Roberta

Roberta (1935)

Genres - Comedy, Romance, Music, Sports & Recreation, Musical  |   Sub-Genres - Musical Romance  |   Release Date - Mar 7, 1935 (USA)  |   Run Time - 105 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Review by Craig Butler

Like Flying Down to Rio, Roberta is a film in which Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers play supporting roles -- but provide the real highlights of the film. This is not to slight the film's female star, Irene Dunne, who turns in a good, stylish performance and sounds wonderful when singing a rueful "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and a charming "Lovely to Look At." But Dunne's love affair with Randolph Scott is less involving, interesting -- just plain less fun -- than that involving the dancing stars. Roberta includes three top notch Astaire-Rogers routines. "I'll be Hard to Handle" is justifiably famous, incorporating a difficult tap duet that turns into a magnificent challenge dance, and ending in a gorgeous swirl of energy that melts into a gentle collapse. In "I Won't Dance," Astaire solos for Rogers, displaying a catalogue of movement that belies the title, and their tender pas de deux to "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is delicate and lovely. When not singing -- or displaying eye-catching fashions -- Roberta tends to drag a bit, but the musical moments, Dunne's way with a phrase, and Astaire and Rogers make it well worth the wait.