The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

1939
Approved
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)

The story of the dancing team who taught the world to two-step.The story of the dancing team who taught the world to two-step.The story of the dancing team who taught the world to two-step.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

2.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 4 wins & 1 nomination total

User reviews50

Featured review

8/10

Nice, Underrated Astaire-Rogers Musical

Here's one of those rare films that I like where there are no villains, just a nice, old-fashioned story with good people.

Of all the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers films, I would guess this gets the least amount of publicity and if that's true, it's a shame.

There are plenty of dance scenes in here. I prefer the tap dancing to ballroom, but that's just my personal tastes. The famous dancing duo are great with any style. I like Walter Brennan, so it's nice to see him in this film and it also was nice to see Edna May Oliver play a nice character, for a change.

The only complaint was the ending was so predictable. You see it coming a mile away. How true this story is, I can't say, but overall it's one of my favorite Astaire-Rogers movies. I am sorry it gets so little attention.

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Second Chorus

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Irene Castle served as a technical advisor on the film. According to Ginger Rogers, Castle disliked every costume she wore and deemed them anachronistic. Due to censorship restrictions, Rogers' costumes evoked late 1930s fashions rather than the more daring styles of Castle's 1910s era. After Rogers refused to bob her hair to portray the hairstyle that Irene had popularized, Castle became more displeased. The studio silenced Castle's protests with an additional payment of $5,000.

Goofs
The film erroneously depicts the Castles touring with white orchestras. In actuality, Vernon and Irene Castle always toured with a black orchestra; specifically, James Reese Europe's Society Orchestra.

Quotes
Irene Castle: I thought you could be a first dancer, a very beautiful first dancer because you are a beautiful dancer but you're so smug and conceited that you can't see any further than your funny nose!