In Buenos Aires, a man who has decreed that his daughters must marry in order of age allows an American dancer to perform at his club under the condition that he play suitor to his second-ol... Read allIn Buenos Aires, a man who has decreed that his daughters must marry in order of age allows an American dancer to perform at his club under the condition that he play suitor to his second-oldest daughter.In Buenos Aires, a man who has decreed that his daughters must marry in order of age allows an American dancer to perform at his club under the condition that he play suitor to his second-oldest daughter.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 3 nominations total
- Julia's Groom
- (uncredited)
- Band Singer
- (uncredited)
- Wedding Guest
- (uncredited)
- Wedding Guest
- (uncredited)
- Roddy - Cecy's Boyfriend
- (uncredited)
- Flower Man
- (uncredited)
- Wedding Guest
- (uncredited)
- Nightclub Patron
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBecause all the sets on the Columbia lot were occupied, Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth rehearsed most of their routines in the nearby Hollywood Cemetery funeral parlor. They had to stop rehearsing to the upbeat music whenever a funeral procession arrived.
- GoofsWhen Maria and Mrs. Castro meet Robert in the sky room, Maria holds her overcoat lapels with both hands. Between shots she appears with both her arms hanging.
- Quotes
Robert Davis: When do I start dancing?
Eduardo Acuña: You do not start dancing.
Robert Davis: But didn't you come to see me about...?
Eduardo Acuña: About one of my daughters. The one you so gallantly referred to as "the inside of a refrigerator"?
Robert Davis: Oh... but, I'm afraid I don't follow you.
Eduardo Acuña: She thinks you're in love with her.
Robert Davis: Would it be rude of me to inquire if there is any insanity in your family?
- Crazy creditsIn the opening credits, the two film stars and the movie title appear on the front and back of a flower gift card held in the hands of a glamorous woman. The rest of the credits follow as in normal film credits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Rocket Gibraltar (1988)
- SoundtracksYou Were Never Lovelier
(1942) (uncredited)
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Played during the opening credits and often as background music
Played by Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra and sung by Fred Astaire
Danced by Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth at the anniversary party
Danced by Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth at the end and sung by an offscreen chorus
"You Were Never Lovelier" has melodies by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Ginger isn't here, but Rita Hayworth is. Her beauty is undeniable. She'd undergone hair removal and Hollywood glamorization by this time and in a few years a pin-up pic of her was to be pasted onto a famous bomb. I missed Astaire's earlier movies. By the time I was old enough, Gene Kelly dominated the screen. I saw Astaire in his later films and didn't like him nearly as much as Kelly. Kelly's background was in athletics. He was masculine and muscular and working class. Astaire's background was in ballroom dancing. How can an adolescent identify with a skinny balding narrow-shouldered dancer in a tuxedo who doesn't swing from ropes? But there's no longer much doubt in most peoples' minds, including mine, that Astaire was by far the better dancer, Kelly's charm notwithstanding. Astaire was elegant and precise and his dance steps were varied; Kelly seemed to repeat his leg-over-leg jumps over and over in each number.
At any rate, the plot of "You Were Never Lovelier" is rather original for an Astaire musical. I don't think it goes farther back in history than Aristophanes. It's a complicated business involving mistaken identities, an interfering father, and whatnot. But it doesn't matter, because the numbers are what counts. Kern and Mercer provide two songs that have become standards: "Dearly Beloved" and "I'm Old Fashioned." Anyone who wants to see the Hollywood musical at its best would be advised to listen to either song and to watch the dancing during "I'm Old Fashioned." "Dearly Beloved" occurs throughout the film as a kind of theme, and is sung once by Astaire and once by Hayworth, but is never accompanied by a dance. There are other songs too, of course, although none enchants the way these two ballads do. One of the numbers is "The Shorty George." Astaire's movies often had references to a new popular dance craze -- The Carioca, The Yam, the Sluefoot -- and this is an instance of that tendency. It was named after a real dancer, George Snowden, a dancer at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, known as "Shorty." If "I'm Old Fashioned" has a swooping grace, "The Shorty George" includes sections set at a blistering tempo and demonstrates Rita Hayworth's energy and range as a dancer.
Speaking of energy, how do they do it? "I'm Old Fashioned", like most of Astaire's numbers, consists of very long takes in medium distance that depend on both precision and physical stamina. (If you want to see an example of the opposite, watch Travolta do his final number in "Staying Alive.") I counted three cuts during the entire dance, which lasts four minutes and thirty-seven seconds. I'd have a heart attack after the first thirty-seven seconds.
Well, okay. It's not Fred and Ginger. It's not even Tosca. But if you want to watch two people engaged in the unpretentious exercise of a physical skill acquired only with the utmost difficulty, this one shouldn't be missed.
- rmax304823
- Oct 7, 2002
- How long is You Were Never Lovelier?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Tuesday's Orchids
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $672,900
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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