Based on the Broadway musical Gay Divorce, The Gay Divorcee is the second of the ten movies Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared together, and their first as the leading duo. This delightful romantic comedy follows a familiar love story template, but the performances and musical numbers elevate it.
Buy The Gay Divorcee from MovieZyngEn route to London, pals Guy Holden (Astaire, reprising what would be his last role in a Broadway musical) and lawyer Egbert Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton) are in a Paris nightclub, Neither has their wallet so Guy has to dance for their supper, allowing Astaire to demonstrate his dancing talent in the film’s first scene.
While preparing to deboard their ship, Mimi (Rogers) helps her Aunt Hortense (Alice Brady) pack up her luggage before going through customs and gets her dress accidentally locked in a suitcase. Guy tries to help Mimi but tears her dress. He gives her his trench coat to protect her modesty. He falls for her through the encounter, but she’s angry at him.
Mimi feels estranged from her husband of two years. Aunt Hortense seeks the help of her former fiance Egbert in getting a divorce. He suggests going to attend a seaside resort to stage getting caught in an affair. Egbert hires Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes, also reprising his Broadway role) as Mimi’s partner in the scheme.
Guy accompanies Egbert and to his great delight finds Mimi. He professes his love through singing and dancing to Cole Porter’s “Night and Day.” She tries to escape, but Guy gets her to dance with him. Through a misunderstanding, Mimi thinks Guy is Egbert’s hired man, leaving him to prove his sincerity a second time. But even if Mimi accepts him, there’s still Rodolfo who has a job to do and she still has a husband she needs to divorce. The screenplay by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost, and Edward Kaufman is playful and ties up on the loose ends in a satisfying manner.
In addition to the performances by Astaire and Rogers, the supporting players are strong. In addition to comic relief, Horton takes part in a musical number when a rather forward, attractive platinum blonde (Betty Grable) suggests they spend time together with the risque “Let’s K-Nock K-Nees.” And climax is an impressive 17-minute dance sequence to set to the Oscar-winning Best Song “The Continental,”which stands out in part to the black and whites costumes of the dancers by Costume Designer Walter Plunkett.
Sourced from a 4K scan of the original nitrate negative, the video has been given a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer displayed at an aspect ratio of 1.37:1. Blacks are inky, whites are bright, and there’s a variety of gray tones. The contrast is strong and most noticeable during the “The Continental” sequence. The image is clean with noticeable film grain and texture detail.
The audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. The track sounds free of hiss or damage. Dialogue and singing vocals are clear. The songs comes through with good clarity.
The Special Features are:
- Song and Dance Selection
- Art Trouble (SD, 21 min) – Harry Gribbon and Shemp Howard take the place of two brothers who don’t want to study art in Paris. Things run smoothly until they win a contest.
- Masks and Memories (SD, 32 min) – Set in New Orleans, a trio, which includes Lillian Roth, try to get Uncle Andy down to Mardi Gras.
- Classic Cartoons
- Shake Your Powder Puff (SD, 6 min) – Animals perform at during a revue at the barn.
- I Like Mountain Music (HD, 7 min) – At night, drug-store magazines come to life.
- Radio Shows
- Hollywood on the Air(audio, 14 min) – Musical highlights gathered to promote the movie.
- Screen Guild Players (audio, 28 min) – The Gay Divorcee was broadcast on March 6, 1944 and stars Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven, Edward Everett Horton, and Spring Byington.
- Theatrical Trailer
While great talents on their own, The Gay Divorcee reveals what a winning idea it was to pair Astaire and Rogers together. The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray delivers a quality high-definition presentation, and some fun bonus material from the vaults released around the same time.
