Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  A gambling dancer travels to the big city to win/earn enough money to marry his fiancee but falls for his dance partner in the process. Those who like this film are compelled by the combination of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and they find the music "peerless," to quote… More
  A gambling dancer travels to the big city to win/earn enough money to marry his fiancee but falls for his dance partner in the process. Those who like this film are compelled by the combination of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and they find the music "peerless," to quote Stephen Garrett. While I can deny that Astaire and Rogers can dance well and the music is fun, the film as a whole is not very good. The story is a cliche. It was entertaining enough to hang around three stars for me, propelled by the fun chemistry between Astaire and Rogers (fun fact: I heard they hated each other in real life), but the completely unnecessary, racially insensitive Fred Astaire-in-blackface dance dropped the film an extra star. Overall, only Astaire and Rogers fans, those who are already in the dancers' camps, will like this film.

• Devon B

  
  "Some day, when I'm awfully low, When the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you... and the way you look tonight." "The Way You Look Tonight" is a re-occurring song in "Swing Time", though it's first introduced lyrically by Fred… More
  "Some day, when I'm awfully low, When the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you... and the way you look tonight." "The Way You Look Tonight" is a re-occurring song in "Swing Time", though it's first introduced lyrically by Fred Astaire, as he sings to Ginger Rogers in an off-the-cuff moment at the piano. Oh, Fred plays a character named "Lucky" and Ginger plays a character named "Penny", but it's hardly worth the effort to differentiate them from their characters. Like Bogart or Marilyn Monroe, the two of them are rarely completely divorced from the characters they play, they are stars with a capital "S". Beautiful, talented, graceful stars. It's not that they are starring in a movie but that the movie is a vehicle for their stardom, a means of allowing us to see them in their element. So Fred Astaire, performing as a character named "Lucky" is supposed to marry a girl, only the guys from his dance act sabotage him and cause him to miss the wedding. Undeterred, he decides to win her back, with her father's stipulation that he earn $25,000 before he returns to marry her. So Lucky and his pal Pop (Victor Moore), set off for the city in hopes of making their fortune. It's there Lucky has a run-in with a beautiful little dancer by the name of Penny (Rogers). She doesn't like him at first, but soon the two are forming a dance routine and it's only a matter of time before love follows. But what about the girl back home? Great songs, great musical direction, great dance numbers all highlight this film, often touted as the best of the Astaire/Rogers collaborations. It's most certainly enjoyable, and even perhaps a bit touching. It's something from an era of Hollywood that has long past and is in danger of being forgotten. An era of class and sophistication that is a nice change of pace from the modern world. At least once in a while.

• Jon L

  
  It's rare that I laugh out loud with no one around. This film made me do just that. They sure don't make movies like this anymore and it's a shame because I believe it's still possible. I'll do a formal review later. Let's just say this is one to… More
  It's rare that I laugh out loud with no one around. This film made me do just that. They sure don't make movies like this anymore and it's a shame because I believe it's still possible. I'll do a formal review later. Let's just say this is one to watch.

• Bathsheba M

  
  What's not to like? Fred Astaire dancing. Ginger Rogers doing the same thing except "backwards and in heels" as some wag said. The evil band leader who wants to marry Ginger, but don't you think that he will be unfaithful at the first opportunity? I do. The… More
  What's not to like? Fred Astaire dancing. Ginger Rogers doing the same thing except "backwards and in heels" as some wag said. The evil band leader who wants to marry Ginger, but don't you think that he will be unfaithful at the first opportunity? I do. The plot's incredibly thin and forced, but that's okay, it frees you up to look at and think about...the dancing!

• AJ V

  
  Not bad, but not good. This movie is just another romantic comedy, with song and dance because it has Fred and Ginger, of course. It's somewhat funny, and enjoyable.

• danny d

  
  often considered the best of the astaire/rogers films, swing time deserves its acclaim. the musical numbers are perfectly spaced and the actors did their part to create a wonderful film with a charming story. rogers is beautiful in this film and astaire proves why he and kelly rival… More
  often considered the best of the astaire/rogers films, swing time deserves its acclaim. the musical numbers are perfectly spaced and the actors did their part to create a wonderful film with a charming story. rogers is beautiful in this film and astaire proves why he and kelly rival each other for the top spot among musical song and dance men. great film.

• Stephen M

  
  Fred and Ginger at the top of their game. It's too long since I've seen <I>Top Hat</I> to state definitively whether I prefer it to <I>Swing Time</I>, but having just watched the latter for the very first time, I shall certainly be digging out my old… More
  Fred and Ginger at the top of their game. It's too long since I've seen <I>Top Hat</I> to state definitively whether I prefer it to <I>Swing Time</I>, but having just watched the latter for the very first time, I shall certainly be digging out my old VHS copy of the former to make a proper comparison sometime soon. I've read one professional review which criticises the supporting cast of this movie, but I thought at least four of the supporting players (Victor Moore as Fred's friend, Helen Broderick as Ginger's, Georges Metaxa as Ginger's bandleader suitor and Eric Blore as her boss) were splendid, and very funny, too. Fred and Ginger's three routines are, as you would expect, wonderful. Of these, my favourite is the first, "Pick Yourself Up", which might not be the most dazzling but is easily the most fun; Ginger's generous flashes of leg in this routine are an added bonus! Other highlights include Fred's gloriously un-PC <i>Bojangles of Harlem</i> solo spot and his serenading of Ginger with the beautiful <i>The Way You Look Tonight</i>. A joy from start to finish!

• Jennifer X

  
  You know...stars aren't given nearly enough credit for being cute. Astaire's cuteness was what kept him afloat with younger ingenues like Hepburn and Garland even when he was like 50. But his wonder years truly lay in these gems he made with Ginger. I think I preferred this… More
  You know...stars aren't given nearly enough credit for being cute. Astaire's cuteness was what kept him afloat with younger ingenues like Hepburn and Garland even when he was like 50. But his wonder years truly lay in these gems he made with Ginger. I think I preferred this one slightly more to Top Hat because there was less miscommunication involved (and therefore less time apart, more time spent dancing together!) and more good natured chemistry to spread around. I'm thankful that Ginger got to exercise her vocal chops a little in this movie too; she's really an excellent singer but she ended up playing second fiddle to Astaire in these duo films and lost a little bit of the pre-Hays code sass found in Busby Berkeley's little pieces. But I DO love them together. Especially the teaching studio dance.

• Byron B

  
  Some good comic bits. I have to attribute more scenes that develop the romance between Astaire and Rogers whether through musical numbers or straight dialog to George Stevens' direction. While I liked the playfulness of the more upbeat song and dance numbers in this one, I… More
  Some good comic bits. I have to attribute more scenes that develop the romance between Astaire and Rogers whether through musical numbers or straight dialog to George Stevens' direction. While I liked the playfulness of the more upbeat song and dance numbers in this one, I thought the comedy was a little behind that of Top Hat.

• Matthew Y

  
  Top Hat was the best Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie. This was the accepted public opinion for many years, so why the heck did AFI put Swing Time in their revamped 100 greatest list and not Top Hat. That question puzzled me, that is until I actually saw Top Hat and Swing Time. Top… More
  Top Hat was the best Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie. This was the accepted public opinion for many years, so why the heck did AFI put Swing Time in their revamped 100 greatest list and not Top Hat. That question puzzled me, that is until I actually saw Top Hat and Swing Time. Top Hat has the better screenplay, the better performances and yes may even be the better film. But Swing Time undeniable has the best dance numbers! One right after the other they put anything Top Hat has to offer to shame and it all culminates to Astaire trying to keep pace with his own shadows in the number "Bojangles of Harlem". That scene is a cinematic staple.

• Brian R

  
  I still think " The Gay Divorcee" is the best Astaire/Rogers duo picture I have seen so far (I still have to watch Top Hat). "Swing Time" is also a delight but I wouldn't call it great. The first half of the picture deals with a lot of humour sometimes it… More
  I still think " The Gay Divorcee" is the best Astaire/Rogers duo picture I have seen so far (I still have to watch Top Hat). "Swing Time" is also a delight but I wouldn't call it great. The first half of the picture deals with a lot of humour sometimes it feels unecessary. Then the second half begins to take flight as Astaire and Rogers akward relationship starts to bloom and then the rest of the picture really hits the top off the charts as Astaire and Rogers take the dance floor and it's pretty cool how those two are so well in sync. Their dance scenes together is too amazing, I swear these two were, in a way making sweet love. Whenever I saw other people dancing in crowds in "Swing Time" I saw it as an orgy. Sigh...Ballroom dancing at it's finest.

• Marion R

  
  I really liked this film. It has one of my favorite song "A Fine Romance" The story is great and the numbers are fantastic.

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