{"id":13624,"date":"2011-01-24T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2011-01-24T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=13624"},"modified":"2013-05-02T18:05:18","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T22:05:18","slug":"the-story-of-vernon-and-irene-castle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=13624","title":{"rendered":"The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939): Movie Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)<\/p>\n

The nine films Fred Astaire<\/a> and Ginger Rogers<\/a> made together at RKO between 1933 and 1939 are some of the most magical and sublime movies ever made. They\u2019re also among the wittiest. If you remove all the musical numbers, you still have some of the most sparkling comedies of the era. They also boast, no surprise, some of the greatest dance numbers ever put on screen.<\/p>\n

Their last film at RKO, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle <\/a>(1939), may be the most underrated film in the series of 10 films Astaire and Rogers made together. (A reunion occurred at MGM in 1949 with The Barkleys of Broadway<\/a>). It may not be their wittiest film, feature members of the Astaire-Rogers stock company, or showcase their best dance routines. Still, there\u2019s a special glow about the film that I find very appealing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the odd man out in their films, being not a musical comedy, but a period film, a biography of the famous pre-World War I dance team. World War I plays an important role in the story \u2013 is this the first time an ugly reality such as war found its way into the world of Astaire and Rogers?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Before Fred and Ginger, Vernon and Irene were the pre-eminent dance team of the early 20th century. Their dances, including the famous Castle Walk, swept the world. They were equally known for their fashion sense. When Irene Castle bobbed her hair, millions of women around the world did the same thing. It\u2019s a nice film, and I don\u2019t mean that in a pejorative sense. Vernon and Irene like each other from the start, and even when facing career lows they are always there for each other.<\/p>\n

Irene Castle was a technical consultant on the film and, from all accounts, was a holy terror on the set (Ginger was a special target of Irene\u2019s wrath. It all started when Irene insisted Ginger darken her hair to match Irene\u2019s brunette shade. Ginger refused.). I\u2019m guessing that the real Vernon and Irene relationship was not always so carefree and the lack of drama was necessary to placate Irene. There would be no disparaging Vernon\u2019s memory if Irene had anything to do with it. Irene was also somewhat taken aback at the casting of Walter Brennan<\/a> as Walter, their servant, confidante and biggest fan. The real-life Walter was black.<\/p>\n

Still, Irene must have been pleased with the many re-creations of the famous Castle dance routines. Not only do we get the Castle Walk, and a tango to die for, but the film features one of the loveliest moments in the Astaire Rogers catalog. It\u2019s World War I and Vernon is flying planes for the British Army and is expected to meet Irene for a Paris reunion. He\u2019s late and she\u2019s distraught as she stands on the dance floor alone, wondering what to do until Vernon walks in. They start dancing – perhaps gliding is a better word – and it\u2019s just beyond lovely.<\/p>\n

All the music is period, save for one song written for the movie, the lovely \u201cOnly When You\u2019re In My Arms\u201d written by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar. Coincidentally, Fred Astaire would play Kalmar in the 1950 Ruby-Kalmar biopic Three Little Words<\/a>, a personal favorite of mine. Also a nice movie.<\/p>\n

Not only is it their most underrated film, but it\u2019s also underrated when it comes to the miracle movie year of 1939.\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Movie audiences that year were lucky to see some of the great love stories of all time. Of course there\u2019s Gone With the Wind <\/a>and Wuthering Heights.<\/a> There\u2019s also Love Affair<\/a> (later remade as An Affaior to Remember), with Irene Dunne<\/a> and Charles Boyer<\/a>; Deanna Durbin<\/a> getting her first screen kiss, courtesy of Robert Stack<\/a>, in the thoroughly charming Cinderella re-tread First Love<\/a>; lonely schoolteacher Robert Donat<\/a> meeting a radiant Greer Garson<\/a> on vacation and enjoying a few years of happiness with her until her premature death in Goodbye Mr. Chips<\/a>; Bette Davis<\/a> nobly fighting blindness in Dark Victory<\/a>; Cary Grant<\/a> and Jean Arthur<\/a> arguing and loving in Only Angels Have Wings<\/a>; and Melvyn Douglas<\/a> wooing and charming staunch Communist Greta Garbo<\/a> in Paris in Ninotchka<\/a>. In addition to Fred and Ginger, other legendary screen teams that year included\u00a0William Powell<\/a> and Myrna Loy<\/a> who \u00a0gave us Another Thin Man<\/a>, and Errol Flynn <\/a>and Olivia de Havilland<\/a> helping\u00a0take Dodge City<\/a>. These are all fondly remembered to this day. The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle should be part of that list for many reasons. Not only as the final RKO film of the greatest dance team in film history, not only as one of the most charming films of 1939, not only as one of the best musical biopics of the era, but a combination of all three. It\u2019s a wonderful movie.
<\/em><\/p>\n

Kevin Deany is a lifelong movie buff residing in Chicago\u2019s western suburbs. When not watching and writing about movies, he works as an account supervisor for a public relations agency in Chicago. For more information, visit <\/em>Kevin’s Movie Corner.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) The nine films Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together at RKO between 1933 and 1939 are some of the most magical and sublime movies ever made. They\u2019re also among the wittiest….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":13625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1408,1495,1496],"coauthors":[1710],"class_list":["post-13624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-articles","tag-classic-movies","tag-fred-astaire","tag-ginger-rogers"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939): Movie Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, the 1939 musical comedy starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is reviewed. 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