screen.

The mil The Gay Divorce was based on the unproduced play An Adorable Adventure by J. The workg tle of the film was The Gay Divorce.

THE GAY DIVORCEE

In his tobgraphy, Fred Astaire claims that director Mark Sandrich told him that the tle The Gay Divorcee was selected bee the stud "thought was a more attractive-soundg tle, centered around a girl.

" Morn sourc claim that stud executiv changed the word "divorce" to "divorcee" bee, while they believed that a divorcee uld be gay, a divorce uld not. When RKO's actg productn head, Pandro Berman, suggted that The Gay Divorce, then a h play on Broadway, be ed as a follow-up to Rad Cy Revels, Lou Brock, who had produced Flyg Down to R and was slated to produce the follow-up pictur, ridiculed the ia. ) After Berman chose to produce The Gay Divorce himself, he asked Cole Porter to wre new songs for the film but was turned down.

Somehow, "The Gay Divorcée" is one of their bt llaboratn. After their h dancg of the "Car" "Flyg Down the R, " RKO gave the teamg of Fred Astaire and Gger Rogers a star role "The Gay Divorcée" 1934.

MIL MONDAY: THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934)

"The Gay Divorcée" was based on a Broadway mil (of which the only number retaed is "Night and Day") and appears that a few of s plot vic were adopted later Astaire-Rogers films as well.

The superb Fred and Gger seri always end wh a big, big set piece where the two of them uld dance, and 'The Gay Divorce(e)' is no exceptn.

THE GAY DIVORCEE

They're ably supported by Edward Everett Horton (as 'Aunt' Egbert), Alice Brady (the towerg matriach, Rogers' nt), Eric Blore (as an irratg waer who lik talkg about rocks and playg wh words), Erik Rhos (as a daft Italian), and Betty Grable (as a hotel gut who has a terrific number wh Horton, 'Let's K-knock K-kne') you might gus, the story revolv around a divorce, which might be a gay one ( the 1930s fn of the word, of urse), and, as so often this seri, mistaken inti. The Gay Divorcée is the answer to the trivia qutn of which of Fred Astaire's and Gger Rogers's is one that Fred Astaire had prevly done on Broadway. When Astaire did on Broadway, the Cole Porter mil had been entled The Gay Divorce.

Only The Gay Divorcée was he asked to repeat a stage basic plot is still the same, the ual Astaire-Rogers se of mistaken inty. It's what The Gay Divorcée is remembered for today. It's a rather long, between ten and fifteen mut of screen time, but as magil as everThe Gay Divorce ran for 248 performanc on Broadway durg the 1932- 1933 season.

Even before The Co was place, seemed that the powers that be emed that his work was way too sophistited and nghty to be seen and heard as wh the film beg othy romance stead of social mentary, The Gay Divorcée is still great entertament.

THE GAY DIVORCEE

Hartley Manners' play 'The Gay Divorce'. The Hays Office sisted on shovg an 'e' on the end, for how uld a divorce be so triflg as to be gay? Keepg jt one song om Cole Porter's origal sre, the timels 'Night and Day', and addg only four others, The Gay Divorcée is more a edy wh songs than is a mil edy.

The Gay Divorce.

That is the se wh The Gay Divorcée and Fred and Gger's other films too, if you want great pism they provi that. In regard to Fred and Gger's films, The Gay Divorcée is one of their bt, personal rankg would be third place behd Top Hat and Swg Time(wh Top Hat gettg the edge, Follow the Fleet and Shall We Dance are extremely good too). The Gay Divorcée, if not que so much as Swg Time, is a betiful-lookg film, the sets are genly lightful wh the standout beg the Brighton and the photography shows great technil skill and sensivy.

THE GAY DIVORCEE

Lookg at THE GAY DIVORCEE through the lens of 85 years, I n see flaws wh .

There's the basic stcture of Astaire urtg Miss Rogers through a set of danc, while between there are jok and pulled fac and Edward Everett Horton dog several hundred double tak per mute as everyone's straight 's based on Astaire's stage succs The Gay Divorce.

THE GAY DIVORCEE

"The Gay Divorcée" (RKO Rad, 1934), directed by Mark Sandrich, rn the supportg young uple who supplied the "edy relief" and very ltle dancg to the prev year's succs of FLYING DOWN TO RIO (RKO, 1933). While sentially a filmed staged play, "The Gay Dibvorcee" do break away om drawg room settgs wh a r chase and brief street scenery. Taken om the h play, "The Gay Divorce" (1932), which also starred Astaire, wh Erik Rhos and Eric Blore reprisg their rol, the film succeeds due to the prence of Astaire and Rogers.

Other character actors support clu William At, briefly appearg as Mimi's hband, prentg himself close to the mannerisms of future character actor, Billy DeWolfe; Eric Blore as the waer would have his share of edic scen wh Astaire and Rogers three addnal the ten Astaire and Rogers mils, "The Gay Divorcée, " "Top Hat" (1935) and "Shall We Dance?

"The Gay Divorcée" beg one of the twelve feature films to be nomated for Bt Picture of 1934, is vtage fun.

"The Gay Divorcée" is a great classic mil, wh Gger Rogers and Fred Astaire shg and dancg.

My vote is (Brazil): "A Alegre Divorciada" ("The Gay Divorcée"). Fred Astaire and Gger Rogers are entertag enough their first starrg film of The Gay Divorcée. Really, all I'll say now is The Gay Divorcée is well worth seeg for the emergence of the classic movie dance team of Astaire & Rogers!

Gay Divorcée- We All Need Other Corrponnts Like This ***1/2. "The Gay Divorce" produced the first song ever to be honored wh an Amy award 1934. ""The Gay Divorcee" is the tablishg mil of Astaire and Rogers.

He was fely one of the bt supportg edians of the 1930s and 1940s, other Astaire and Rogers mils, and movi like "Lost Horizon", "Holiday", "Here Com Mr Jordan" and "Arsenic and Old Lace" one song was retaed for the filmic versn of "The Gay Divorcee".

The censors even crashed down on the stage's origal tle "The Gay Divorce". Mimi Glossop wants a Guy Holn's lawyer iend assists her dancer falls for Gay Divorcée (1934)Mark Sandrich and produced by Pandro S.

Nowadays such a tle would suggt a 'Will & Grace' style edy wh flamg homosexual clichés that offer an offensive to the gay muny and an easy, non-threateng character for straight dienc but, given that we are 1934 here, is actually the first film that featured Astaire and Rogers equal billg and is que an enjoyable ltle affair spe sharg only one song mon wh s source material. The film also featur an extra 'e' bee censors of the time sisted that divorce uld never be seen as gay or cheerful and I suppose was a ncsn on their part to allow the ia that a divorcée uld be!