Amazing and uplifting dance number!

And this waltz is in the same movie. Such elegance! My favorite part is 1:25-1:46.

"Swing Time" is one of the greatest movies if you like watching Fred and Ginger dance.

Fred had so much pussy back then! He was a whore!

[quote] Fred had so much pussy back then! He was a whore!

Is that all you have to say?

Frau alert @ r4.

As advertised, I did smile. And that was in one take.

Yes, amazing that they did that in one take!

I love 1:38-1:47! Ginger lifting her skirt to show her legs is so good!!

lovely

where have all the flowers gone

This, as best I can tell, is the process:

1. Record the music and any vocals in a recording studio.

2. On the movie set, while the cameras roll, the actors must synchronize their singing or dancing to the audio playback of the recorded song (obviously over a loudspeaker so they can hear it). Because of the ambient music playback, none of the sound from the set can be used in the finished film.

3. During the film editing stage, the original studio recording must be synched to the cut film.

4. And here's the tricky part, after the music is added to the film, the actor/dancer must go to a Foley studio and record a tap track on a wooden floor and perfectly match the image on the screen for a clean sound. It's interesting to imagine a Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly or the Nicholas Brothers trying to recreate in sound what they see themselves doing on screen. Anyway, I hope a few of you find this info of interest.

Another fabulous number. I've held this dress and it is heavy as fuck.

R12: How did you get to hold this dress? Has anyone noticed that it is see-through?

In the 1990s, I knew a gentlemen who owned it and several other film costumes. As I recall, the material was threaded with metal or something. It wasn't sequins or bugle beads. The sheerness wasn't apparent unless the bright lights were behind it. At least it looked very solid under normal lighting.

Very cool, R12!

This really did make me smile! Thank you, OP!

I smiled, thanks for sharing OP.

[quote]And that was in one take.

If it were in one take, they wouldn't have cut to those lame reaction shots.

Is it true that Hermes Pan dubbed Ginger's taps because they were off?

R18, "Waltz in Swing Time" is the number that was filmed in one take. "Pick Yourself Up" obviously was not. (I agree about the lame reaction shots.)

R18, oh you’re right, there were a couple of cuts. But still, the stretch after that last reaction shot is impressive. I thought about the dance routines on DWTS, and maybe they do have longer bits. And maybe I’m romanticizing, but Fred and Ginger really did make it look effortless and fun.

Yes, the Waltz in Swing Time was shot in one take.

Love how Ginger tosses her hair back at 1:25—1:26.

a delight

If they made this today it would have to star some nappy haired girl like Zendaya because..100% representation despite 13% population.

The kind of brilliant art we no longer have (See LA LA Land).

These clips are an inspiration.

My downstairs neighbors hate tap dancing which is why I have to do all my moves in the hallway on my way to the trash chute.

The piece of lint on the bottom of the screen was the *real* star!

Whenever I feel blue I watch Fred & Ginger. Instant upper.

I love this number, it is my favorite! Fred and Ginger were a great romantic dance team. Thanks for posting and for all the information from the posters!

Can't even have a thread about a Fred and Ginger routine without some asshole inserting a racist remark.

R25 has been reported.

Just seeing this. This is my favorite FA/GR movie. Thanks for making me smile on this otherwise dreary day.

I can dance way better than that. Just sayin'.

R11 I don't understand.

Are you saying that the sound has been faked to get perfect synchronisation between the two performers?

My 92 year old dad cannot stand watching Fred Astaire. If an old film of his comes on TV, he immediately turns it off.

I asked him why and he said he was fed up of seeing him when he went to the movies as a child.

R36 Did you dad think Fred Austerlitz was as sexy as Minnie Mouse and Ginger looked like a linebacker?

He can't deny they danced well.

R35:

[quote]Are you saying that the sound has been faked to get perfect synchronisation between the two performers?

I don't understand what in particular you don't understand.

R38 The soundtrack has been faked to get the two performers synchronised.

What do you mean faked? The music was prerecorded, they danced to a playback so that their dancing is in synch with the music and then the music and image are merged in post-production. What's fake about that? Musical films are still made exactly the same way.

Did you think the music and the picture are recorded at the same time? That happens only in very rare situations.

OP Thanks!

I'm tapping all the way to the coffee maker this am.

R35, that's how all musical numbers are filmed. It's not so the two dancers can be synchronized. It's because you can't mic performers while they're dancing. (Or at least you couldn't in those days.) That's because if the mics were close enough to get good sound, they'd be visible in the shot. So they prerecorded the music and played it back on a loudspeaker for the performers to dance to while they filmed. The tap or other dancing sound effects would be added in post-production.

You can fix an entire movie in post!

[quote]It's not so the two dancers can be synchronized.

Of course it is. Do you think they can just dance in silence and then have it fit exactly to the music when it's added?

[quote]It's because you can't mic performers while they're dancing.

[quote]Of course you can. The earliest sound films did exactly that but it sounded like shit. That's why someone came up with the idea of recording sound and picture separately.

"I'll be Hard to Handle" was supposed to have been recorded live and in one take--the first take. You can hear Ginger giggle during it.

Fred with a "ginger" who's a better dancer.

Such a fun number, R45!

'Sure he was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backwards and in high heels.’ - Bob Thaves

R44, I thought R35 was referring to the two dancers synchronizing with each other, not the music. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Also, you're right. With modern wireless technology it is possible to mic a musical number live, but it won't look or sound as good as it would if the sound were added in post-production with music that was recorded in a soundproof studio.

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing OP!!

[quote]'Sure he was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backwards and in high heels.’ - Bob Thaves

That remark has been attributed to a number of people, including Ginger herself, Dorothy Parker, Pauline Kael and many others. Doesn't matter, it's not true, and in reality he always lead. Which she resented.

She was good but not his best partner and they didn't hate or unappreciate each other but both were glad when their RKO contracts expired and they could go on individually to other things.

"She gave him sex appeal and he gave her class" was the line that went around back in the day.

[quote]She was good but not his best partner and they didn't hate or unappreciate each other but both were glad when their RKO contracts expired and they could go on individually to other things.

By 1949, Ginger was thrilled to be asked to replace Judy Garland and, after 10 years, reunite with Fred in "The Barkleys of Broadway."