''The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle'' is a 1939 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

directed by H.C. Potter. The film stars

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

Edna May Oliver Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...

, and

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

. The film is based on the stories ''My Husband'' and ''My Memories of Vernon Castle'', by

Irene Castle Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a st ...

. The movie was adapted by

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

, Dorothy Yost and Richard Sherman. This was Astaire and Rogers' ninth and last film together with

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

. Their final pairing was ''

The Barkleys of Broadway ''The Barkleys of Broadway'' is a 1949 American Technicolor musical comedy film from the Arthur Freed unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that reunited Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers after ten years apart. Directed by Charles Walters, the screenplay is ...

'' (1949) at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Plot

The film tells of novice American dancer Irene Foote (

) who convinces New York-based British vaudeville comic Vernon Castle (

) to give up

slapstick comedy Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

in favor of sophisticated ballroom dancing. Their big break comes when they are stranded in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, along with their friend Walter Ashe (

), with no money. They catch the eye of influential agent Maggie Sutton (

), who arranges a tryout for them at the prestigious Café de Paris, where they become an overnight sensation. After taking Europe by storm, the Castles return to the United States and become just as big a sensation. Their fame and fortune rises to unprecedented heights in the immediate pre-

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

years. When World War I starts, Vernon returns to Britain and joins the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, while Irene makes patriotic movie serials to aid the war effort. However, Vernon is killed in a training accident, leaving Irene to carry on alone.

Cast

as Vernon Castle *

as Irene Castle (née Foote) *

as Maggie Sutton *

as Walter Ash *

Lew Fields Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre Management, manager, and Theatrical producer, producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber (vaudevillian), Joe We ...

as Himself *

Etienne Girardot Etienne Girardot (22 February 1856 – 10 November 1939) was a diminutive stage and film actor of Anglo-French parentage born in London, England. Biography The son of French painter Ernest Gustave Girardot, he studied at an art school, but le ...

as Papa Aubel *

Janet Beecher Janet Beecher (born Janet Meysenberg; October 21, 1884 – August 6, 1955) was an American stage and screen actress. Early years The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Von Meysenburg, Beecher was born in Jefferson City, Missouri. Her sister was ...

as Mrs. Foote *

Rolfe Sedan Rolfe Sedan (born Edward Sedan; January 20, 1896 – September 15, 1982) was an American character actor, best known for appearing in bit parts, often uncredited, usually portraying clerks, train conductors, postmen, cooks, waiters, etc. Ea ...

as Emile Aubel *

Leonid Kinskey Leonid Kinskey (1893/1894 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born American film and television actor, best known for his role as "Sascha" in the film ''Casablanca'' (1942). His last name was sometimes spelled Kinsky. Life and career Kinskey ...

as Artist * Robert Strange as Dr. Hubert Foote * Douglas Walton as Student Pilot * Clarence Derwent as Papa Louis * Sonny Lamont as Charlie, Tap Dancer *

Frances Mercer Frances Mercer (October 21, 1915 – November 12, 2000) was an American film actress. Biography She appeared in the films ''Vivacious Lady'', ''Blind Alibi'', '' Crime Ring'', ''Smashing the Rackets'', ''The Mad Miss Manton'', '' Annabel Take ...

as Claire Ford *

Victor Varconi Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where ...

as Grand Duke *

Donald MacBride Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...

as Hotel Manager * Leyland Hodgson as British Sergeant *

Lillian Yarbo Lillian "Billie" Yarbo (March 17, 1905 – June 12, 1996) was an American stage and screen comedienne, dancer, and singer. Early life Born Lillian Yarbough

as Mary, Claire's Maid (uncredited)

Production

Irene Castle acted as advisor to this film, and constantly disagreed with the director as to details of costuming and liberties taken. When informed that white actor Walter Brennan was to play the part of faithful servant Walter, she was dumbfounded: the real Walter was

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

.. The film marks several "firsts": the characters in it are more realistic than usual in an Astaire-Rogers film, there is none of the usual "screwball comedy" relief provided by such actors as

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

, or

Helen Broderick Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 – September 25, 1959) was an American actress known for her comic roles, especially as a wisecracking sidekick. Career Broderick began on Broadway as a chorus girl in the ''Follies of 1907'', the first ...

, it is the only Astaire-Rogers musical biography, the only one on which Oscar Hammerstein II worked, the only one of their musicals with a tragic ending, and the only one in which Astaire's character dies.

Reception

The film was popular in the US, making $1,120,000 and it also earned $705,000 elsewhere. However, due to high costs RKO accounts recorded the film as losing $50,000.

Footnotes

External links

* * * *
''The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle''
at the ''Reel Classics'' web site; contains plot detail. {{DEFAULTSORT:Story Of Vernon And Irene Castle, The 1939 films 1930s biographical films 1939 musical comedy films American biographical films American black-and-white films American musical comedy films Biographical films about entertainers 1930s English-language films Films directed by H. C. Potter Films set in the 1910s Films set in Paris Films set in Westchester County, New York Films with screenplays by Dorothy Yost Musical films based on actual events RKO Pictures films American World War I films Films based on biographies Cultural depictions of dancers 1930s American films