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''The Gay Divorcee'' is a 1934 American
musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...
directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes. The
screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...
was written by George Marion Jr.,
Dorothy Yost Dorothy Yost (April 25, 1899 – June 10, 1967), later married as Dorothy Yost Cummings, was a prominent screenwriter whose career lasted from the silent era well into the sound era. Over her lifetime, she worked on more than 90 films, incl ...
, and Edward Kaufman.
Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at '' The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thr ...
, H. W. Hanemann, and Stanley Rauh made uncredited contributions to the dialogue. It was based on the Broadway
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...
'' Gay Divorce'', written by Dwight Taylor, which had been adapted into a musical by Kenneth S. Webb and
Samuel Hoffenstein Samuel "Sam" Hoffenstein (8 October 1890 - 6 October 1947) was a screenwriter and a musical composer. Born in Russia, he emigrated to the United States and began a career in New York City as a newspaper writer and in the entertainment business. In ...
from an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners. The stage version included many songs by
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...
which were left out of the film, except for " Night and Day". Though most of the songs were replaced, the screenplay kept the original plot of the stage version. Three members of the play's original cast repeated their stage roles: Astaire, Rhodes, and Eric Blore. The Hays Office insisted that RKO change the name from "Gay Divorce" to "The Gay Divorcee", on the grounds that while a divorcée could be gay or lighthearted, it would be unseemly to allow a divorce to appear so. According to Astaire, the change was made proactively by RKO. The director, Mark Sandrich, told him that ''The Gay Divorcee'' was selected as the new name because the studio "thought it was a more attractive-sounding title, centered around a girl." RKO even offered fifty dollars to any employee who could come up with a better title. In the United Kingdom, the film was released with the title ''The Gay Divorce''. This film was the second (after '' Flying Down to Rio'', 1933) of ten pairings of Astaire and Rogers on film.


Plot

Mimi Glossop ( Ginger Rogers) seeks a divorce from her geologist husband Cyril Glossop ( William Austin), whom she has not seen for some time. Under the guidance of her domineering and much-married Aunt Hortense ( Alice Brady), she consults incompetent and bumbling
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...
Egbert Fitzgerald ( Edward Everett Horton), once a fiancé of her aunt. He arranges for her to spend a night at a seaside hotel and to be caught in an adulterous relationship, for which purpose he hires a professional co-respondent, Rodolfo Tonetti ( Erik Rhodes). But Egbert forgets to arrange for private detectives to "catch" the couple. By coincidence, Guy Holden ( Fred Astaire), an American dancer and friend of Egbert's, who briefly met Mimi on his arrival in England, and who is now besotted with her, also arrives at the hotel, only to be mistaken by Mimi for the co-respondent she has been waiting for. While they are in Mimi's bedroom, Tonetti arrives, revealing the truth, and holds them "prisoner" to suit the plan. They contrive to escape and dance the night away. In the morning, after several mistakes with the waiter, Cyril arrives at the door, so Guy hides in the next room, while Mimi and Tonetti give a show of being lovers. When Cyril does not believe them, Guy comes out and embraces Mimi in an attempt to convince him that ''he'' is her lover, but to no avail. It is an unwitting waiter ( Eric Blore) who finally clears the whole thing up by revealing that Cyril ''himself'' is an adulterer, thus clearing the way for Mimi to get a divorce and marry Guy.


Cast


Songs

New songs introduced in the film * "
The Continental The Continental may refer to: * ''The Continental'' (1952 TV series), a 1952–53 television series on CBS * ''The Continental'' (miniseries), an upcoming television series on Peacock * "The Continental" (''Saturday Night Live''), a recurring sk ...
" (w.
Herb Magidson Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934. Life and career Magidson was ...
m.
Con Conrad Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober, June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer. Biography Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...
) won the first
Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...
for its elaboration in the over-17 minute song and dance sequence towards the end of the film, as sung by Rogers, Erik Rhodes and
Lillian Miles Lillian Miles (August 1, 1907 – February 27, 1972) was an American actress in several films in the 1930s. Biography Miles was born in 1907 in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Aside from singing and performing in the celebrated 'Continental' musical number in ...
, and danced by Rogers, Astaire and ensemble performers. Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra recorded the music in their very first
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
recording session, in Boston's Symphony Hall, on July 1, 1935; the recording can be heard on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. * "Don't Let It Bother You" (w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel) opening number, sung by chorus, danced by Astaire * "Let's K-nock K-nees" (w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel) at the beach resort, sung by
Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...
with talking verses vocalized by Edward Everett Horton, danced by Grable, Horton and chorus * "Needle in a Haystack" (w.
Herb Magidson Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934. Life and career Magidson was ...
m.
Con Conrad Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober, June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer. Biography Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...
), sung and danced by Astaire Other songs * " Night and Day" (
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...
) sung by Astaire, danced by Rogers and Astaire in a hotel suite overlooking an English Channel beach at night


Production


Development

After the success of Astaire and Rogers' first feature, ''Flying Down to Rio'', RKO's head of production, Pandro S. Berman, purchased the screen rights to Dwight Taylor's Broadway hit ''Gay Divorce'' with another Astaire and Rogers matchup in mind. According to Fred Astaire's autobiography, director Mark Sandrich claimed that RKO altered the title to insinuate that the film concerned the amorous adventures of a recently divorced woman ("divorcée"). Dance routines from the film, specifically "Night and Day" and the scene where Astaire dances on the table, were taken from Astaire's performances in the original play, '' The Gay Divorce''. The "Don't Let It Bother You" dance came from foolhardy antics during rehearsals and became an in-joke in future Astaire-Rogers films.


Filming

Exteriors set in what was supposed to be the English countryside were shot in Clear Lake, California. Additional exteriors were filmed in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara, California. The car driven by Ginger Rogers was her own, a 1929 Duesenberg Model J, and it still exists, and has been displayed at least once, at the Amelia Island Car show, ''
Concours d'Elegance ''Concours d'Elegance'' ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, whe ...
''.


Censorship issues

James Wingate, Director of the Studio Relations Office for RKO, warned: "considering the delicate nature of the subject upon which this script is based...great care should be taken in the scenes dealing with Mimi's lingerie, and… no intimate article should be used". Wingate also insisted that no actor or actress appear in only pajamas. The title from the musical – Gay ''Divorce'' – was dropped "as too frivolous toward marriage by the censors" (i.e. a "divorcee" could be implied as "gay", but the act of "divorce" itself not) and modified to ''Divorcee''.


Reception

''The Gay Divorcee'' was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categ ...
in 1934.


Box office

According to RKO records the film earned $1,077,000 in the US and Canada and $697,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $584,000.


Critical response

''New York Times'' critic Andre Sennwald (November 16, 1934) said of the film: "Like the carefree team of Rogers and Astaire, The Gay Divorcee is gay in its mood and smart in its approach. For subsidiary humor, there are Alice Brady as the talkative aunt; Edward Everett Horton as the confused lawyer .. and Erik Rhodes ... as the excitable co-respondent, who takes the correct pride in his craftsmanship and objects to outside interference. All of them plus the Continental, help to make the new Music Hall show the source of a good deal of innocent merriment."


Awards and honors

The film was nominated for the following
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s, winning in the category Music (Song): * Best Picture (Nominated) *
Art Direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...
(
Van Nest Polglase Van Nest Polglase (August 25, 1898 – December 20, 1968) was an American art director. He was nominated for six Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. Best remembered as head of the design department at RKO Pictures, he worked ...
,
Carroll Clark Carroll Clark (February 6, 1894 – May 17, 1968) was an American art director. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 173 films between 1927 and 1968. He was born in Mountain View, Califo ...
) (Nominated) * Music (Scoring) ( Max Steiner) (Nominated) * Music (Song) – "The Continental" (Won) – the first winner of this award; it won against "
Carioca Carioca ( or ) is a demonym used to refer to anything related to the City of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. The original meaning of the term is controversial, maybe from Tupi language "''kari' oka''", meaning "white house" as the whitewashed stone ...
", from the previous Astaire-Rogers film, '' Flying Down to Rio'' Mankiewicz, Ben (June 7, 2016) outro to the
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...
showing of ''The Gay Divorcee''
*
Sound Recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...
( Carl Dreher) (Nominated)


References


Citations


General sources

* Sarris, Andrew. 1998. ''"You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet": The American Talking Film, History & Memory, 1927–1949''. Oxford University Press. .


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gay Divorcee, The 1934 films 1934 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American screwball comedy films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films set in Brighton Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award RKO Pictures films Films directed by Mark Sandrich Films produced by Pandro S. Berman Films scored by Cole Porter Films scored by Max Steiner Films with screenplays by Dorothy Yost Films about divorce 1930s American films