Good concept, poorly executed.

From my favorite movies..

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

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

. . . so people who watch SHALL WE DANCE before viewing the MUSIC OF brief "Bonus Feature" on the 2005 Turner DVD will not be surprised to hear that Songster George Gershwin died of a brain tumor within a few months of composing them, or be shocked to listen to a (no doubt partial) list of nine numbers written for but cut from the final version of SHALL WE DANCE. Five people are credited with fashioning the convoluted plot for DANCE, and it would not flabbergast any DANCE watcher to learn that several of THEM also were fighting terminal brain diseases at this time. From the Racially Insensitive early "Petrov" tap routine supposedly taking place among a steamship's Black coal stokers to the finale's title song rip-off of Busby Berkeley's "I've Only Got Eyes for You" piece, DANCE features more misfires than hits. Nearly every note of a healthy George Gershwin's earlier PORGY AND BESS is a triumph, but clearly coming within the orbit of the cadaverous Fred Astaire--who had recently mocked Bill "Bojangles" Robinson IN BLACKFACE, of all things!--hastened the former's demise. Whatever ability Ginger Rogers may have had to be a saving grace for DANCE is greatly diminished by her very limited role here in one of her weakest movie outings.

Fred Astaire plays a ballet dancer who falls in love with musical revue star Ginger Rogers. The two cross the Atlantic on the same ship with Fred managing to make some headway with her before rumors, misunderstandings, and publicity stunts come between them. The stars shine brightly with that wonderful chemistry they displayed in every movie. Fun support from Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Jerome Cowan. Great music by George and Ira Gershwin. Some of the classic musical numbers include "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "They All Laughed (at Christopher Columbus)", "Slap That Bass," and "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Really good stuff. Not my favorite Fred & Ginger movie but it's solid fun that should put smiles on the faces of most viewers.

Surely one of the silliest and most improbable plots in all the Astaire-Rogers series –-and that's saying a lot! — this 1937 film still features many delights: foremost among them of course are the dances of Fred solo and with Ginger, and the now classic songs of the Gershwin brothers. Amazingly, some of the best of these, the immortal "They Can't Take That Away from Me" for example, take up only a minute or two of screen time, as if the producers at RKO couldn't wait to get them over with so they could get back to the story. More time in the film is given over to the confused and outraged antics of floor manager Eric Blore than to some greatest songs in the great American Song Book. The film ends, however, with a breath-taking bit of pure exuberance, American dancing at its very, very best. The quarreling lovers are reunited singing and dancing to the title song. "Shall we dance or keep on moping?" As then and now a very good question. Absurd plot line and bad jokes aside, a film classic well worth watching again and again.

In order to fend off an admiring ballerina, phony Russian ballet star Fred Astaire (as Peter "Petrov" Peters) falsely claims he's married to a beautiful American musical star he admires, Ginger Rogers (as Linda Keene). To complicate matters, and get closer to lovely Ms. Rogers, Mr. Astaire joins her on a ship leaving France for New York. On board, Rogers treats Astaire with disdain, while gossiping newspapers report their "secret wedding" and "blessed event". Can Astaire's elegant charm, and sweet singing, win Rogers' heart…for real? "Shall We Dance" dutifully duplicated the success of previous Astaire/Rogers box office hits.Astaire issued his standard three 78 RPM Brunswick singles, which proceeded to saturate radio waves, and effortlessly made "Hit Parades" during the spring of 1937 - peaking in the following positions: "They Can't Take That Away from Me" (#1) / "(I've Got) Beginner's Luck" (#13), "Shall We Dance?" (#3) / "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" (#5), and Astaire's version of Rogers' film song "They All Laughed" (#6) / "Slap That Bass". The wonderful George & Ira Gershwin written songs, and the workmanship RKO/Astaire/Rogers delivery, is what really keeps the film's flimsy, formulaic story above board.******** Shall We Dance (1937) Mark Sandrich ~ Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Eric Blore