mark.waltz Tired of being part of their musical comedy song and dance team, Dinah Barkley (Ginger Rogers) decides to pursue a career as a dramatic actress, disappointing her hoofer husband Josh (Fred Astaire) which leads to their separation. But as much as he resents her for deserting him, he can't help but interfere in her career, calling her up with a disguised voice and pretending to be her director to offer her "acting advice". This turns her career as a dramatic actress around but leads to the possibility of romance between Dinah and Jacques, the director whom Fred had been pretending to be with a "Cyrano de Bergerac" facade. It's obvious that these two will get back together, but how the scam is exposed is all part of the fun.In their first movie together in ten years, Fred and Ginger appear as if time had stood still. He's gone onto other partners, and she's mixed an infrequent musical with mostly comedy or dramatic parts. For what was supposed to be a follow-up for Fred and Judy Garland (after the smash success of "Easter Parade") came as the reunion that nobody thought would ever happen, and one of the most delightful re-teamings in film history. You can see the story being a continuation of "Easter Parade"; Josh Barkley tells his wife that he helped her learn everything she knows, which having seen "Easter Parade" just recently is a perfect way to continue the story. But without Fred and Judy, there's no need to continue that story, and even if Judy had been Dinah Barkley (not Hannah Brown), the connections would have been obvious.Adding color to the Fred and Ginger pairing enhances their stardom, although I certainly wouldn't want to see their 1933-1939 pairings colorized. But you certainly need color for the "Manhattan Downbeat", "My One and Only Highland Fling" and "Shoes With Wings On", one of the most creative of all of Fred's masterpieces. Fred has a beautiful solo he sings to Ginger ("You'd Be Hard to Replace") and the reprisal of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" is elegantly staged. Ginger's singing in "Highland Fling" is a bit off key, but she still dances beautifully.Oscar Levant provides some acerbic dialog, but when he plays classics on the piano during a few concert performances, it is absolutely grand. His best line is a comment about Fred's replacement dance partner, Gale Robbins, and is one she totally deserves. Carol Brewster made my ears ring as Levant's dizzy date, but nothing put me in a bigger tizzy than poor Billie Burke's almost unnecessary contribution as a befuddled matron who may provide excellent parties but provided an annoyance even to her society friends who all seemed to run every time they heard her screeching out their names.When Ginger recites the French National Anthem (very over dramatically), she sounds like she's imitating Blanche Yurka in "A Tale of Two Cities", appropriate for Madame La Farge, but certainly hammy for a rising Sarah Bernhardt to expect to get away with at the "La Comédie-Française". But that's the only embarrassing scene here, with her rehearsals for her straight play very much done like Hepburn's scenes in "Stage Door" where she must face her inadequacies as a dramatic actress until it hits her how she has to play each scene. It's a shame that with each of their careers still in full swing that this was their last movie together. They did present an Oscar together only a few years later, and at any event where they were together, it was like Elvis or the Beatles had taken the stage. More than 80 years after their first appearance together, Fred and Ginger strike magic more than pretty much any other couple. He may have given her class, and she may have given him sex appeal, but together, they sparkled like the stars in the sky and still make cloudy days a lot better.

TheLittleSongbird Even when such an iconic partnership like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are in a film that doesn't showcase their talents as well as their previous outings, you can still enjoy the film on its own. That is definitely the case with The Barkleys of Broadway, still a good enough film despite lacking compared to their previous films. The story may be far-fetched but considering that that component wasn't ever as strong as everything else in their films together that isn't as big an issue. More problematic is Ginger's La Marseillaise scene feeling forced, the Weekend in the Country number never shaking off the feeling that it would have been more suited to Judy Garland(the originally intended female lead, this song really doesn't play to Ginger's strengths) and some of Ginger's clothes- somewhat frumpy-looking here- not accommodating her lovely figure. The costumes, scenery and sets generally are sumptuous and the film is beautifully filmed. The score is lovely too with a sense of whimsy and wit, and while there have been more memorable songs in other Fred and Ginger outings the songs are still good. Shoes with Wings On is a charming and good-natured song that shows off Fred's skills as a dancer very well, Bouncin' the Blues is catchy and fun and anybody who want to see Fred and Ginger's dancing and chemistry will find pleasure in You'd Be Hard to Replace. The Highland Fling song is not particularly memorable but is fun to watch, the kilts are a nice touch. The dance duet of You Can't Take That Away from Me from Shall We Dance is musically and choreographically in a different league, nostalgic and moving it is very effective and doesn't feel out of place at all. The choreography is elegant and sparkling if not with new ideas(ie. dancing on roller-skates or girls on airplanes), and Fred and Ginger's dancing is as poised and athletic as it ever was. Their chemistry is very convincing too. The dialogue is smart and witty with a good amount of heart. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are great here, Ginger may have lost some of her freshness, not helped by some frumpy outfits, but she is still sassy and beautiful. Fred is wonderfully chirpy and debonair, that comes through loud and clear in Shoes With Wings on. The supporting cast give solid performances, Oscar Levant brings some amusing touches and a fresh personality while playing the piano brilliantly, especially when it's as demanding as Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no.1(though not so much as Rachmaninov 3rd or particularly Brahms 2nd). Billie Burke is charming in her role. All in all, very enjoyable though a little disappointing too. 7/10 Bethany Cox

jeremy_shops All the old RKO black-and-white films are so perfectly silly, and perfectly wonderful... and perhaps because I'd read reviews that "The Barkleys of Broadway" was a substandard pairing of Rogers and Astaire, I simply hadn't seen it until it showed up recently on Turner Classic Movies.Okay, so it isn't that great a movie, but the magic of Fred & Ginger transcends all."They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a golden moment. Ginger had been a straight actress for several years had put on a few pounds and isn't quite up to the level of Pan Hermes' choreography of the RKO days. But every time she and Fred start moving to music, they create the sexiest, most romantic moments ever recorded on film.There's fun sex, flirty sex, deep passionate sweaty sex (remember the dance that ended with Fred lighting cigarettes?). And "They Can't Take..." in the B's of B'way is wonderfully seductive sex.Fred certainly danced with good partners, but none of them was the actress Ginger was. She and Fred had such chemistry, even sub-par Astaire and Rogers is worth sitting through a clunky script.

lugonian "The Barkleys of Broadway" (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1949), directed by Charles Walters, goes down in history as one of Hollywood's biggest events, being the motion picture that reunited the ever popular song and dance team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, whose nine musicals for RKO Radio from 1933 to 1939, entertained as well as popularized the art of the dance on screen, and whose reputation continues to make this dynamic dual a legendary item.Plot Summary: Josh (Fred Astaire) and Dinah Barkley (Ginger Rogers) are a sensational husband and wife dancing team on Broadway who appear to be the most perfect couple while performing on stage, but in reality, come to arguments after the curtain goes down. It is up to Ezra Millar (Oscar Levant), composer and close friend, to act as their referee. Dinah feels Josh takes her for granted while Josh finds Dinah neglectful towards him, with instances finding Josh literally left out in the cold on a patio during a social function given by Mrs. Livingston Belney (Billie Burke), and later at the golf course waiting for Dinah's arrival only to remain there until he gets himself drenched from a sudden rain storm, each due to Dinah's meetings with playwright (Jacques Francois) who insists she's wasting her time in musical comedy and should pursue a dramatic career and become another legend like Sarah Bernhardt. At first she turns down his offer to star in his latest play, but after Josh belittles her, she decides to take the challenge, splitting up the team and causing the Barkleys partnership to go their separate ways.The Music and Lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Harry Warren: "The Swing Trot" (danced by Astaire and Rogers); "The Sabre Dance" (piano solo by Oscar Levant); "You'd Be Hard to Replace" (sung by Astaire); "Bouncin' the Blues" (instrumental); "My One and Only Highland Fling" (sung by Astaire and Rogers); "A Weekend in the Country" (sung by Astaire, Rogers and Levant); "Shoes With Wings On" (sung and performed by Astaire); "Concerto in "B" Flat Minor" (by Tchaikovsky/piano solo by Levant); "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (sung by Astaire/danced by Astaire and Rogers) by George & Ira Gershwin; "You'd Be Hard to Replace" (sung by Astaire from phonograph record) and "Manhattan Downbeat" (danced by Astaire and Rogers).Supporting casts consists of Gale Robbins as Shirlene May, Dinah's understudy; Clinton Sundberg as Bert; and George Zucco appearing briefly as the judge in the play portion of the film.For their tenth and final collaboration of Astaire and Rogers on screen, "The Barkleys of Broadway" could very well have been a sequel to any one of their earlier efforts, showing what's become of their characters after dancing to a happy conclusion. SHALL WE DANCE? (1937) comes to mind since it introduced one of their signature tunes, "They Can't Take That Away From Me," only this time having Fred and Ginger dancing to it, resulting as being one of the most moving and sentimental dance pieces ever recorded on film, illustrating the chemistry and magic they had over a decade ago is still quite evident in 1949. After many musicals, the genius of Astaire never ceases to amaze with his creativity, particularly the "Shoes With Wings On" number, one of the true classics in movie musical history. As for the dance numbers with Astaire and Rogers during the opening and closing segments, it a wonder why they're so brief.While screen reunions usually fail to recapture the magic of the "good old days," "The Barkleys of Broadway" is no exception. The writers had wisely avoided reliving the past for them with the typical boy meets girl plot that had become standard with most Fred and Ginger musicals. However, the film offers supporting players in the likeness and manner of those who have enacted with the team in the past. Billie Burke and Jacques Francois could easily be true reminders of GAY Divorcée (1934) co-stars Alice Brady and Erik Rhodes, although Hans Conried, seen briefly as a waiter, comes close as the Rhodes prototype. Edward Everett Horton might have been most welcome in the Levant role, but as far as it goes, new and younger faces of MGM players assumed center stage instead.Astaire's character comes as a little sarcastic at times, which he is supposed to be, thus offering him new direction from those easy going dancing guys he's portrayed so well and often. Rogers appears more youthful during the film's latter portion, and although a fine comedienne, her Sarah Bernhardt interpretation reading of "La Marseillaise" comes off as a bit forced. And then there's the droll and dry, yet sometimes amusing humor of Oscar Levant, whose piano solos slow down the pace, making one yearn for Chico Marx in piano playing to these classical compositions with his unique and lively style instead.In spite of its pros and cons, this is a satisfactory conclusion for Astaire and Rogers partnership, offering viewers a chance in seeing them together again, dancing on stage one last time on screen as the Barkleys of Broadway.Displayed on video cassette since the 1980s and later to DVD, "The Barkleys of Broadway" at 109 minutes, is one of the more revised classic films broadcast on Turner Classic Movies. (***1/2)