Wonderfully offbeat film!

Absolutely the worst movie.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

There are movies that are meant to make you think, and movies meant to shock and keep you in suspense. Forget that. This is pure entertainment. Wonderfully cast, beautiful sets and art direction...and then, the dance. The magnificent Night and Day is meant to be absorbed and cherished as that one moment when everything was perfect. Just enjoy. Nothing recent comes close.

It's true the best things happen when you're dancing!Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers star in the film that won the first Oscar for Best Song - The Continental.Ginger stars as Mimi, a woman seeking a divorce from her absentee husband. Her Aunt makes arrangements to have it appear as though there has been impropriety. It is ASSUMED that Fred Astaire is the "arrangement" and calamities follow, along with lots of dancing of course.Cute. Worth the rental!

. . . but Fred Astaire goes Jimmy one better by playing a shameless DEARSTALKER in this two-hit musical, THE GAY DIV0RCEE. Though "The Continental" is primarily notable for being a tune in the tradition of Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" (that is, a song that NEVER ends: "The Continental" drags on in one form or another for nearly 17 minutes!), as well as for winning the first-ever "Best Song" Oscar (apparently more Academy members ran marathons back then), Cole Porter's "Night and Day" steals "The Continental's" thunder. Beyond these two musical numbers, the next most remarkable ditty in this sex farce involves lyrics encouraging folks to Bump Uglies or Knock Knees or something. Though the movie studio RKO is desperately trying to ape Warner Bros.' Busby Berkeley in their geometric "Continental" chorus line groupings, this only serves to dilute the Oomph which Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers would otherwise provide to it. During the early going of DIV0RCEE, Freddy is nearly as creepy stalking Ginger as his ROYAL WEDDING character is in pursuing a Real Life sister, and likely could give Mr. Krueger a run for his money if they had a Creep-Out Race on ELM STREET.

I was really lucky to catch this film when it was being shown, I only missed the first two minutes, had I of known it was the first film starring the famous dancing star couple together I wouldn't have ignored it, thank goodness I spotted it, from director Amrk Sandrich (Top Hat, Shall We Dance). Basically in Brightbourne, Brighton, England arrives Mimi Glossop (Ginger Rogers) from America who seeks a divorce from her geologist husband Cyril (William Austin) who she hasn't seen for several years. Her domineering Aunt Hortense (Alice Brady), who has been married numerous times herself, is there to give her guidance and get bumbling and slightly incompetent lawyer Egbert 'Pinky' Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton) to consult them, he also happens to a former fiancé. He tries to get an adulterous relationship started as they spend a night in the hotel he found them, and professional co-respondent Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes) is who he has hired to try and make it happen. He forgets though to hire private detectives to "catch them in the act", leaving Mimi free to do whatever she wants, and coincidently she again meets American dancer Guy Holden (Fred Astaire), they met briefly on her arrival. Guy is a friend of Egbert's and is now besotted with Mimi staying in the same hotel, and he is also mistaken as the co-respondent she is meant to be caught with. They are eventually caught by Tonetti who "holds them prisoner" as they wait to clear up the mess, and Cyril also arrives to speak his mind about the situation, but in the end Guy and Mimi escape to dance the night away and live happily ever after. Also starring Eric Blore as The Waiter, Lillian Miles as Singer, Continental Number, Charles Coleman as Guy's Valet and Betty Grable as Dance Specialty. Astaire is lovable and charming, Rogers is beautiful and innocent, and together their scenes are filled with fantastic chemistry, the film is has of course wonderful songs, with the Oscar winning "The Continental", "Night and Day", "Let's K-nock K-nees" and "A Needle In A Haystack", the dialogue is witty and funny which creates most of the best jokes, overall a delightful musical comedy. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Music for Max Steiner, Best Sound and Best Picture. Fred Astaire was number 81 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, and he was number 5 on 100 Years, 100 Stars - Men, Ginger Rogers was number 14 on 100 Years, 100 Stars - Women. Very good!