the leading man is my tpye

Best movie of this year hands down!

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

RKO seems to have come up with two basic plots for Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. In one, whose template is THE GAY Divorcée, they are the romantic protagonists caught in a plot of misunderstandings which keep them apart while they are surrounded by comical eccentrics. ROBERTA is an example of the other type of plot, initiated accidentally by FLYING DOWN TO RIO, in which Ginger and Fred play old friends (or lovers) reunited after a period of separation (in ROBERTA and FOLLOW THE FLEET) who rather smoothly re-solidify and strengthen the old feelings mostly by way of dance. In these movies they themselves serve the role of comic relief and they are accompanied by another couple who serve as the romantic protagonists of the story. The bad thing about this is that it takes away from their screen time; the good thing is that it gives them a chance to relax and just have a lot of fun. ROBERTA is about as much fun as a movie can be when they're on the screen, but unfortunately Fred and Ginger are off screen more than in any of their movies other than RIO. It's a film perfectly designed for DVD's and their fast-forwarding option.By my standards, ROBERTA is the first of 5 straight Astaire/Rogers films that are blessed with great, not excellent but great, musical scores, this one by Jerome Kern with some fabulous new lyrics from Dorothy Fields. Unique in the series (and pretty much in film history from 42nd STREET on), the dances are recorded live, which was made possible because they were performed on a hard maple-wood floor (as opposed to the hard plastic that RKO's designers otherwise pushed on them) which enabled the sound of the taps to come through, if not as clearly as when they were dubbed, clearly enough. Perhaps because of this, the routines, always notable for their seeming spontaneity, come across as the most seemingly spontaneous of any routines that I've ever seen. The great 'Hard to Handle' number, interspersed with Fred's growling ejaculations and Ginger's giggling, is supreme in this respect, and is my favorite musical number of all. And as a side note, if you ever wanted to hear Ginger Rogers actually tapping, this and the metal staircase number in ROXIE HART are the two places where you definitely can. Other than in ROBERTA, the dance numbers were dubbed, and since this was a rather tedious process, Hermes Pan famously did the dubbing for Ginger's taps. Sometimes it's concluded from this that Ginger is not actually tap dancing in these routines, but that demonstratively is not the case.The other musical numbers are all of the highest level. 'I Won't Dance' presents Astaire with an opportunity to show just how musically talented he really was. He plays a blazing piano to begin it, charmingly sings the duet with Ginger, then delivers one of his finest dance solos, a veritable tour de force. Then they close the film with an explosive 45 second dance to this song that leaves the audience drooling for more. Before that has come the beautiful, simple duet to 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes', a particular favorite of Astaire's. The dances of ROBERTA are about as good as any that Fred and Ginger ever did.ROBERTA also gives Ginger Rogers a chance to show off her comical abilities, something that was somewhat squelched in the other musicals with Astaire (Carefree being another exception). Her Countess Scharvenka seems to have been inspired by the idiosyncrasies of its stage originator, Lyda Roberti, and is a wondrous creation.The actual star of ROBERTA, of course, is Irene Dunne, a wonderful actress in her own right. In retrospect, taking time away from Fred and Ginger makes pretty much any role a thankless one, but it did give Irene a chance to sing with her fine operatic voice and also gave her some practice with comical line readings. Her career to this point had mostly consisted of melodramas. In an amazing career twist, it would soon be discovered that Dunne was one of the finest comediennes in Hollywood, and in my opinion the best partner that Cary Grant would ever have. ROBERTA may oh-so-slightly have pointed her in that direction.As for Randolph Scott, one of the greatest of western stars, 'nuff said.

This is in some ways the most interesting Astaire-Rodgers film, particularly because for once they don't dominate the whole film, which instead has some very different aspects to offer than just glittering show entertainment. It's really the story of a fashion centre in Paris, Roberta being the old legendary proprietress, who unexpectedly exits, leaving Fred and others to take over the business, which they can't handle. But the real story is something else: in the centre Irene Dunne represents an exiled Russian princess with an interesting circle of other Russian aristocrats, one of them being heir to the throne. The atmosphere of Russian exiles in Paris is intimately conveyed with warming conviction, at the heart of which complications the song "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" makes a lasting impact, involving the Princess' tragic love affair with a good-for-nothing American standing in the bar getting drunk and rude (Randolph Scott in a pathetic and almost vulgar performance - how Irene Dunne could love him and with continuity is a mystery.)The music pervades the whole film weaving it into a web of beauty, nostalgia and magic, enhanced by the overwhelming beauty of the mannequins parading now and then with dream haute-coutures out of this world. It's a very singular film, completely out of the ordinary for Ginger and Fred, but still of course gilded by their performances, here highlighted by some of their very finest momentums. Grossly neglected, underrated, almost forgotten and misunderstood, this is one of their films to never forget but always return to.

1935 film ruined by the ridiculous plot.Fred Astaire and Randolph Scott land in Paris for a gig only to be turned down. Astaire's friend, Ginger Rogers, gets them and their band a job. Suddenly, we're told that Scott is a football player coming with Astaire to visit his Aunt Roberta, the owner of a fine dress shop with Irene Dunne as her assistant.Dunne's voice was never lovelier. Rogers masquerading as a European lady with an accent does her dance routines with Astaire so admirably well. The story goes down hill once the aunt, Helen Westley, dies in her sleep and Scott inherits the business.Scott falls for Dunne but his old flame appears and that sets the stage for conflict.They both walk out on the business and Astaire is left holding the bag to run it until cooler heads prevail. Yes, the plot is ludicrous, but Can't Dance, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and other melodies are memorable.Is it any wonder that Scott stuck mostly to westerns after this film?

Huckleberry Haines (Fred Astaire) and his band, the Wabash Indianians, arrive at Le Havre, in France, for a season in a Russian nightclub. However, the owner Alexander Petrovitch Moskovich Voyda (Luis Alberni) expects the arrival of an Indian band and he calls off their contract.Haines and the band head to Paris, and his friend John Kent (Randolph Scott) decides to visit his Aunt Minnie (Helen Westley), who owns the fashion house Roberta, to use her influence to find a work for the band. John meets the manager Stephanie (Irene Dunne) and they immediately feel attracted for each other. Huck Haines meets in the Roberta's salon his old friend Liz with the artistic identity of Comtesse Scharwenka (Ginger Rogers) and she helps him to get a job with Voyda. When Aunt Minnie passes away, John Kent is the heir of her fortune and also Roberta. However he decides to give the fashion house for Stephanie, but she proposes a partnership between them two. But when John's old passion, the gold digger Sophie Teale (Claire Dodd) seeks out John, the infatuated Stephanie decides to leave the business and travel abroad with the Russian Prince Ladislaw (Victor Varconi)."Roberta" is an adorable musical with one of the most beautiful songs of the cinema ever. With music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Otto A. Harbach, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is performed by Irene Dunne. The plot is naive, but the musical numbers, the dances and the fashion parade are delightful. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Roberta"