Swing Time (1936)

Featured Audience Ratings

• 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.

• 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.

• 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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