#Jerry Horton

[iamtryingtobelieve]

I can't help you fix yourself

But at least I can say I tried

I'm sorry but I gotta move on with my own life

[kellymagovern]

This is the Papa Roach that I remember. Before they blew up with "Last Resort," they had a little debut album from 1997, called "Old Friends from Young Years." This song, "Orange Drive Palms," will always be my favorite of theirs. (Video credit here.)

[binders-and-beanies]

Papa Roach // What’s Left of Me

[sunset-supergirl]

Happy birthday Jerry Horton

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

On Nov. 21, 1934, Ella Fitzgerald, the “Queen of Jazz,” made her debut at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. She had planned to go on stage and dance for Amateur Night, but when the Edwards Sisters danced before her, she decided to sing instead. That break led to others, and she became a sensation after a song she co-wrote, “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” became a major hit in 1938. Fitzgerald battled racism and was ordered by Pan-Am to leave their flight to Australia. Despite missing two concerts there, she went on to set a new box office record in Australia. She helped break racial barriers by refusing to perform before segregated audiences. The NAACP awarded her the Equal Justice Award and the American Black Achievement Award.

She became the first Black woman to win a Grammy. In her music, she innovated with scat singing, sang be-bop, jazz and even gospel hymns. She performed with her own orchestra, the Benny Goodman Orchestra, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, and her Song Book series became a huge critical and commercial success. She performed in Hollywood films, and her most memorial take on television came when her voice shattered a glass. When the tape was played back, her voice broke another glass, and the ad asked, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?”

By the time she died in 1996, she had won 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mattel has now designed a doll in her image, part of the Barbie Inspiring Women Series, which “pays tribute to incredible heroines of their time — courageous women who took risks, changed rules and paved the way for generations to dream bigger than ever before.” 

- Jerry Mitchell

[Scott Horton]

[thingsmk1120sayz]

[its-wabby-stuff]

How Human is your Animal?

Based on animalistic representation in Media. Ranging from anthropomorphic to everyday pet.

A tier list for your convenience

S Tier- Humans don’t exist here

Qualifications: the world has no humans, animals tend to walk on hind legs and participate in human like societies, most likely anthropomorphic but not required

Zootopia, Kung Fu Panda, Sing, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Chicken Little, My Little Pony, Goofy Movie, Ducktales, Robin Hood, Angry Birds, Samurai Rabbit, Paws of Fury, Spiderhams Universe

A Tier- I see, a little co-op happening

Qualifications: the world has humans, humans acknowledge animals in some way, they can be hired/considered for jobs and/or are active in society. Might be considered mutants

Paddigton, Muppets, Stuart Little, The Bad Guys, Pinnocio, Shrek universe, Care Bears, the Bee Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, and subsequently the entire MCU, Monsters Inc, Storks, Looney Tunes, TMNT, MHA, Yogi Bear, We Bare Bears, Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022), Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Hop, Wonderland, James and the Giant Peach, Hoodwinked, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Ichabod and Toad, Sonic Movie

B Tier- Your getting suspiciously close

Qualifications: act more human like, perhaps develop a hidden society or walk on hind legs or plan elaborate heists, it’s just not quite right for an animal

Madagascar, Ice Age, Shark Tale, Surfs Up, Snoopy, Rescuers, SpongeBob, Ratatouille, Horton Hears a Who, Free Birds, Great Mouse Detective, Chicken Run, Flushed Away, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Tom and Jerry, Secret of Nym, Tale of Desperaeux, American Tail, Once Upon a Forest, Garfield, Over the Hedge, Rango

C Tier- Communication is key in fostering animal relationships

Qualifications: Perhaps by magical transformation or special gift or something that has always been kept a secret until now, these animals are able to talk to you

Cinderella, Tarzan, Jungle Book, Epic, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Charlottes Web, Scooby Doo, Happy Feet, Snow White, Pete’s Dragon, Princess and the Frog, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Spies In Disguise, Emperors New Groove, Enchanted, Sophia the First, Peter Rabbit, Meet the Robinsons, Anastasia, Swan Princess, Dr. Dolittle, Leo, Up

D Tier- Oh look, it’s gaining complexity

Qualifications: although animals have been known to convey emotions nothing is more complex than creating Shakespearean like storylines. Humans take to the sidelines

Lion King, Finding Nemo, 101 Dalmatians, Bambi, Land Before Time, The Secret Life of Pets, Bugs Life, Oliver and Company, All Dogs go to Heaven, Lady and the Tramp, Fox and the Hound, Aristocats, Migration, Bolt, Dinosaur, The Good Dinosaur, Super Pets, Dumbo, Home in the Range, G-force, The Wild, Spirit, Rio, Curious George

F Tier- It’s all okay, animals are just animals here

Qualifications: Imagine your pet in a movie, that’s prolly what fits here. The everyday dog, or cat, or shark. Likely plays a part in the plot progression of the movie

Babe, Jurassic Park, Milo and Otis, Old Yeller, Life of Pi, Sword in the Stone, Beethoven, A Dogs Purpose, We Bought a Zoo, Pokémon, Dolphins Tale, Homeward Bound, The Black Stallion, Marley and Me, Jaws, King Kong, How to Train Your Dragon

Z Tier- So it doesn’t work like other places, but it works for you

Qualifications: a Universe with its own set of rules, perhaps jumping into a place outside of their own where rules seem just a little different. Who can say if it was real, or a dream?

Mary Poppins, Spiderverse, Fantasia, Mario Bros, Song of the South, Alice in Wonderland (cartoon), Calvin and Hobbes

Each placing is based on the highest human to animal ratio in universe even if that is one exception. This is for fun, don’t take it too seriously. You’re welcome to fill in anything you think is missing. If I mentioned one of your favorite movies you have to reblog, I don’t make the rules.

😉

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Seth Mandel

Yet as exasperatingly counterproductive as Schumer’s remarks were, they could not hold a candle to the performance by Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Tuesday. Nadler was announcing that he would attend Bibi’s speech while also making clear he that he—as-a-Jew—despises the Israeli government that is currently embroiled in a multi-front war against enemies seeking to eliminate the Jewish people from the surface of the earth. Nadler collapsed under the pressure and tweeted what can only be described as a cry for help:

“Benjamin Netanyahu is the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2100 years ago. The Prime Minister is putting the security of Israel, the lives of the hostages, the stability of the region, and longstanding Israeli democratic norms in perilous jeopardy, simply to maintain the stability of his far-right coalition and absolve him of his own legal troubles. Tomorrow’s address is the next step in a long line of manipulative bad-faith efforts by Republicans to further politicize the U.S.-Israel relationship for partisan gain and is a cynical stunt by Netanyahu aimed at aiding his own desperate political standing at home. There is no question in my mind it should not be happening.”

And yet, he said, “I have not given up on the dream of an Israel that can live in peace with its neighbors.” Therefore, he is attending the speech.

There are three things happening here, all of them deeply destructive. The first has nothing to do with the Jewish angle of this debacle. That is the diplomatic malpractice. America has a serious amount of power and lately an unserious way of wielding it.

Set aside the hysterical tone of Nadler’s post. Does anyone in Congress talk about any other ally this way? We have had a series of incompetent prime ministers in Britain over the past few years, one of whose term was outlived by a head of lettuce. We did not have members of Congress ranting about how Liz Truss was her country’s worst leader since Britain was Roman. That’s because they would look completely insane even publicly contemplating the question. If Nadler wants to retire to become a blogger at The Nation, he is more than welcome to. It’s a low bar, but more is expected of members of the United States Congress, especially those in senior positions.

Or we can turn to Canada, where the remedial-class prime minister likes to play dress-up more than think about politics, like some kind of ancient child-king. Is Schumer out on the floor ranting about how he loves Tim Hortons but the coffee will taste bitter to him until Justin Trudeau resigns to join the Ontario community theater?

[todaysdocument]

This edition of the Marshall Star from 1973, a newsletter of the George C. Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama, features an article titled “Anita, Job Done, Dies Aboard Skylab.” 

The article goes on to explain that Anita was the back-up spider in the Web Formation Experiment.  The primary spider, Arabella, was still alive at the time of the newsletter. Arabella’s current whereabouts are unknown.

Record Group 255: Records of the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationSeries: Marshall StarFile Unit: Marshall Star Volume 14

Marshall Star Vol. 14, No. 2 . NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center -- Huntsville, Ala. 35812 . September, 1973 Final EVA Saturday Skylab 3 Crew Prepares For Next Week's 'Splash' Skylab's second manned crew, prvoding a bonanza of scientific data to investigators on Earth. has begun preparations for splashdown and recovery scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 25. As they head into the home stretch, Astronauts Alan Bean, Owen Garriott and Jack Lousma are operating ahead of experiment timelines. Flight directors estimate they will exceed 100 percent of their planned activity in all scientific disciplines. The crew is scheduled to conduct its third and final EVA Saturday. Exposed film cannisters will be removed from the Apollo Telescope Mount's instruments for stowage inside the Command and Service Module and return to Earth. For the EVA, the crew is to awaken at 2 a.m. Hatch opening is expected about four hours later. Monday the crew becan changing the rhythm of their sleep-work cycle by arising at 4 a.m. after goint to bed two hours early. This schedule was to be followed Tuesday. Today the crew planned to arise at 2 a.m. after beginning their sleep period at 6 p.m. last night. Purpose of the new sleep-work cycle is to prepare the astronauts for splashdown day when they will be required to arise early for a full day's activity. The crew was given the go- ahead last week for continuation to the end of the 59-day mission. This approval for a fourth incremental extension beyond 28 days followed review of the inflight medical data and the recommendation of the NASA director for life sciences, Dr. Charles A. Berry. The crew's health and spirits are excellent. The body weight of each has been relatively constant (See SKYLAB on Page 4) SOLAR ERUPTION -- A mammoth solar eruption is seen in this photo taken by the White Light Coronagraph about Sklyab. The eruption expanded into space at a speed of about one million miles per hour. When photographed it was approximately 220 times the diameter of Earth. Solar eruptions are a result of the interaction between solar material and magnetic fields around the Sun. Combined Federal Campaign 'Kickoff' Scheduled Monday MSFC's 1974 Combined Federal Campaign gets underway Monday with a "kickoff" in Morris Auditorium. The annual campaign combines the monetary needs of many health, welfare and recreational agencies into one drive. Rober G. Sheppard, executive chairman, stated the drive officially begins with the 10:45 a.m. kickoff and will end November 2. He explained that the 1974 goal is to do as well as in 1973 when MSFC employees contributed $194,712. Monday's kickoff ceremonies will feature and address by Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, director. He will be joined by several distinguished guests, including Mrs. Ruth Ferrari, International Services Agencies; Tom Horton, Jr., National Health Agencies; and Mrs. Jerri McLain, Huntsville/ Madison County United Way. MSFC lab and office directors, campaign mangers and solicitors are expected to attend the opening ceremonies. Music will be provided by the 55th U.S. Army Band. The Rev. Hugh Chambliss, presi- (See 'KICKOFF' on Page 4) 

Anita, Job Done, Dies Aboard Skylab One of Skylab's two "spider astronauts" --who never were intended to be brought back to Earth--has now finished her job in space and is dead. Anita, the backup spider for the Web Formation Experiment, ED52, apparently died sometime over the weekend. The report of Anita's death came from science pilot Owen Garriott early Monday. Although NASA had no plans to bring back the spiders, it was announced several weeks ago that they would be returned if they could be kept alive. Arabella, the prime spider for the experiment, is still doing fine. Garriott explained from the (See ANITA on Page 4)

[weirdstuffthathappens]

Public Domain Forecast

There's a good amount of hubbub about Mickey Mouse entertaining the public domain next year, and it made me think, so what is the forecast for charters entering the public domain in the next twenty years, with a disclaimer that these only apply to the characters original appearances and you still need to dodge trademarks and this is for US copyright. And of course this is just a highlights list that will mostly be cartoon and comic characters.

2024 (1928): Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Tigger (Winnie the Pooh)

2025 (1929): Popeye, Tintin, Buck Rogers

2026 (1930): Blondie and Dagwood, Nancy Drew, Pluto (Disney)

2027 (1931): Babar the Elephant, Dick Tracey, Wimpy (Popeye)

2028 (1932): Goofy, Bluto (Popeye), Conan the Barbarian

2029 (1933): King Kong, The Lone Ranger, Perry Mason

2030 (1934): Donald Duck, Flash Gordon, Mary Poppins

2031 (1935): Porky Pig, Bride of Frankenstein, Little Lulu

2032 (1936): The Phantom, Green Hornet, Ferdinand

2033 (1937): Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Bilbo Baggins, Huey, Dewey, and Louie

2034 (1938): Superman, Bugs Bunny, The Adams Family,

2035 (1939): Batman, Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer, Casper the Friendly Ghost , Captain Marvel (Shazam)

2036 (1940): Tom and Jerry, Horton the Elephant (Dr Seuss), Woody Woodpecker, Captain America, Robin (Batman)

2037 (1941): Wonder Woman, Aqua Man, Plastic Man, Archie

2038 (1942): Mighty Mouse, Thumper (Disney), José Carioca

2039 (1943): Chip 'n' Dale, Droopy, Alfred Pennyworth

2040 (1944): Screwy Squirrel

2041 (1945): Moomins, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester the Cat

2042 (1946): Foghorn Leghorn,Thomas the Tank Engine, Snufkin

2043 (1947): Scrooge McDuck

[nonithesortaartist168]

I'M NOW OPENING ART TRADES FOR THE FIRST TIME! (FRIENDS ONLY!) (ADDED A NEW FANDOM-)

(Yes, @dragon-giggles, you're one of my friends now-)

Before I get to the fandoms, I must set up the rules.

CARTOON ONLY. NO LIVE ACTION.

PLEASE DO NOT RUSH ME. I'M HUMAN TOO.

IT'S OKAY NOT TO JOIN. IT'S YOUR CHOICE.

I'M A LER-LEANING SWITCH, SO PLEASE RESPECT THAT.

YES, YOUR FANDOMS ARE ALLOWED TOO. JUST REMEMBER THE FIRST RULE.

ABSOLUTELY NO NSFW/18+ ART. I'M A MINOR.

PLEASE RESPECT MY FANDOM INTERESTS.

THERE'S NO DEADLINE. TAKE YOUR TIME.

CREDIT ME FOR MY OCS IF YOU USE THEM.

ENJOY THE ART TRADING!

SERIES I'M MAKING: ROBOTIC FAMILY (Characters: Aismo, Atticus, Cleo, Amelia, Alan, etc.) (Stay tuned.)

FANDOMS I'M IN:

Tom & Jerry And The Wizard Of Oz/Tom & Jerry: Back To Oz

Wii Deleted You

Robots 2005

Toy Story 1-4 (And the special, Toy Story: Time That Forgot)

Transformers (Prime/Animated/RID 2015)

Monsters Inc.

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

Nightmare Before Christmas

Grim Fandango

The Book of Life

DuckTales 2017

Kingdom Hearts 3 (Toy Box and Monstropolis)

Where's Waldo? (1991 TV Show)

What's New, Scooby Doo? 2002

Blaze and the Monsters Machines

Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss (Only a bit.)

Horton Hears a Who! 2008

Wild Kratts

The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That! 2010

Garfield and Friends 1988

The Garfield Show 2009

Thomas and Friends

Team Umizoomi

Yo Gabba Gabba (A little bit-)

Friday Night Funkin' (Yes, Tankman too. A lot.)

FNAF (A little.)

Octonauts

That's all the Fandoms!

Anyways, enjoy the art trades!

[binders-and-beanies]

Papa Roach, 2000

[rolledspinepodcasts]

Dark Horse Presents

Aliens: Havoc (1997)

Aliens: Havoc #1-2 (1997)

by Mark Schultz & Kent Williams & Leif Jones & Duncan Fegredo & D’Israeli & John Totleben & Arthur Adams & Gary Gianni & Geof Darrow & George Pratt & Igor Kordej & Paul Lee & John K. Snyder III & Mark A. Nelson & Peter Bagge & Brian Horton & Dave Taylor & Kelley Jones & Guy Davis & Kellie Strom & Jay Stephens & Jerry Bingham & Kevin Nowlan & Frank Teran & Joel Naprstek & Travis Charest & P. Craig Russell & Adrian Potts & Sean Phillips & Rebecca Guay & Jon J. Muth & Kilian Plunkett & Ron Randall & John Pound & Gene Ha & Vania Zarouliov & Sergio Aragonés & John Paul Leon & Derek Thompson & David Lloyd & Moebius & Dave Cooper & Mike Allred & Tony Millionaire

[the-rewatch-rewind]

Heaven, I'm in heaven...

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched films in a 20-year period. Today I will be discussing number five on my list: RKO’s 1935 musical comedy Top Hat, directed by Mark Sandrich, written by Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor, and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

American dancer Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) comes to London to star in a show produced by his friend Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton). The night before the show opens, Jerry’s tapdancing in Horace’s hotel room awakens model Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) in the room below. She calls the manager to complain, who calls the room above hers, and Horace answers the phone. Because he can’t hear over Jerry’s dancing, he leaves to see what the manager wants. Tired of waiting for the noise to stop, Dale storms upstairs to confront the dancer. Upon seeing her, Jerry immediately falls in love, and the next day he starts following her around in a mildly creepy but mostly charming way. However, he never tells her his name, and when Dale learns that her friend Madge Hardwick (Helen Broderick)’s husband is staying in the room above hers, she naturally assumes that Jerry is Horace Hardwick. All of this results in much confusion, hilarity, and of course, dancing.

Top Hat was one of the many old movies that my mom introduced me to in 2002, and it has been among my favorite films ever since. I had already seen it several times before I started keeping track, and then I watched it five times in 2003, three times in 2004, three times in 2005, once in 2006, once in 2009, twice in 2010, three times in 2011, four times in 2012, once each in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018, twice in 2020, once in 2021, and once in 2022. This was the first Fred and Ginger movie I ever saw, and while I’ve since watched and enjoyed all nine others multiple times, none could top Top Hat, in my opinion.

This was the fourth film that Fred and Ginger made together, but only the second in which they had starring roles, and the first that was written specifically for them. Two of their previous films – 1933’s Flying Down to Rio and 1935’s Roberta – gave them relatively small parts, although their scenes were unquestionably the highlights. In Flying Down to Rio, they got fourth and fifth billing and are barely in it, but they caused a splash with their one dance number, and an iconic duo was born. They got second and third billing in Roberta, in which they basically function as the B romantic pair, with Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott as the A couple. Fred and Ginger’s first starring roles had been in 1934’s The Gay Divorcee, which was an adaptation of the Broadway musical Gay Divorce. Critics of Top Hat (including Astaire himself) complained that it was basically a rehash of The Gay Divorcee, and like, I can see their point: both films have a weird mistaken identity story and feature essentially the same cast filling very similar roles – with the notable change from Alice Brady to Helen Broderick in the “Ginger’s older relative/friend” role. But while I also enjoy The Gay Divorcee, somehow I feel like Top Hat just works better. The story makes at least a little bit more sense, and they didn’t devote a quarter of the runtime to a single interminable musical number like The Gay Divorcee did with the frickin Continental… although The Piccolino came dangerously close to replicating that. After Top Hat, Fred and Ginger made five more films with RKO in the 1930s: 1936’s Follow the Fleet, in which they were basically the B couple like they had been in Roberta, although they did get top billing in this one; 1936’s Swing Time, which is mostly very good and would probably have made it onto this podcast if not for that one blackface number; 1937’s Shall We Dance, which I kind of slept on for a while but now I think is probably my second favorite of theirs, although the ending drags a bit; 1938’s Carefree, possibly their weirdest movie, which involves hypnotism; and 1939’s The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, which I find to be disappointingly forgettable. Then, after 10 years apart, they reunited for MGM’s The Barkleys of Broadway in 1949, which is basically Fred and Ginger fan fiction and it makes me so happy that it exists.

While there were lots of other dancing musicals being made in Hollywood around this time, the Astaire/Rogers ones feel like their own genre, and not just because of the stars. I think a big part of what makes Top Hat feel like the quintessential Fred and Ginger film is the supporting cast. Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, Erik Rhodes, and Eric Blore were each in at least one other Fred and Ginger movie, but this is the only one that has all four of them. Edward Everett Horton excelled at playing the kind of guy who thinks he’s in control of every situation, but actually has no clue what’s going on, and he’s especially in his element as Horace Hardwick, convinced that he can get to the bottom of everyone’s strange behavior while never suspecting that he could end all the confusion just by meeting Dale. Helen Broderick delivers wisecracks in a brilliantly dry, cynical tone that contrasts with Horton’s bumbling to great comedic effect. Their characters don’t seem to have a very functional marriage, but they also don’t really seem to mind that. Typically the “haha, married couples hate each other” types of jokes really irritate me, but Horace and Madge are such ridiculous characters that it’s actually kind of funny when they do it. And then there’s Erik Rhodes, whose absurdly over-the-top Italian characterization in Top Hat and The Gay Divorcee so offended Mussolini that both those films were banned in Italy. Personally I feel like Top Hat’s portrayal of Venice as a giant white soundstage is probably more insulting to Italians than a guy doing a bad accent and being silly is, but I don’t know, maybe it’s still offensive. To me, as a non-Italian, I just think Erik Rhodes is very funny as Alberto Beddini, the dressmaker whose clothes Dale is modeling. He has some truly excellent lines, like, “Never again will I allow women to wear my dresses!” and “I am no man; I am Beddini!” Despite his declarations of love for Dale, he is extremely queer-coded, while also interestingly being one of the most masculine characters in the film, which is…kind of the opposite of how male characters are typically queer-coded. So Alberto is very silly but also quite fascinating. Eric Blore was in half of the Fred and Ginger movies and he’s always hilarious. In Top Hat he plays Horace’s valet, Bates, who always refer to themselves in the plural (“We are Bates, sir”), so the next time someone complains to you about this so-called newfangled trend of young people messing with pronouns, feel free to point out that at least one middle-aged man was doing that way back in 1935. One of my favorite exchanges in the movie is when Horace is trying to explain to Bates that Jerry seems to have gotten into a perilous situation with a woman by saying, “He has practically put his foot right into a hornets’ nest” and Bates respond with, “But hornets’ nests grow on trees, sir.” “Never mind that. We have got to do something.” “What about rubbing it with butter, sir?” “You blasted fool, you can’t rub a girl with butter!” “My sister got into a hornets’ nest and we rubbed HER with butter, sir!” “That’s the wrong treatment, you should have used mud – never mind that!” It has nothing to do with anything but it makes me laugh every time. This supporting cast adds a silly, somewhat Vaudevillian aspect to Top Hat that no Fred and Ginger film would be complete without.

Of course, Fred and Ginger movies are better known for a different somewhat Vaudevillian aspect: their songs. It’s very interesting to watch Top Hat from a musical history perspective because it was made before the advent of the book musical – that is, a show where the songs are fully integrated into the story and used to tell a specific narrative. The songs in this movie do sort of advance the plot, but the lyrics are generic enough that they stand alone completely out of context. It’s kind of a bridge between the disjointed songs and scenes of vaudeville and the continuously flowing story of book musicals. All the music in Top Hat was written by the legendary Irving Berlin, including two solo numbers for Fred: “No Strings (I’m Fancy Free)” which is what Jerry is dancing to in the hotel when he disturbs Dale, and “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” which is part of his show; and three numbers for both Fred and Ginger to dance to: “Isn’t This a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain)?” for soon after they meet, before Dale thinks that Jerry is Horace, “Cheek to Cheek” when they’re in love but Dale is conflicted because she thinks he’s married to Madge, who is confusingly encouraging them to dance, and “The Piccolino” after Dale finally learns Jerry’s true identity. Both Astaire and Rogers were significantly better dancers than singers, but typically Fred did most of the singing, and the only song he doesn’t sing in Top Hat is the Piccolino, apparently because he didn’t like it, so Ginger sings it first and then an offscreen chorus repeats it. My favorite number in the film has always been “Isn’t this a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain)?” because I love the way Jerry starts dancing fancier and fancier and is pleasantly surprised that Dale can keep up with him, and it’s fun that Ginger got to wear pants for once, and I also just really enjoy that song. There was a time soon after I first fell in love with this movie when I tried to make saying the word “lovely” a lot part of my personality, mainly inspired by this song. I truly enjoy all the numbers, even if I do think The Piccolino goes on a bit too long, although, again, it’s not nearly as painfully long as The Continental in The Gay Divorcee, which it’s clearly meant to pay homage to. But Fred and Ginger’s most famous dance number – certainly in this film, and also probably in any of their films – is “Cheek to Cheek.” It is pure, breathtaking magic, and even knowing about the major drama with Ginger’s dress in no way detracts from that.

I’ve heard a few different accounts of the dress drama with slightly conflicting details, but what they all seem to agree on is that Ginger Rogers insisted that a low-backed, light blue, ostrich feather dress would look perfect during the “Cheek to Cheek” dance, and pretty much everybody else tried to talk her out of it, but she refused to back down until they were all forced to concede. And she was correct, it looks incredible, although if you’re watching closely you can see some feathers falling off while she dances, which was the main objection to the dress. Fred Astaire was reportedly extremely annoyed about the flying feathers, although he betrays none of that to the audience, and afterwards gave Ginger the nickname “Feathers,” which he continued to call her for many years. My interpretation of this is that it started as kind of an insult when he was genuinely upset about the incident but evolved to become more of a term of endearment, although obviously I don’t know for sure. As far as I can tell, apart from the occasional disagreement, Fred and Ginger got along pretty well in real life, although the studio sometimes invented or exaggerated stories about them fighting to try to generate more buzz. Personally I don’t think that was necessary; their talent spoke for itself, and audiences would have flocked to their films whether or not there was conflict offscreen.

One thing that I don’t like about old movies is that in general, most of the people who worked on them were deceased before DVDs were invented, which means that the special features are often lacking. I have watched Top Hat with commentary, but it’s by a film historian and Fred Astaire’s daughter who was born after this movie was made. It’s mostly the historian talking, but every once in a while Astaire’s daughter shares a memory of her father, and every. single. time. the historian responds with, in the most patronizing tone of voice I’ve ever heard, “Thank you for telling us that” and I hate it so much. But one thing that I did learn from the commentary that I definitely wouldn’t have noticed if nobody had told me is that Lucille Ball makes a very small appearance in this movie as a worker at the flower shop in the London hotel. She has a couple of lines, but even though I’m used to watching her in Stage Door, which was only made two years after Top Hat, I absolutely would never have recognized her. So that’s kind of fun.

Now, when it comes to watching Top Hat from an aroace perspective, even I cannot deny that this movie in general, and the “Cheek to Cheek” number specifically, is extremely romantic. The main storyline is Jerry immediately falling for Dale and flirting with her until she falls for him, and then her attempting to suppress her feelings when she thinks he’s married to her best friend. But somehow, even watching it as a young teen who had no idea that I was aroace, this felt different from other romantic films I’d seen. I remember feeling irritated the first time I read a description of Fred and Ginger’s dancing as their version of making love because “ugh, why do people have to make everything about sex?” It took me a while to realize that not only is that an apt description, but it’s also part of what drew me to them in the first place. Because despite the way the terms “making love” and “being intimate” are now used almost exclusively as synonyms for “having sex,” they don’t necessarily have to be. There are other ways of experiencing and expressing love and intimacy besides sex. It’s just that our allonormative society puts sex on such a high pedestal and portrays it as the One True Form of Intimacy that all other forms are devalued to the point that often they feel barely worth mentioning. And I do feel like when some people talk about Fred and Ginger this way, what they’re implying is “Their dances were the Hays Code era version of sex scenes.” And, granted, it’s quite possible that that was the intent. But nothing about their dancing is inherently sexual, and yet, it would be hard to deny that it’s extremely intimate. So as someone who craves non-sexual intimacy, in a world where that concept almost seems oxymoronic, it’s so encouraging to see these characters express that. Of course, I don’t want exactly what they have – for one thing, I’m a terrible dancer, despite my one year of tap lessons in 2nd grade. And for another, what they have is way too romantic for me. But although I could never have articulated this at the time, just seeing this example of extreme intimacy coming in other, non-sexual forms as a young obliviously asexual person was so important. It gave me some armor against the onslaught of allo- and amatonormative messages implying that sexual relationships are inherently more valuable and valid than any other kind of relationship. Top Hat ends with the implication that Jerry and Dale are about to get married, so I guess we’re meant to infer that their relationship will eventually become sexual, but I don’t see how anyone could watch this movie and still think that a sexless marriage consisting of dance numbers like “Cheek to Cheek” would be any less valid than a sexual marriage. Like so many of my favorite movies, it’s not exactly ace representation, but it’s easy to imagine many of the characters in Top Hat as ace, and often that’s as good as it gets.

While the subtle and probably unintentional message that sex doesn’t have to be the end all be all is great, the main reason I love this movie is because it’s just a lot of fun to watch. I’ll be the first to admit that the plot is a little ridiculous and doesn’t make a ton of sense, but I also have to admire the lengths they go to in order to maintain the mistaken identity for so long. Like the part when the London hotel manager tells Dale that Horace Hardwick is the gentleman with the briefcase and cane on the mezzanine, and Horace steps behind a chandelier before Dale can see him, and while she’s trying to get closer, Jerry runs up to Horace and says that he has a phone call, and Horace hands Jerry his briefcase and cane and rushes off, so Dale will see Jerry alone holding a briefcase and cane and therefore still think he is Horace. Or when Horace just happens to be in the bathtub when Dale comes into their room in Italy. Or how Jerry tells Madge that he’s met Dale so she doesn’t think she needs to introduce him. It’s like simultaneously the most far-fetched, bizarre plot imaginable and also kind of brilliantly executed, and I love it for that. And even if the plot doesn’t work for you, this movie is still worth watching for its truly phenomenal dancing by one of the most iconic pairs in Hollywood history.

Thank you for listening to me discuss another of my most frequently rewatched films. When compiling this list, I was very surprised to discover that Fred Astaire would only appear in one film, since I consider him one of my faves, but I hope he would at least be happy to know that that one film is in my top five. Next week, I will be talking about another Old Hollywood musical that I watched two more times than Top Hat, for a total of 33 views, which stars a man who is often compared to Fred Astaire, although I feel like, apart from being dancers, they were very different. So stay tuned for that, and as always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “I make more money than…than…than Calvin Coolidge! Put together!”

[thingsmk1120sayz]