AlsoDances.Net: Damsel In Distress Trivia & Reviews

Search for:

Navigation

Local Menu

Buy the Video

Performances Menu

Radio

Main Menu

Home

Shop

Performances > Movie Musicals > Damsel In Distress (Complete)

Damsel In Distress

Trivia

	This was George Gershwin's last complete score. Its brilliance can only hint at what new heights Gershwin might have reached, but he passed away on 11 July, 1937, and never saw the complete film.
	Numerous stars were linked to the role of Alyce, including Adele Astaire, Elizabeth Yeaman, Katharine Hepburn, Ida Lupino, Jean Arthur, Eleanor Powell, Alice Faye, Ruby Keeler, and Carole Lombard. British musical star Jessie Matthews was each approached to play the role, but was unavailable (possibly through height complications), and it went to Joan Fontaine.
	George Burns and Gracie Allen auditioned for the movie using the whisk broom dance featured in the movie. Although they had danced in vaudeville, Burns was afraid they'd be turned down because they couldn't dance with Fred. He recalled a whisk broom dance he once saw down by Evans and Evans in vaudeville, and tracked down the surviving Evans and hired him to teach them the dance. Fred loved it and decided to use it in the movie.
	Hermes Pan won an Oscar for Best Dance Direction for the "Stiff Upper Lip" funhouse number. The number includes the famous "Oompah Trot/Runaround Dance" number that Fred performed with Adele on the stage, with Bracie taking Adele's part.
	Ray Noble, appearing as Reggie, was a British bandleader who emigrated to the USA in 1934. He worked with Fred a number of times after this, leading some of Fred's studio recordings and appearing with him on "The Yam (Explained)".
	Joe Niemeyer, the Cockney doing the impression of Fred in the street, first met Fred in vaudeville in 1909. They renewed their friendship in this movie, and Fred hired him to be his stand-in, which he did for the next 20 years. His only other onscreen appearance is in the opening scene of The Belle Of New York.
	Academy Awards: Best Dance Direction, Hermes Pan; Best Art Direction (nominated).

Reviews

James Francis Crow, Hollywood Citizen News, 18 Nov 1937: "Taking Ginger Rogers' place in the dance numbers are- of all people- George Burns and Gracie Allen, who score handy hits in a reversion to hoofing, notably in a sequence in which the three strut their terpsichorean wares before distortion mirrors, on crazy-house treadmills, and on various gadgets at a carnival resort. Miss Fontaine also appears briefly in a dance turn, but this was a mistake, because it brings instant and unfair competition with Miss Rogers."

Frank S. Nugent, New York Times, 25 Nov 1937: "For a chap who has been deprived of Ginger Rogers as a co-star Fred Astaire is bearing up astonishingly well... He probably misses his dancing partner a little- he'd have to say so anyway- but there's little evidence that he has been brooding over the loss. In fact, there were many times when we suspected him of enjoying his gallivanting around with a new leading lady... Joan Fontaine is a mighty attractive gallivantee, even if she can't dance."

Sanderson Beck, Movie Mirrors: (Entertainment 6/10, Education 5/10) "This film entertains mostly with Gracie's funny lines, the songs, dancing, and some humorous situations." more...

Chinafrog, Epinions.com, 9 Dec 2000: (3 out of 5, Recommended) "For a film that had essentially no plot, Damsel in Distress was sufficiently entertaining. I kept in mind that this was a Fred Astaire film so I had to expect the typical boy-girl romance technique. I was a little disappointed that Joan Fontaine was selected to play the opposing lead of Astaire, since Fontaine was far superior in her acting abilities. This film did nothing for her career because she could not sing, nor dance." more...

Moviemaster, 2000 (German)

Comments? Suggestions? Corrections? Additions? Send us feedback!

USEQWeb006 531 ms