theolderthebetter

"The old that is strong does not wither...." Fred & Ginger. Dean & Jerry. Bogie & Baby. And other important things....

[noisseau]

Biplane gals, Flying Down to Rio, 1933.

It’s rather ridiculous that planes which shouldn’t be able to hold more than a few people can keep in the air with a dozen girls strapped to their wings.  And shouldn’t that be detrimental to the aerodynamics?

[noisseau]

The San Mateo Times, July 23, 1934

This is a blurb about the hazards of dancing on tabletops with Fred Astaire.  At least, I assume that’s what it refers to, since they filmed The Gay Divorcee from Jun 28, 1934 to Aug 13, 1934 (per IMDB).  I’m sure dear Freddie was flashing back with horror to the tumble his stage costar, Claire Luce, took when their show was in London.  I can just imagine him fluttering worriedly around poor Ginger while she laughs at him gamely. 

[noisseau]

The Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Sentinel, Nov 23 1940

This story of Fred putting sound effects on Ginger’s dancing reel has several permutations.  It very probably happened, since the partners purportedly enjoyed pranking each other from time to time.  However, I can’t think of one single dance in which all of these things happen.  Maybe they’re referring to the “Yama-Yama Man” dance from The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, which would have been their last picture together at this time.  That one and the tapping tryout from Follow the Fleet are nearly the only solo dances Ginger had in their pictures.  Still, it’s amusing to think of Fred giggling to himself as he and the film cutter and sound man put together this gag reel for his best gal, Ginger. ;-)

[noisseau]

Phoenix (Arizona) Independent Republic, January 21, 1940

During the first few years after the breakup of their partnership, rumors abounded that Fred and Ginger disliked each other and refused to work together.  No matter how often the pair denied the stories, newspaper columnists kept bringing it up.  It was really the same old song as the “feuding” gossip with which RKO had tantalized the public.  It’s not news if they get along!  We’re only interested if they’re fighting or…..well, you know. 

Since the quotes we’re privy to are always brimming over with kind words from one about the other, I’m inclined to disbelieve whispers about tensions more serious than creative arguments about dancing, as Fred says in a late-in-life interview.  Even Ginger’s understandable indignation at being thought the puppet in Fred’s god-like hands came later, I think.  And that resentment was not directed at her partner, merely at those commentators who liked to sweep her under the rug while they waxed philosophical about Fred’s flashing feet.

[noisseau]

Joplin (Missouri) Globe, August 11, 1939

What a question! 

I don’t know, have you?

[susanapplegate]

[elviscostello]

“Even in their later careers, Astaire and Rogers were stuck to each other and they both resented that.”

oh??????????

the whole 1967 oscars thing “my baby” oh yes oh of course so much resentment aHAHAHAHAHAHA

LOOK AT THEIR FACES SO MUCH RESENTMENT SO MUCH HATE!!!! HAahAHAHAhaAHAHAHA

I WONDER HOW THEY KEPT FROM TEARING EACH OTHER APART

OH BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO HATE EACH OTHER TOTALLY HOLD HANDS IN PUBLIC

WHAT IS THIS OH LOOK TWO PEOPLE WHO HATE EACH OTHER!!!!

nope nope they totally HATE EACH OTHER IT’S ALL lIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow

wake up america

[somelikeiticecold]

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie parallels (part 15/?)  

~Kisses~

[fuckyeahfredandginger]

reblog if ur OH otp is fred and ginger

taking a census

also acceptable if they are included in your list of OH otps. i’m not picky.

[somelikeiticecold]

A candid moment in ‘Carefree’ (1938)

[noisseau]

Tucson Daily Citizen, October 14, 1944

Poor Fred, badgered from all sides by girl-starved G.I.’s.  Though he reportedly enjoyed the raucous atmosphere of those backstage dressing rooms in which he’d grown up, commenting on the comeliness of his dance partners for all to hear was probably contrary to his nature.  Such a public and suggestive question (and I’m sure he cleaned up the G.I.’s language for the reporter) may have made him blush and stammer a bit.

Fred and the other entertainers were pretty brave to go into war zones in order to bolster the morale of beleaguered troops.  He and Bing Crosby were Over There together and actually returned on the same ship.  I’ve seen the passenger manifest: “Fred Astaire, 45; Harry L. Crosby, 40,” it reads.

[noisseau]

The San Antonio Light, December 17, 1939

This is a pretty sweet cartoon by itself.  Our Freddie is hanging with his pals Bing Crosby and David Niven, as well as a bevy of other famous faces.  Read carefully, and you’ll see what Fred needs for Christmas….. ;-)

[noisseau]

Nevada State Journal, December 7, 1941

These are a couple of snippets from one of those rambling Thoughts-On-Hollywood columns they used to like to do.  The columnist would visit all of the studios and parties and pick up gossipy tidbits to tell the world about. 

I’m sure that would have been quite a match-up.  Rita, Eleanor, and Ginger, fighting for the right to partner the greatest male dancer in the world.  My opinion on who would have triumphed (and whom Fred would have chosen) should be obvious by now, but what do y'all think?

The movie in which Fred looks too thin must be You’ll Never Get Rich, released on September 25, 1941.  I can’t remember noticing his thinness, but I do recall commenting on his fuller face in Swing Time.

Incidentally, note the date of the article….

[noisseau]

The Long Beach Independent, August 25, 1948

So it was apparently not only Fred who maintained a copy of their dances.  I wonder if she watched it, as he reportedly did, to improve upon her dancing technique.  Or did she just thread it up now and again to reminisce about good times?

[noisseau]

On Fred and Ginger Hand Holding In The Carefree Publicity Still

The photo in this post belongs to fuckyeahfredandginger.

http://fuckyeahfredandginger.tumblr.com/post/21817460817/an-on-set-photo-of-carefree-check-them-out

So, there is a publicity still from the set of the Fred and Ginger movie Carefree.  The photo is set during the filming of the pre-wedding dinner scene, and includes the four principles, various background players, and the director and cameramen.  Clearly, the photo was meant to be published in a fan magazine as a sort of “behind the scenes” glimpse.  The actors are supposed to look like they’re taking direction about the scene they’re going to film next.  Of course, the photo has just as clearly been staged, but the actors are meant to look casual and not in character. 

That is one key element: Fred and Ginger are meant to be themselves in this photo, not their characters from the movie, though they are in costume.

Ginger has one arm casually draped on Luella Gear’s shoulder (Aunt Cora), and she’s smiling at director Mark Sandrich (an unlikely phenomenon at that point).  Ginger’s other arm is dangling casually at her side.  On that same side and slightly behind her stands Fred, also smiling and looking at the director.  His right hand is invisible inside his trouser pocket.  However, his left hand dangles next to Ginger’s, or else it would dangle were it not SURRUPTITIOUSLY CLASPING HER FINGERS!!!!  (It is necessary to capitalize this, don’t you know).

When this picture was first posted on fuckyeahfredandginger’s lovely blog, I swore loudly as my eyes zeroed in on this miracle.  Then I read the comments, of which there were too few, and saw the uncertainty people felt with regard to this hand holding.  One person thought Ginger was clutching a purse.  Anyone who took the time to zoom in on the hands, however, could have set their mind at ease.  Those are definitely Fred Astaire’s fingers SURRUPTITIOUSLY CLASPING Ginger Rogers’s fingers.  You can see his white shirt cuff to the left of her hand.  Also, Ginger’s thumb is invisible behind her hand (unlike Aunt Cora’s, which is relaxed and visible).  This clearly means that Ginger is participating in the SURRUPTITIOUS HAND HOLDING, lightly grasping Fred’s thumb with her own thumb and forefinger.  If they had been openly holding hands, it might (ironically) have seemed less intimate, more like they were just palling around.  The SURRUPTITOUS quality of the touching is what is so tantalizing. 

Remember, they are meant to be THEMSELVES in this picture.

In my opinion, it seems nearly impossible that this hand holding was MEANT to be part of the picture as it was originally posed.  It seems so unlikely that Fred would have agreed to a pose guaranteed to inflame fans and embarrass him endlessly.  Add to that, his wife (his very-jealous-of-Ginger wife) would have fucking freaked, and I doubt he would have deliberately insulted her by posing like that.

The SURRUPTITIOUS HAND HOLDING, therefore, had to be genuine and probably unconscious, like maybe he just did it automatically.  I mean, her hand was there, so he just grabbed it because he did so often, and he loved her.  Fred wasn’t thinking about how it would look, he just did it.  Maybe he even thought their touch would be hidden from view by his body.

Then, he may have had an “oh, shit” moment when he remembered the photographer.  It would be interesting to know if there were multiple shots taken of this pose.  How many would include the SURRUPTITIOUS HAND HOLDING?

I suppose it’s possible that Fred was simply comforting Ginger for some reason, though doing so in such public circumstances seems unlikely.  Perhaps Mark Sandrich was being mean to Ginger again, and Fred was giving his silent support.  It’s possible but, I think, improbable under these conditions.

This seems, to me, to be proof positive that Fred and Ginger loved one another.  No matter how much Joseph Epstein and others might pooh-pooh an amicable relationship between these two, it seems obvious that you don’t have SURRUPTITIOUS HAND HOLDING with someone you don’t like that much.  On the contrary, such SURRUPTITIOUS HAND HOLDING usually indicates a SURRUPTITIOUS RELATIONSHIP of some sort. 

Or something like that. 

Definitely love, anyway.

[noisseau]

Because this is important. Very important.

[philippaeilhart]

The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)

[a-study-of-fred-and-ginger-deac]

“We saw each other after we stopped making films. We were able to see each other at an Italian diner three or four times a year with our choreographer, Hermes Pan. We’d talk about old times and the things we had to laugh about. I’d like to say I admired and adored Fred very, very much. I don’t think there’s another one like him. He’ll always have my love and admiration.” – Ginger Rogers, interviewed shortly after Fred’s passing in June 1987