Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition (Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Top Hat / Follow the Fleet / Swing Time / Shall We Dance / Carefree / The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle / The Barkleys of Broadway)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • wonderful Edition
  • Dazzling and Beautiful
  • A set of classics
  • BEWARE!
  • a thesaurus of musicals in a package for musicals lovers
Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition (Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Top Hat / Follow the Fleet / Swing Time / Shall We Dance / Carefree / The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle / The Barkleys of Broadway)
Starring: Fred Astaire , and Ginger Rogers
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000H6SXME
Release Date: 2006-10-24

Amazon.com

2006 marks the arrival of five Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films (Flying Down to Rio, The Gay Divorcee, Roberta, Carefree, and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle) on DVD after the first five were released in 2005. The big package is this Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition, which contains all 10 films plus a CD, a bonus DVD with the documentary Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm, press-book replicas, and some other material. If you want the big package with the extra stuff but already bought the five films in 2005, you can get the Astaire & Rogers Partial Ultimate Collector's Edition, which includes everything except the actual discs of those first five films. Or, if you only want the five new films, pick up Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2 as a bookend to Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1.

The Astaire-Rogers films mix light romantic comedy (usually centered around mistaken identities and ending, inevitably, in blissful wedding promises) with elegant dinner wear and surreal sets intended to transport '30s audiences away from the Depression to such locales as Rio, Paris, and Venice. The two stars are also aided by a recurring stable of RKO players such as Edward Everett Horton (master of the double-take), Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. And then there's that sensational dancing set to great songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, numbers that are not merely entertaining but also innovative for their time in that they reveal character and advance the plot. Add it all up, and you have a recipe for an irrepressible joie de vivre that practically defines the movie musical.

Flying Down to Rio (1933) headlined Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond, but it was the fourth- and fifth-billed stars who would rewrite cinematic history. Astaire and Rogers had limited screen time, but were still able to establish many of the trademarks of their later films. The heart of the film is "The Carioca," a company dance extravaganza in which they take the floor together for the first time; their eyes meet and their foreheads touch. Their dance lasts only a few minutes, but it was the highlight of the film and audiences wanted more. The Gay Divorcee (1934) is their best early picture, a loose adaptation of Astaire's stage show, 'The Gay Divorce.' The only song retained for the movie is Cole Porter's smash hit "Night and Day," which is the setting for a sublime pas de deux between Fred and Ginger. The closer is the sprawling 17-minute ensemble number "The Continental." Roberta (1935) was a step backward, with too much time spent on 1930s Parisian fashion and the romance between top-billed Irene Dunne (who gets the best Jerome Kern ballads, "Yesterdays" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes") and Randolph Scott. But as the second-banana couple Astaire and Rogers still get a tap battle, a romantic duet, and plenty of comic banter.

With a score by Irving Berlin, Top Hat (1935) is most famous for two numbers, Astaire's definitive tuxedo setting "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" and the feathery duet "Cheek to Cheek." But other joys include Astaire's "Fancy Free" declaration, "Isn't It a Lovely Day," and the grand finale "The Piccolino." Follow the Fleet (1936) changes the pace a bit, with Astaire playing a sailor, and it suffers from making him and Rogers the second-banana couple to the dull Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. But it still has plenty of laughs and some classic Irving Berlin numbers, including "Let Yourself Go," which Rogers sings before she and Astaire compete in a dance contest; a Rogers solo tap number; "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which the pair dons their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of the series' defining moments. Maybe their most enjoyable picture, Swing Time (1936) features the set-piece "Pick Yourself Up," in which Rogers "teaches" Astaire to dance before they break into a spectacular number; the farewell ode "Never Gonna Dance," and the Oscar-winning "Just the Way You Look Tonight," from the team of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.

Shall We Dance (1937) has a complex plot that has Astaire and Rogers actually getting married before the final credits roll, and turns George and Ira Gershwin's brilliant "They Can't Take That Away from Me" into a heartbreaking ode. Other great songs include "Slap That Bass," "They All Laughed," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," unforgettably performed on roller skates. The eighth and ninth entries in the series tried some different approaches, with the underrated Carefree (1938) more of a comedy vehicle for Ginger (yet still including some fine dances and Irving Berlin songs as well as their first onscreen kiss) and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) portraying the pair as historical dancing stars and using a score of turn-of-the-century standards. The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) is the oddity, reuniting the stars 10 years after their last RKO picture when Judy Garland had to be replaced due to health problems. It's trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation (including the big ballroom number set to "They Can't Take That Away from Me"). The film falls short of their best work, but serves as a fond remembrance of the most glorious partnership in film history. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars wonderful Edition.......2007-08-27

This is a wonderful edition with all movies of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers with bonus features (Trailer, Cartons, Short Movies, a documentary on bonus DVD, Reprints of Lobbycards + 1 Audio CD with any soundtracks. But I do missing "The Piccolino" Soundrack.

5 out of 5 stars Dazzling and Beautiful.......2007-04-20

Ibelieve everything has been said already of Rogers and Astaire.The two together on the screen is magical and entertaining.Funny whitty beautiful.The music by some othe greatest composer such as Berlin costumes by the best of Hollywood is a treat for the eyes.You will not be dissapointed,when you are feeling low his will make you sore to the sky.Get it.

5 out of 5 stars A set of classics.......2007-02-28

If you enjoy Fred & Ginger, you need their entire set of these classics. The dialogue can be a little corny at times, but so was yours when you were young. They practiced for hours, and it shows.

1 out of 5 stars BEWARE!.......2007-02-19

Twice I ordered this set for my wife, and each time the package arrived with DVDs missing from the set! All the containers were there, but as many as five (5) DVDs were gone. What a joke. I gave up and purchased the set at Borders. Does Amazon care? Never heard from them.

5 out of 5 stars a thesaurus of musicals in a package for musicals lovers.......2007-02-19

each movie starring Fred and Ginger can be considered as a jewel; so is this collector's edition with bonus of value ( many photographs "off screen", newspapers articles,...) certainly collected by a true lover who aimed to enjoy the buyer.
Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway
  • JAR
  • GREAT MOVIES!
  • the astaire collection volume 1
  • A Real Classic
Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)
Starring: Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Edward Everett Horton , Erik Rhodes , and Eric Blore
Director: Mark Sandrich , and George Stevens
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009NSCR6
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Amazon.com

Fans of classic movie musicals will be in heaven with Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1, featuring the DVD debut of five films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the quintessential dancing duo. The two gems of the set are Top Hat (1935), generally considered their definitive movie, and Swing Time (1936), which many consider their most enjoyable. Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) fill out the set, each with its own charms.

Follow the Fleet
The Astaire-Rogers films mix light romantic comedy (usually centered around mistaken identities and ending, inevitably, in blissful wedding promises) with elegant dinner wear and surreal sets intended to transport '30s audiences away from the Depression to such locales as Rio, Paris, and Venice. The two stars are also aided by a recurring stable of RKO players such as Edward Everett Horton (master of the double-take), Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. And then there's that sensational dancing set to great songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, numbers that are not merely entertaining but also innovative for their time in that they reveal character and advance the plot. Add it all up, and you have a recipe for an irrepressible joie de vivre that practically defines the movie musical.

With a score by Irving Berlin, Top Hat is most famous for two numbers, Astaire's definitive tuxedo setting "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" and the feathery duet "Cheek to Cheek." But other joys include Astaire's "Fancy Free" declaration, "Isn't It a Lovely Day," and the grand finale "The Piccolino." Favorite musical moments in Swing Time include the set-piece "Pick Yourself Up," in which Rogers "teaches" Astaire to dance before they break into a spectacular number; the farewell ode "Never Gonna Dance," and the Oscar-winning "Just the Way You Look Tonight," from the team of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.

Swing Time
Follow the Fleet changes the pace a bit, with Astaire playing a sailor, and it suffers from making him and Rogers the second-banana couple to the dull Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. But it still has plenty of laughs and some classic Irving Berlin numbers, including "Let Yourself Go," which Rogers sings before she and Astaire compete in a dance contest; a Rogers solo tap number; "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which the pair dons their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of the series' defining moments. Shall We Dance has a complex plot that has Astaire and Rogers actually getting married before the final credits roll, and turns George and Ira Gershwin's brilliant "They Can't Take That Away from Me" into a heartbreaking ode. Other great songs include "Slap That Bass," "They All Laughed," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," unforgettably performed on roller skates. The Barkleys of Broadway is the oddity, reuniting the stars 10 years after their last RKO picture when Judy Garland had to be replaced due to health problems. It's trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation (including the big ballroom number set to "They Can't Take That Away from Me"). The film falls short of their best work, but serves as a fond remembrance of the most glorious partnership in film history. --David Horiuchi

Description

You'll Love The Way Fred and Ginger Look Tonight in the 5-film, 5-Disc Astaire and Rogers Collection Volume One, including the highly acclaimed Top Hat and Swing Time.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway .......2007-07-25

Loved them all. Brings back memories of good times. Well worth the price in memories and escaping into the past if only momentarily.

5 out of 5 stars JAR.......2007-05-15

I love Fred Astaire Movies, classic movies there's nothing like these type of movies. excellent....

5 out of 5 stars GREAT MOVIES!.......2007-02-24

ARRIVED NEXT DAY I ORDERED THEM! VERY GOOD QUALITY OF MOVIES.

5 out of 5 stars the astaire collection volume 1.......2007-02-20

Fred Astaire is unbeatable especially when paired with Ginger Rogers or Eleanor Powell. These are older films and of course not up to modern technical standards. However the charm and the eleghance and the excellence shine through- A must for a fan or collector.

4 out of 5 stars A Real Classic.......2007-01-21

Very well done. A must have for anyone who loves the old films. Even my 10 year old son, enjoyed the dancing and singing. :-)
Follow the Fleet
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Face the Music and Dance
  • Not bad. Not that good.
  • Astaire and Rogers Go More Proletarian Than Plebian in a Still Winning Seaworthy Effort
  • movie musical magic
  • Not Quite Their Best But Not Bad
Follow the Fleet
Starring: Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Randolph Scott , Harriet Hilliard , and Astrid Allwyn
Director: Mark Sandrich , Joseph Henabery , and Friz Freleng
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
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ASIN: B0009NSCQ2
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Amazon.com essential video

Of the nine films Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers completed for RKO Pictures, Follow the Fleet falls short of the top echelon. Coming between series peaks Top Hat and Swing Time, Fleet repeats the mistake (à la Flying Down to Rio and Roberta) of casting Fred and Ginger as the comic couple, while the romantic roles went to Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard (before she went on to fame with her husband, Ozzie Nelson, in Ozzie and Harriet). Fred puts down his top hat to become sailor Bake Baker (yet another of his alliterative screen names), while Ginger plays old flame Sherry Martin. The two are reunited when Fred takes shore leave in San Francisco, and soon their efforts turn to helping Ginger's sister Connie (Hilliard) land Fred's shipmate Bilge (Scott). (Look for Lucille Ball and Betty Grable in small roles.) Too much screen time is spent on Hilliard and Scott, but Fred and Ginger make up for it with plenty of laughs and some classic musical numbers, and Irving Berlin's score is one of the best of the series, with cunning lyrics and melodies that linger in the memory. Highlights include Fred and Ginger in a dance contest, a Ginger solo tap number, and "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which Fred and Ginger don their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of Fred and Ginger's defining moments. --David Horiuchi

Description

All hands on deck! In the fifth of 10 Astaire/Rogers pairings, Fred trades his top hat for a sailor's cap, Randolph Scott gets the girl (pre-Nelson Harriet Hilliard), Ginger gets a tap solo and viewers get the unending delight of seven sparkling Irving Berlin numbers, including Let Yourself Go, We Saw the Sea, the Duo's zany I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket skit and their sublimely powerful Let's Face the Music and Dance. Astaire is Bake Baker, a hoofer now given to stepping a sailor's horn-pipe while he and other swabbies patrol the seas for democracy. Rogers is his former partner Sherry, now convoying the Navy around a ballroom for 10 cents a dance. But one day the fleet returns to home port. Bake again meets Sherry, and the partnership is renewed at least for one more show. In small early-career roles, look for a very blond Lucille Ball and a very young Betty Grable.

DVD Features:
Featurette:Follow the Fleet: The Origins of Those Dancing Feet
Other:Musical Short Melody Master: Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra and Classic Cartoon Let It Be Me

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Face the Music and Dance.......2007-02-20


Fans who are used to seeing Fred and Ginger as high society types (or those who through lucky circumstances rubbed elbows with the same) get something a bit different in this flick which puts both Fred and Ginger in the "working stiff" category. Former dance partners, they have been separated because she wanted to go on to bigger things (do I sense a hit of their own lives creeping into the plot) and as a result Fred has up and joined the Navy. It makes for some good shots on the ship and tender--and a chance for both of them to wear nautical garb in their scenes.

On board ship, Fred leads the jazz band he created in a piece called "I'd Rather Lead a Band" and a ditty with lyric witty, "We Saw the Sea".

Ginger has a sister played by Harriett Hilliard before she became half of Ozzie and Harriett - and Fred has as his Navy pal the charming and cocky Randolph Scott. This harkens back to their first film FLYING DOWN TO RIO and the mildly disappointing ROBERTA by making Ginger and Fred not the only stars. So for us, the film seem more of an "ensemble cast" oeuvre but no matter. The other stars do just fine and Harriett more or less morphs from ugly duckling to almost-swan with the help of Ginger and her dance hall coworker Lucille Ball. As a result of compiling to their ministrations, Harriett gets to sing not one but two love ballads (the pensive "Get Thee Behind Me Satan" and plaintive "But Where are You?"), and in that radio gal of the Thirties style, she does just fine. Otherwise the numbers are Fred's or Ginger's or both.

Finding former partner Ginger now working in a dance hall, Fred gets to hear her sing and dance "Let Yourself Go", win a dance contest and lose Ginger's job for her all in one crack. He promises he will get a better job for her but when she is in an audition he arranged, he shows up and thinks someone else is in there about to get hired and so spikes her glass of water with baking soda. Ginger cannot complete her number and that job is kaput, too.

Later, they decide to put on a show (I guess Mickey and Judy were busy that day) and they rehearse a number called "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" in what are surely their own street clothes complete with Fred's tie-for-belt signature look. Ginger looks cute in slacks and we get to see her footwork, if not those shapely calves. This is another of their anything-you-can-do-I-can do novelty numbers and it works splendidly.

The show they put on has as its' dream sequence style centerpiece a number that harkens back to their elegantly dressed roles in SWING TIME. As the sequence goes, Fred loses all he has at cards and Ginger is similarly having a bad evening and about to end it all when they manage to find one another and work out their situation in the gorgeously choreographed "Let's Face the Music and Dance". It ranks up there with "Never Gonna Dance" in SWING TIME and "Cheek to Cheek" in TOP HAT for utter chic. Ginger's beaded gown is a stunner but it has sleeves so weighty it brings new meaning to the phrase armed and dangerous. They did Fred some minor injury as they whipped around...

All ends well--after all this is an RKO radio picture. Have fun watching!

3 out of 5 stars Not bad. Not that good........2007-01-24

Not really that good. Fred and Ginger are always easy on the eye, dancing together or on their own. But the story is not interesting; in fact it's a little dull. The pacing is off, the dialogue isn't that snappy, and there aren't any striking scenes. Scott is probably better in westerns, though I can't remember him much from any, and he seemed out of place here: looked strapping, but wasn't very amusing, and a non-singing, non-dancing, sorta ambiguous kinda fella. The high spot, Let's Face the Music and Dance, is good and timely, but it also seems out of place, as if it belongs in a different production. It's interesting that these pre-WW2 movies indicate that they know what's coming, but there's nothing to be done about it. The Fleet's getting ready, but until they light the blue paper, let's just fool around and have a ball. Worth seeing once, but only so-so in the end.

4 out of 5 stars Astaire and Rogers Go More Proletarian Than Plebian in a Still Winning Seaworthy Effort.......2006-11-27

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Hollywood's premiere dance team, were usually dressed to the nines and gliding through elaborately exaggerated Art Deco sets in the 1930's. However, they go a bit more downscale for this 1936 outing, the fifth of their ten musicals together. This time, Astaire foregoes his top hat, white tie and tails to become a bubblegum-chewing sailor named "Bake" Baker; and Rogers plays dance hall entertainer Sherry Martin, who was Bake's partner - dancing and otherwise - before he enlisted. Consequently, unlike the mistaken identity ploys and romantic hesitancies prevalent in most of their previous pairings, they are already a couple from the film's outset.

Directed by Mark Sandrich (who guided five of their pairings), the film bears a narrative similarity to 1935's "Roberta" in which they are but one of two couples featured in the storyline. In fact, Randolph Scott plays the other male lead in both films, this time as Bake's womanizing crewmate, "Bilge" Smith. He is partnered with not Irene Dunne (who understandably turned down this follow-up) but Harriet Hilliard. Just married to Ozzie Nelson in real life and decades before Ozzie & Harriet, Hilliard plays Sherry's spinsterish sister Connie who falls hard for Bilge. In the silly plot, she is given a makeover by a young, bleached blonde Lucille Ball, and there is s classic three-way shot of Hilliard, Ball and a kewpie-doll adorable Betty Grable in front of a mirror.

Speaking of the story, what there is of one is credited to Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor and goes something like this...Bake and Bilge are on shore leave in San Francisco where they end up in a dance hall with their rowdy shipmates. Bake finds Sherry working there, while Bilge runs into Connie first when she comes in as a dowdy spinster and then showing up as a glamour girl. Romance blooms for both couples. Connie and Sherry inherit a steamer from their father, but they need money to keep it afloat. Multiple misunderstandings occur in both relationships, but it all works out when they turn the steamer into a theater and put on a fundraising musical revue. It's about as silly as it sounds, but it does provide a good excuse for some memorable Irving Berlin tunes and a trio of Astaire-Rogers dances.

The first two are casual in tone - a dance contest set to the percolating "Let Yourself Go" where they show off mercilessly to win and a physical shipboard comedy routine set to the toe-tapping "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket". However, their last dance is a classic return to formality with a melodramatic piece beautifully set to a stunning arrangement of "Let's Face the Music and Dance". Intriguingly, this movie contains not only an Astaire dance solo but the only time Rogers ever had a dance solo to herself in one of their movies, an energetic tap routine again set to "Let Yourself Go". Dressed in a creamy satin sailor outfit, she also sings the same song most winningly near the beginning of the film.

Acting-wise, Astaire and Rogers are in typically zesty comic form here. While Scott plays his role with his trademark cock-eyed virility, Hilliard is an extremely dull presence, and as a former band singer, she performs two Berlin love songs in a frustratingly diffident manner. Regardless, the magic generated by Astaire and Rogers in their prime make this essential viewing. The 2005 DVD has several good extras beginning with a thirteen-minute featurette, "Follow the Fleet: The Origins of Those Dancing Feet," about how Astaire and Rogers started to work together. There is also a live-action "soundie" called "Melody Master: Jimmie Lunceford and his Dance Orchestra", a poultry-themed cartoon called "Let It Be Me," and the original theatrical trailer.

5 out of 5 stars movie musical magic.......2006-11-07

I love old films, and the ones with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are some of my favorites. Among their movies, "Follow the Fleet" is at the top of the list. For me, the "Let Yourself Go" portion of the film is the best. Whenever I watch the film, I replay that section at least five times. Seeing Lucille Ball and Betty Grable in bit parts is fun. Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard are great supporting players. This movie is a real treat!

4 out of 5 stars Not Quite Their Best But Not Bad.......2005-09-06

"Follow the Fleet" differs from the 3 classic Astaire and Rogers films "Swing Time", "Shall We Dance" and "Top Hat" in that the comedy beats usually provided by Victor Moore, Eric Blore, Edward Horton, and Helen Broderick are notiecably absent. In their place is a second melo-dramatic plot line with Harriet Hilliard and Randolph Scott which isnt bad but can't compare to say a scene from "Top Hat" with Edward Horton and Eric Blore and the laughs they get.
So, you can skip over the Scott and Hilliard spots or enjoy the irony of Harriet's "Get Thee Behind Me Satan" number knowing that she will become Harriet in the Ozzie and Harriet early TV sitcom.
The rest of the movie is brilliant Astaire and Rogers, launching one great Irving Berlin song after another. There's Ginger's spicy "Let Yourself Go" delivered in an adorable satin sailor suit, Fred's very funny "We Joined the Navy", and the unforgetable duet and tap number "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket", a tune you can't get out of your head along with Ginger's goofy and charming playfullness in the tap dance. And of course this movie contains one of Astaire and Roger's most memorable ballroom dance numbers "Let's Face the Music and Dance". This routine alone shows the amazing story telling ability of Astaire's coreography combined with the Roger's powerful but silent emoting while dancing in that fantastic beaded dress. Any serious Astaire and Rogers collector has to get this movie if just for this dance by itself.
THE KISSING BANDIT with Frank Sinatra (Beijou-me um Bandido)(Musical) (High Quality Import Edition-NTSC format-Region 1-Playable in North America)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    THE KISSING BANDIT with Frank Sinatra (Beijou-me um Bandido)(Musical) (High Quality Import Edition-NTSC format-Region 1-Playable in North America)

    Manufacturer: Classicline
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    GenresGenres | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
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    1. NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER with Esther Williams (A Filha de Netuno) (High Quality Import Edition-NTSC format-Region 1-Playable in North America) NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER with Esther Williams (A Filha de Netuno) (High Quality Import Edition-NTSC format-Region 1-Playable in North America)

    ASIN: B000FMXTK6

    Product Description

    Brand new, factory sealed, fully licensed DVD manufactured in Brazil. NTSC format. Playable on any North American DVD player. High quality full screen color image. Original English dialog with optional subtitles in Portuguese. Portuguese subtitles do not appear unless turned on and they can be easily turned off. The following review appears in Amazon for the VHS edition: "Reviewer: Fernando Silva "fedo" (Santiago de Chile.) This one is by no means a great musical, but is an amiable, entertaining musical-comedy from Hollywood's and MGM's Golden Era, produced by the Joe Pasternak Unit (not the more "artistic" Freed Unit), which usually produced the musicals which starred such performers as Kathryn Grayson, Jane Powell, Mario Lanza, Esther Williams, June Allyson, Van Johnson, etc. I first saw this film as a small kiddie on a local TV channel and was highly amused by it, on one of those boring winter afternoons after school (I didn't do my homework, watched this movie instead and I haven't regretted it in over 21 years). Sinatra stars as the highly-impressionable, shy, mild, bandit of the title, who's unwilling to inherit his father's credits as one of the most notorious rogues of California. Grayson looks very pretty as the Governor's daughter and gets to sing some nice songs. J. Carrol Naish more or less steals the show as Sinatra's mentor and sidekick and Mildred Natwick, as Grayson's aunt, is equally funny. Clinton Sundberg is also quite funny as the Governor's (Mikhail Rasumny) Colonel, who's continually being "demoted" by him. Musical Highest point: The highly energetic dance-ensemble by the great Ann Miller & Cyd Charisse, who "confront" each other, over Ricardo Montalban's affections."
    Follow the Fleet
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Follow the Fleet
      Starring: Randolph Scott , Harriet Hilliard , and Astrid Allwyn
      Director: Mark Sandrich
      Manufacturer: Pandro S. Berman
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

      BallroomBallroom | Dance | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video
      JazzJazz | Dance | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video
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      1. Swing Time Swing Time

      Product Features:
      • Includes featurette: Follow the Fleet - The Origins of Those Dancing Feet
      • Musical short: Melody Master
      • Classic cartoon: Let It Be

      ASIN: B000KSABFQ

      Product Description

      When the fleet puts in at San Francisco, sailor Bake Baker tries to rekindle the flame with his old dancing partner, Sherry Martin, while Bake's buddy Bilge Smith romances Sherry's sister Connie. But it's not all smooth sailing: Bake has a habit of losing Sherry's jobs for her; and despite Connie's dreams, Bilge is not ready to settle down.
      Follow the Fleet [Region 2]
      Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
      • Face the Music and Dance
      • Not bad. Not that good.
      • Astaire and Rogers Go More Proletarian Than Plebian in a Still Winning Seaworthy Effort
      • movie musical magic
      • Not Quite Their Best But Not Bad
      Follow the Fleet [Region 2]
      Starring: Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Randolph Scott , Harriet Hilliard , and Astrid Allwyn
      Director: Mark Sandrich
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

      GeneralGeneral | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video
      Allwyn, AstridAllwyn, Astrid | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Astaire, FredAstaire, Fred | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Ball, LucilleBall, Lucille | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Grable, BettyGrable, Betty | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Rogers, GingerRogers, Ginger | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Scott, RandolphScott, Randolph | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Sully, FrankSully, Frank | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Sandrich, MarkSandrich, Mark | ( S ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
      ( F )( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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      ASIN: B00005AURA

      Amazon.com essential video

      Of the nine films Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers completed for RKO Pictures, Follow the Fleet falls short of the top echelon. Coming between series peaks Top Hat and Swing Time, Fleet repeats the mistake (à la Flying Down to Rio and Roberta) of casting Fred and Ginger as the comic couple, while the romantic roles went to Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard (before she went on to fame with her husband, Ozzie Nelson, in Ozzie and Harriet). Fred puts down his top hat to become sailor Bake Baker (yet another of his alliterative screen names), while Ginger plays old flame Sherry Martin. The two are reunited when Fred takes shore leave in San Francisco, and soon their efforts turn to helping Ginger's sister Connie (Hilliard) land Fred's shipmate Bilge (Scott). (Look for Lucille Ball and Betty Grable in small roles.) Too much screen time is spent on Hilliard and Scott, but Fred and Ginger make up for it with plenty of laughs and some classic musical numbers, and Irving Berlin's score is one of the best of the series, with cunning lyrics and melodies that linger in the memory. Highlights include Fred and Ginger in a dance contest, a Ginger solo tap number, and "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which Fred and Ginger don their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of Fred and Ginger's defining moments. --David Horiuchi

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars Face the Music and Dance.......2007-02-20


      Fans who are used to seeing Fred and Ginger as high society types (or those who through lucky circumstances rubbed elbows with the same) get something a bit different in this flick which puts both Fred and Ginger in the "working stiff" category. Former dance partners, they have been separated because she wanted to go on to bigger things (do I sense a hit of their own lives creeping into the plot) and as a result Fred has up and joined the Navy. It makes for some good shots on the ship and tender--and a chance for both of them to wear nautical garb in their scenes.

      On board ship, Fred leads the jazz band he created in a piece called "I'd Rather Lead a Band" and a ditty with lyric witty, "We Saw the Sea".

      Ginger has a sister played by Harriett Hilliard before she became half of Ozzie and Harriett - and Fred has as his Navy pal the charming and cocky Randolph Scott. This harkens back to their first film FLYING DOWN TO RIO and the mildly disappointing ROBERTA by making Ginger and Fred not the only stars. So for us, the film seem more of an "ensemble cast" oeuvre but no matter. The other stars do just fine and Harriett more or less morphs from ugly duckling to almost-swan with the help of Ginger and her dance hall coworker Lucille Ball. As a result of compiling to their ministrations, Harriett gets to sing not one but two love ballads (the pensive "Get Thee Behind Me Satan" and plaintive "But Where are You?"), and in that radio gal of the Thirties style, she does just fine. Otherwise the numbers are Fred's or Ginger's or both.

      Finding former partner Ginger now working in a dance hall, Fred gets to hear her sing and dance "Let Yourself Go", win a dance contest and lose Ginger's job for her all in one crack. He promises he will get a better job for her but when she is in an audition he arranged, he shows up and thinks someone else is in there about to get hired and so spikes her glass of water with baking soda. Ginger cannot complete her number and that job is kaput, too.

      Later, they decide to put on a show (I guess Mickey and Judy were busy that day) and they rehearse a number called "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" in what are surely their own street clothes complete with Fred's tie-for-belt signature look. Ginger looks cute in slacks and we get to see her footwork, if not those shapely calves. This is another of their anything-you-can-do-I-can do novelty numbers and it works splendidly.

      The show they put on has as its' dream sequence style centerpiece a number that harkens back to their elegantly dressed roles in SWING TIME. As the sequence goes, Fred loses all he has at cards and Ginger is similarly having a bad evening and about to end it all when they manage to find one another and work out their situation in the gorgeously choreographed "Let's Face the Music and Dance". It ranks up there with "Never Gonna Dance" in SWING TIME and "Cheek to Cheek" in TOP HAT for utter chic. Ginger's beaded gown is a stunner but it has sleeves so weighty it brings new meaning to the phrase armed and dangerous. They did Fred some minor injury as they whipped around...

      All ends well--after all this is an RKO radio picture. Have fun watching!

      3 out of 5 stars Not bad. Not that good........2007-01-24

      Not really that good. Fred and Ginger are always easy on the eye, dancing together or on their own. But the story is not interesting; in fact it's a little dull. The pacing is off, the dialogue isn't that snappy, and there aren't any striking scenes. Scott is probably better in westerns, though I can't remember him much from any, and he seemed out of place here: looked strapping, but wasn't very amusing, and a non-singing, non-dancing, sorta ambiguous kinda fella. The high spot, Let's Face the Music and Dance, is good and timely, but it also seems out of place, as if it belongs in a different production. It's interesting that these pre-WW2 movies indicate that they know what's coming, but there's nothing to be done about it. The Fleet's getting ready, but until they light the blue paper, let's just fool around and have a ball. Worth seeing once, but only so-so in the end.

      4 out of 5 stars Astaire and Rogers Go More Proletarian Than Plebian in a Still Winning Seaworthy Effort.......2006-11-27

      Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Hollywood's premiere dance team, were usually dressed to the nines and gliding through elaborately exaggerated Art Deco sets in the 1930's. However, they go a bit more downscale for this 1936 outing, the fifth of their ten musicals together. This time, Astaire foregoes his top hat, white tie and tails to become a bubblegum-chewing sailor named "Bake" Baker; and Rogers plays dance hall entertainer Sherry Martin, who was Bake's partner - dancing and otherwise - before he enlisted. Consequently, unlike the mistaken identity ploys and romantic hesitancies prevalent in most of their previous pairings, they are already a couple from the film's outset.

      Directed by Mark Sandrich (who guided five of their pairings), the film bears a narrative similarity to 1935's "Roberta" in which they are but one of two couples featured in the storyline. In fact, Randolph Scott plays the other male lead in both films, this time as Bake's womanizing crewmate, "Bilge" Smith. He is partnered with not Irene Dunne (who understandably turned down this follow-up) but Harriet Hilliard. Just married to Ozzie Nelson in real life and decades before Ozzie & Harriet, Hilliard plays Sherry's spinsterish sister Connie who falls hard for Bilge. In the silly plot, she is given a makeover by a young, bleached blonde Lucille Ball, and there is s classic three-way shot of Hilliard, Ball and a kewpie-doll adorable Betty Grable in front of a mirror.

      Speaking of the story, what there is of one is credited to Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor and goes something like this...Bake and Bilge are on shore leave in San Francisco where they end up in a dance hall with their rowdy shipmates. Bake finds Sherry working there, while Bilge runs into Connie first when she comes in as a dowdy spinster and then showing up as a glamour girl. Romance blooms for both couples. Connie and Sherry inherit a steamer from their father, but they need money to keep it afloat. Multiple misunderstandings occur in both relationships, but it all works out when they turn the steamer into a theater and put on a fundraising musical revue. It's about as silly as it sounds, but it does provide a good excuse for some memorable Irving Berlin tunes and a trio of Astaire-Rogers dances.

      The first two are casual in tone - a dance contest set to the percolating "Let Yourself Go" where they show off mercilessly to win and a physical shipboard comedy routine set to the toe-tapping "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket". However, their last dance is a classic return to formality with a melodramatic piece beautifully set to a stunning arrangement of "Let's Face the Music and Dance". Intriguingly, this movie contains not only an Astaire dance solo but the only time Rogers ever had a dance solo to herself in one of their movies, an energetic tap routine again set to "Let Yourself Go". Dressed in a creamy satin sailor outfit, she also sings the same song most winningly near the beginning of the film.

      Acting-wise, Astaire and Rogers are in typically zesty comic form here. While Scott plays his role with his trademark cock-eyed virility, Hilliard is an extremely dull presence, and as a former band singer, she performs two Berlin love songs in a frustratingly diffident manner. Regardless, the magic generated by Astaire and Rogers in their prime make this essential viewing. The 2005 DVD has several good extras beginning with a thirteen-minute featurette, "Follow the Fleet: The Origins of Those Dancing Feet," about how Astaire and Rogers started to work together. There is also a live-action "soundie" called "Melody Master: Jimmie Lunceford and his Dance Orchestra", a poultry-themed cartoon called "Let It Be Me," and the original theatrical trailer.

      5 out of 5 stars movie musical magic.......2006-11-07

      I love old films, and the ones with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are some of my favorites. Among their movies, "Follow the Fleet" is at the top of the list. For me, the "Let Yourself Go" portion of the film is the best. Whenever I watch the film, I replay that section at least five times. Seeing Lucille Ball and Betty Grable in bit parts is fun. Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard are great supporting players. This movie is a real treat!

      4 out of 5 stars Not Quite Their Best But Not Bad.......2005-09-06

      "Follow the Fleet" differs from the 3 classic Astaire and Rogers films "Swing Time", "Shall We Dance" and "Top Hat" in that the comedy beats usually provided by Victor Moore, Eric Blore, Edward Horton, and Helen Broderick are notiecably absent. In their place is a second melo-dramatic plot line with Harriet Hilliard and Randolph Scott which isnt bad but can't compare to say a scene from "Top Hat" with Edward Horton and Eric Blore and the laughs they get.
      So, you can skip over the Scott and Hilliard spots or enjoy the irony of Harriet's "Get Thee Behind Me Satan" number knowing that she will become Harriet in the Ozzie and Harriet early TV sitcom.
      The rest of the movie is brilliant Astaire and Rogers, launching one great Irving Berlin song after another. There's Ginger's spicy "Let Yourself Go" delivered in an adorable satin sailor suit, Fred's very funny "We Joined the Navy", and the unforgetable duet and tap number "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket", a tune you can't get out of your head along with Ginger's goofy and charming playfullness in the tap dance. And of course this movie contains one of Astaire and Roger's most memorable ballroom dance numbers "Let's Face the Music and Dance". This routine alone shows the amazing story telling ability of Astaire's coreography combined with the Roger's powerful but silent emoting while dancing in that fantastic beaded dress. Any serious Astaire and Rogers collector has to get this movie if just for this dance by itself.

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