A Damsel in Distress (1937) User Reviews

Fontaine in distress...but there are compensations...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 29 April 2005]

First of all, in defense of JOAN FONTAINE, it must be said that Ginger Rogers would have been terribly miscast as Alyce, the young British lady who has the title role. Fontaine makes a fetching picture as the heroine here, but her acting inexperience shows badly and her dancing is better left unmentioned. Fortunately, she went on to better things.

But here it's FRED ASTAIRE, GEORGE BURNS and GRACIE ALLEN who get the top billing--and they are excellent. Fans of Burns & Allen will be surprised at how easily they fit into Astaire's dance routines. Especially interesting is the big fun house routine that won choreographer Hermes Pans an Oscar. They join Astaire in what has to be the film's most inventive highlight.

Unfortunately, not much can be said for the slow pacing of the story--nor some of the stale situations which call for a lot of patience from the viewer. It must be said that some of the humor falls flat and the usual romantic misunderstandings that occur in any Fred Astaire film of this period are given conventional treatment. Only the musical interludes give the story the lift it needs.

Some pleasant Gershwin tunes pop up once in awhile but not all of them get the treatment they deserve. The nice supporting cast includes Reginald Gardiner, at his best in a polished comic performance as a conniving servant, Constance Collier and Montagu Love (as Joan's father mistaken as a gardener by Astaire).

It's a lighthearted romp whenever Burns & Allen are around to remind us how funny they were in their radio and television days. Both of them are surprisingly adept in keeping up with Astaire's footwork.

Director George Stevens makes sure that Joan Fontaine's hillside dance number with Fred is filmed at a discreet distance but clever camera-work cannot disguise the fact that she is out of her element as Astaire's dance partner, something she seems painfully aware of.

Not the best Astaire, but some terrific dancing w/ Gracie & George

[uberlibrarian · 7/10 · 16 February 2005]

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, when I read about Fred Astaire teaming up with George Burns & Gracie Allen in a movie with a script by P.G. Wodehouse and music by the Gershwins. It is definitely worth seeing, but lacks the cohesive quality of the Fred & Ginger movies.

The story would probably be better to read in a Wodehouse book, where the humor comes across better. Some of the acting is downright painful to watch (notably the young boy and the damsel).

But...! The funhouse dance is worth more than most movies. I never knew that Gracie Allen could dance, but boy does she in this movie. Have you ever tried to remain standing on one of those spinning discs in a funhouse? Imagine tapdancing on one in high heels! She keeps up wonderfully with Astaire and adds greatly to the overall quality of the picture.

Several nice songs, particularly fun are Nice Work if you Can Get It and Stiff Upper Lip.

Recommended for fans of Astaire, Burns & Allen. I had to go back and re-watch the funhouse dance as soon as the credits rolled.

"In foggy London town, the sun is shining everywhere"

[ackstasis · 6/10 · 12 September 2008]

There's a perfectly good reason why Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made nine films together between 1933 and 1939 – the pairing worked! Astaire's toe-tappin' class was complemented perfectly by the light-hearted comedic charms of his female co-star, and that he and Rogers never overshadowed each other was crucial to the success of their collaborations. 'A Damsel in Distress (1937)' sees Astaire, for the first time since his debut, momentarily set adrift from this celebrated partnership. It's a pleasant and enjoyable musical comedy, but it doesn't entirely work because Fred is clearly the main attraction, creating an imbalance of tone that feels somehow unsatisfying. Joan Fontaine, in an early role, fills in as the primary romantic interest; she's not particularly convincing here – but, geez, she's gorgeous! – and her charms would carry her along sufficiently until her superb star-making performance in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rebecca (1940).' Husband-and-wife vaudeville duo George Burns and Gracie Allen provide most of the welcome comic relief, which is basically an extension of their popular stage act.

'A Damsel in Distress' was directed by George Stevens {who had previously worked with Astaire in 'Swing Time (1936)} and adapted by P.G. Wodehouse from his own 1919 novel. Jerry Halliday (Astaire) is a famous American dancer, frustrated by all his publicity, who falls in love with the beautiful Lady Alyce Marshmorton (Fontaine), whom he believes has inexplicably fallen in love with him. What Jerry doesn't realise is that Lady Alyce has actually fallen in love with a different (unseen) American, and that he is being misled by the staff at Tottney Castle, who have placed bets on who their mistress will eventually marry. Reginald Gardiner hilariously hams it up as Keggs, the scheming butler who apparently can't resist belting out an opera when the appropriate music starts playing. Burns and Allen provide the necessary supporting back-up (even matching Astaire step-for-step in the "Fun House" musical number), with the latter playing the ditsy eccentric with perfect composure, utilising more cringeworthy puns than Groucho Marx in 'Duck Soup (1933).'

George Gershwin played a significant role in getting Stevens' film made in the first place, and his songs were completed before script-work actually began. Tragically, the composer died from a brain tumour before production was completed. There were not quite as many musical numbers as I had expected, and very few stood out in my memory like Astaire's greatest tunes. Nevertheless, the "Fun House" number was an elaborate, precisely-orchestrated dance sequence, making superb use of reflections, moving sets and confined spaces. Most memorable of all was Astaire's rendition of "A Foggy Day (In London Town)," performed as the actor traipses gracefully through a fog-ridden forest. Joan Fontaine was the first actress to admit her insufficient capacity to play a convincing terpsichorean, and so she only attempts it once, and, all things considered, she doesn't embarrass herself all that much. She is, of course, always a joy to watch, but her character's "I love you… now I hate you… no, wait, I love you again" routine is overdone and unpersuasive.

Wodehouse adapts his own novel to the screen

[briantaves · 13 October 2004]

Rarely does a novelist have the opportunity to participate in the adaptation of one of his own stories for the screen, but such was the case with Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881-1975). The 1937 movie, A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS, was the first and only time he assisted in transposing his prose to film.

A Damsel in Distress had initially been filmed back in 1919, at the time of its original publication, in a version faithful to the novel. In 1928 Wodehouse had collaborated on a stage version with Ian Hay, which had condensed and rearranged some scenes for the limitations of the proscenium, while retaining the highlights of the book. On the advice of George Gershwin, RKO producer Pandro Berman bought the screen rights to A Damsel in Distress in November 1936. Gershwin had collaborated in the theater with Wodehouse before he wrote the novel, and Gershwin believed that the character of the music writer named George Bevan in A Damsel in Distress was based on him. Gershwin's nine songs for the film were composed before the script was written, and he actually died during production of the movie. A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS had an unusual follow-up: in 1998, the score of the film, along with several songs Gershwin had written but which were not used in the picture, were included in a new stage musical of the Wodehouse novel, this time entitled A Foggy Day for one of the songs.

RKO was interested in filming A Damsel in Distress because the novel's romantic lead was a musical comedy composer, allowing a singer and dancer to be cast in the role--and RKO needed a Fred Astaire vehicle. Scripting was already well underway when Wodehouse was asked to assist in May 1937, and shooting took place from July 22 to October 16, while work on the script continued until September 25 (Wodehouse left on August 14). The recurring gag of everyone infectiously saying "Right-ho" to one another seems a nod to Wodehouse's presence on the movie. Similarly, the song "Stiff Upper Lip" is the most colloquial in its wording, and reminiscent of the Wodehouse prose in its lyrics. Like the Ian Hay stage version, A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS retained the basic plot outline of the novel, but unlike the play, the movie also deleted and merged a number of the characters, and added others, becoming a second, separate Wodehouse variation on the novel. Ideas from the novel are used, but combined with fresh material, as the movie increasingly strays from the source. To add box-office insurance, George Burns and Gracie Allen were brought in from Paramount to partner Astaire in gags and dance routines. Burns and Allen play Jerry's press agent and his secretary, using their own names as they did in most of their movies of this time. While their participation was definitely outside the original, and the humor different from the Wodehouse style, Burns and Allen provide the movie with additional amusement.

Joan Fontaine was cast opposite Astaire. She had just been placed under contract to RKO, and was only then emerging from low-budget films; her first successful starring role would not be until1940 with REBECCA. The casting of Burns and Allen was partly to compensate for the risk associated with placing a relative unknown as the love interest. Whereas previous Astaire films had emphasized a partnership, and the grace of the romantic dancing duet with Ginger Rogers, A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS placed Astaire front and center, emphasizing the solitary aspect of his performance. Fontaine and Astaire have only one brief number together, simultaneously inviting comparison with Rogers yet demonstrating that she was unable to dance adequately opposite Astaire. Only the presence of Burns and Allen keep the entire picture from pivoting entirely on Astaire. The expectations of a romantic musical comedy usually call for a couple at the center, but A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS opts for a solitary lead, or at most a trio (when Burns and Allen are also on screen)-an inherent imbalance in the genre. Fontaine believed that the movie actually set her career back several years. Reginald Gardiner had played the role of Percy, the antagonist in the romances, in the Hay version on the London stage. In the movie, by contrast, the character of Percy is eliminated, and Gardiner is cast as Keggs the butler, who becomes a much more sprightly and unlikely character than in the novel. Gardiner was an ideal choice, an English comedian in the same tradition as Wodehouse. A major screen credit seemed to open up the possibility of a new career for Wodehouse, but when A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS was released on November 19, it proved to be the first Astaire picture to lose money at the box office. This was probably inevitable; after seven vehicles together, audiences had grown accustomed to seeing Astaire paired with Ginger Rogers, and reviewers inevitably compared Fontaine unfavorably. The failure of A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS would compel Astaire to make two more movies with Rogers, although their reunion in CAREFREE (1938) also met with a lukewarm box office reception. Hence, the reaction to A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS was hardly unique for an Astaire picture at this point in his career. However, the disappointing box-office results must have stung Wodehouse, not only because of his involvement in its creation, but because his name had become a more prominent part of advertising and promotion than on any of the previous films from his novels. Subsequently, few movies were made from Wodehouse sources, although in decades to come he would be far more successfully adapted for television.

Nice Film If You Can Catch It

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 27 April 2005]

In a famous essay he wrote about Charles Dickens, George Orwell points out that many readers always regretted that Dickens never continued writing like he did in PICKWICK PAPERS: that is, he did not stick to writing funny episodic novels for the rest of his career. This would not have been too difficult for Dickens. His contemporary Robert Surtees did precisely that, only concentrating on the misadventures of the fox hunting set (MR. FANCY ROMFORD'S HOUNDS is a title of one of his novels). Among hunters and horse lovers Surtees still has a following but most people find his novels unreadable. Dickens was determined to show he was more than a funny man (and don't forget, his first book, SKETCHES BY BOZ, was also a funny book). So Dickens third book is OLIVER TWIST (which got pretty grim at points). Orwell says that for any author to grow they have to change the style of their books. Dickens would definitely (and successfully) have agreed to that.

But Orwell overlooked the genre writer who transcends his fellows. Surtees, as I said, is a genre writer concentrating on hunting - but not everyone is interested in hunting. But P.G.Wodehouse saw himself as an entertainer, poking fun at the upper reaches of the British social system. His Earl of Emsworth is prouder of raising the finest pig in England than being...well Earl of Emsworth! His Psmith is always prepared to counterattack when he is supposed to be submissive to an unfair superior. His Stanley Uckridge will always have a "perfect" scheme that should net a huge profit (but always manages to come apart at the end). And best of all, his Jeeves will always put his brilliant brain to work rescuing the inept Bertie Wooster, his boss. Since Wodehouse had a limited view of his mission as a writer - he was there to do cartoon figures of fun for the entertainment of the world - his books never lost their glow. They served (and still serve) their purposes. In fact, compare Wodehouse with his far more serious contemporary Evelyn Waugh (who also wrote funny books but of a more intellectual type). The best of Waugh remains among the high points of 20th Century British literature: BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, DECLINE AND FALL, and the rest. But in his determination to make his points, if his points failed to interest the reader the book frequently collapsed. For every VILE BODIES there was some failure late in his career like THE ORDEAL OF GILBERT PINFOLD. While Wodehouse could do lesser hack work too, his falling did not go as far as Waugh's did.

Wodehouse also was a gifted lyricist (when you hear "Bill" in the score of SHOWBOAT, it is not Kern and Hammerstein's tune, but Kern and Wodehouse's tune transposed from "Oh Lady, Lady" a dozen years earlier). He was a handy dramatist too. So it is pleasing to see that he took his novel A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS and turned it into the screenplay here.

It has the normal Wodehouse touches. That perfect butler Keggs (Reginald Gardiner in a wonderful performance) is a scoundrel in rigging a "friendly" gambling game of chance among the staff of the stately home he heads. He is also unable to refrain, occasionally, from singing Italian opera - despite Constance Collier's attempts to control his impulse. This is typical Wodehouse characterization. So is the way the love affair between Lady Alyce and Jerry keeps going well and going down due to the antics of Keggs and young Albert, both of whom want to win that game of chance pot of cash. Wodehouse always does that type of plot switch, with antagonists switching their point of view depending on their present state of interest.

Wodehouse was also lucky here to have Burns and Allan to work with. It is generally considered that of all the films they made as supporting actors together (such as SIX OF A KIND and WE'RE NOT DRESSING) George and Gracie did their best support with Fred Astaire. The Fun House sequence, which includes the song "Stiff Upper Lip", is wonderful, as is an earlier sequence where the three do a "whisk broom" dance (that Astaire learned from Burns). But Gracie's marvelous illogical logic is used by Wodehouse in scenes with Gardiner (see how she manages to confuse him into giving her more money than her change deserves to be - only Albert happens to notice Keggs/Gardiner's mistake, and looks at Gardiner as though he's either stupid or mad). Her dialog with Lady Caroline (Collier)'s son Reggie (Ray Noble, the British band leader)leading him to imagine that he will marry her, but saying goodbye to Gracie as she drives off with George to get married is wonderful too.

The film supposedly failed at the box office because of the lack of Ginger Rogers in it, and the weakness of Joan Fontaine. Fontaine is not doing a remarkable job in the role, but the flaw is really Wodehouse's - he didn't make the character very interesting. But the film can stand without that, given the other performers and their characters, Gershwin's music, and Wodehouse's marvelous sense of fun.

RKO Gershwin dance-fest

[didi-5 · 6/10 · 22 December 2004]

Fred's first film for a while without Ginger was a money-loser for RKO, and it is easy to see why. The main problem is the lacklustre playing of young British actress Joan Fontaine, out of her depth in a film that requires her to be both alluring and a fitting dance partner for Astaire. That she is no dancer is made clear by George Stevens's ham-fisted direction of their one duet, using trees as bad camouflage for her lack of skill.

Aside from a fitting leading lady, though, there's quite a few things that keep you watching. Fred Astaire has some fine solo dance pieces to do, especially using percussion instruments. There's a lot of interplay with the talented comics George Burns and Gracie Allen, too, which lifts the pace a lot. One section has the three of them ending a Fun House trip by dancing in the Hall of Mirrors.

There's a good Gershwin score, including such gems as 'Nice Work If You Can Get It', and there's even an opera-loving butler, whose obsession comes to a head in a hugely enjoyable piece of humour. But 'A Damsel in Distress' is ultimately let down by the damsel, who doesn't measure up!

A dull plot and a struggling Fontaine compensated by some great Astaire dancing

[secondtake · 6/10 · 27 October 2017]

A Damsel in Distress (1937)

What a strange film, comic and stylish, clumsy and inventive. Fred Astaire is key, but it might be the young Joan Fontaine who first caught my attention. She's not the refined actress she became for "Rebecca" but she has the demur naive thing starting. It turns out she can't dance, so that had to be worked around.

The movie is set in London in a kind of fakey way—the London fog is exaggerated to the point of comedy. But that's fair. It's a comedy. And a musical, of course, with Astaire's dance sections being the only real reason to admire an otherwise routine movie.

Not that there isn't an overload of talent here. George Burns and Gracie Allen are at it, in less than stellar form, but fun. We have George and Ira Gerswin for amazing music and lyrics overall. P.G. Wodehouse (of Jeeves fame) is the writer, no less, and it's funny. (It even has Astaire saying, "Right ho!" A famous Jeeves line.) All of this give the movie some panache.

But the story is thin and canned, and the direction bland. There are even painful gaps in editing and photography (the fog suddenly completely disappears in the middle of one of Astaire's wonderful dances, on an open street).

It's not a surprise the movie lost money. But even so, if you like Astaire, you should watch this. His famous dance near the end with the drum kit is great fun (if not the masterpiece others say it is) and in general when the movie breaks into song it's a good thing, an escape from the doldrums of the plot.

Astaire Singin' and Swingin'

[LeonardKniffel · 7/10 · 7 April 2020]

A silly plot by P.G. Wodehouse and a set of songs by George and Ira Gershwin form the core of this Fred Astaire vehicle, set in England. He really must have been the busiest actor in Hollywood at the time. "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "A Foggy Day" became American standards after they were introduced in this film, which shows Astaire dancin' in the streets long before Martha and the Vandellas. George Burns and Gracie Allen provide plenty of comic relief, especially singing and dancing on a rotating platform to "Stiff Upper Lip," the lyrics of which are reminiscent of Wodehouse, who actually participated in the translation of his prose to film. My favorite moment in the entire movie, however, is when Astaire sings and swings "Nice Work" with three fabulous dames. --Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

A Foggy Day in London Town

[lugonian · 9/10 · 3 May 2001]

A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS (RKO Radio, 1937), directed by George Stevens, stars Fred Astaire in his first starring musical without his famous and most frequent co-star, Ginger Rogers. From a story by P.G. Wodehouse, which was originally filmed in the silent era of 1919, this update, with song and dance in the Astaire tradition, reportedly failed at the box office. Even for a flop, the film benefits highly for its grand tunes by George and Ira Gershwin; Hermes Pan's well deserved Academy Award winning dance direction for "The Fun House Number," and fine comedy support by George Burns and Gracie Allen, then on loan-out assignment from Paramount. Who's got the last laugh now?

The plot revolves around Jerry Halliday (Fred Astaire), an American entertainer vacationing in England accompanied by his publicity agent, George Burns (George Burns) and stenographer, Gracie Allen (Gracie Allen). Then there's Lady Alyce Marshmorton (Joan Fontaine) of Totley Castle, on her way to London for a secret rendezvous with Geoffrey, a young American she met in Switzerland a year ago. To lose the following Kegs (Reginald Gardiner), her family butler, and Albert (Harry Watson), the page boy, Alyce hides inside the backseat a cab where she encounters its passenger, Jerry. Misunderstanding occur when both Kegs and Albert mistake Jerry for Alyce's Mr. X. As for Jerry, he comes to the conclusion the young lady's in distress. Upon Alyce's return home, her Aunt Caroline (Constance Collier) confines her to the suburban estate, while her easy-going father, Sir John (Montagu Love), who's habit is gardening, feels his daughter should follow her own impulse. As Jerry cancels his upcoming trip to Paris, he, along with George and Gracie, rent out a nearby cottage by the castle to see what he can do to help this damsel in distress. Other members in the castle are Ray Noble as Reggie, Aunt Caroline's stepson, trumpet player and orchestra leader, gets his share of Gracie antics, ("Right-o"), and Jan Duggan billed as Miss Ruggles, one of the Madrigalist singers of "The Jolly Tar and the Milkmaid."

Song interludes include: "I Can't Be Bothered Now" (sung by Fred Astaire); "The Jolly Tar and the Milkmaid," "Put Me to the Test" (instrumental dance with Astaire, Burns and Allen); "Stiff Upper Lip" (sung by Gracie Allen/danced by Astaire, Burns and Allen); "Things Are Looking Up" (sung by Astaire/danced by Astaire and Fontaine); "Nice Work If You Can Get It," "Ah Chi A Uoi Perdini Iddio" from the opera MARTA (performed/voice dubbed by Reginald Gardiner), and "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (reprise, drum solo/ dance by Astaire). Fascinating Rhythm.

For an Astaire musical, there isn't much dancing, but when there is, it makes up for some dull spots. Aside from brief dance solo by Astaire on the foggy London streets, and another with drums, his two with George and Gracie comes as a surprise for anyone familiar with Burns and Allen as a comedy team - for that they can dance, too. Their first is a comedy dance segment involving a suit of armor. The next comes shortly after-wards at an amusement park that leads into the now classic ten minute "Fun House" number with Gracie singing pleasingly without stepping out of character. This segment alone is worth the price of admission which indicates Gracie more than just the scatterbrained partner to straight man George Burns. In every Astaire musical, his female co-star gets to have at least one dance with him. Joan Fontaine does just that, only slightly for the film's best song, "Things Are Looking Up." It's no threat to the classic dance numbers Astaire did with Rogers, but this one with Fontaine waltzing through the estate to soothing score is quite satisfactory. Shall we dance?

As with 1937 theater goers, I didn't particularly care for A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS when I first watched this on commercial television (New York City's WOR-TV, Channel 9, during its weekly Sunday night showcase, "When Movies Were Movies" hosted by Joe Franklin) in November 1970. After watching Astaire and Rogers in THE GAY Divorcée (1934) and TOP HAT (1935) earlier that year, I was expecting more of the same with climatic song and dance finish. Though the mistaken identity plot gets some replay, I couldn't help but feel strange it was watching Astaire with a different leading lady, how annoying little Albert can be at times, especially with his phony crying outbursts for one scene. After repeated viewing, however, I have grown to enjoy this one. Looking more like a throwback to those reproduced filmed Broadway musicals of the early talkie era, with leading man and pretty co-star, accompanied by secondary couple for comedy relief purposes, the scoring at times has that 1940s feel to it of swing, and slow tempo scoring of the big band era. Though Astaire reunited himself with Rogers in two additional musicals for RKO, he proved himself acceptable opposite different leading ladies for years to come, while both Rogers and Fontaine would win Academy Awards in 1940 and 41 respectively for their dramatic performances. Things are looking up.

When presented on American Movie Classics prior to 2001, audio for A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS was in desperate need of restoration. However, current prints shown on Turner Classic Movies is much better in both visuals and audio. Distributed to home video in the 1980s from Nostalgia Merchant, A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS is also available on DVD. And be sure not to miss Astaire's attempt in duplicating Leonard's Leap. Nice work if you can get it. (***1/2)

Would be unwatchable without Astaire, Burns and Allen

[xan-the-crawford-fan · 7/10 · 18 June 2021]

I disagree with the reviwers who say that Ginger Rogers would be better in Joan Fontaine's role. Ginger didn't really do demure and sweet like Joan Fontaine. Also, hearing her attempt at a 'Polish' accent in Roberta, I would be scared to her her take on an English one. If the locale of the film were America instead of Britain, I think Rita Hayworth would have worked well in the Joan Fontaine role. But anyways.

The plot is fairly simple and silly, but I wasn't really paying attention to the plot. Like with other Astaire musicals, the plot that is there is kind of filler between the dance numbers. And the dance numbers do not disappoint, especially the famous funhouse number. Since Joan Fontaine was fairly inept as a dancer, Astaire did most of his dancing with George Burns and Gracie Allen (who basically play themselves, but they're amazing, so we'll let that slide). They are good dancers as well, and keep up with Astaire and his hoofing. I didn't like the boy- the kid who kept meddling in everyone's business.

Thsn we have songs by the Gershwin brothers, which are always more than welcome. I believe that this was the last score George Gershwin completed before his untimely death at 37. And obviously, some standards came from this score- 'A Foggy Day (In London Town)' and 'Nice Work If You Can Get It'.

Overall, while not the greatest Fred Astaire musical out there it's still worth a watch.

An absolute delight

[darkbhudda · 10/10 · 1 January 2006]

Back when musicals weren't showcases for choreographers, we had wonderful movies such as this one.

Being a big fan of both Wodehouse and Fred Astaire I was delighted to finally see this movie. Not quite a blend of Wodehouse and Hollywood, but close enough. Some of the American vaudeville humour, the slapstick not the witty banter, clash with Wodehouse's British sense of humour. But on the whole, the American style banter makes the American characters seem real rather than cardboard caricatures.

Some inventive staging for the dance numbers, including the wonderful fairground with revolving floors and funhouse mirrors, more than make up for the lack of a Busby Berkley over the top dance number. They seem a lot more realistic, if you could ever imagine people starting to sing and dance as realistic.

The lack of Ginger Rogers and Eric Blore don't hurt the movie, instead they allow different character dynamics to emerge. It's also nice not to have a wise cracking, headstrong love interest. Instead we have a gentle headstrong love interest, far more in keeping with Wodehouses' young aristocratic females.

"The Sun Is Shining Everywhere"

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 11 January 2008]

I read that Jessie Matthews was approached and turned down co-starring with Fred Astaire in Damsel in Distress. Jessie Matthews in her prime never left her side of the pond to do any American musical films. IF they had teamed for this film it would have been a once in a lifetime event.

It's a pity because Damsel in Distress has everything else going for it. Fred Astaire, story and adapted to screen by author P.G. Wodehouse, Burns&Allen for comedy, and songs by the Gershwin Brothers. In answer to the question posed by the Nice Work If You Can Get It, there isn't much you could ask more for this film.

Except a leading lady. Though Ginger Rogers made several films away from Fred Astaire, Damsel in Distress is the only film Astaire made without Rogers while they were a team. Young Joan Fontaine was cast in this opposite Astaire.

Her character has none of the bite that Ginger Rogers's parts do in these films. All she basically has to do is act sweet and demure. She also doesn't contribute anything musically. And if I had to rate all the dancing partners of Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine would come out at the bottom. The poor woman is just horrible in the Things Are Looking Up number.

When she co-starred later on in a musical with Bing Crosby, The Emperor Waltz, it's no accident that Fontaine is given nothing musical to do.

The version I have is a colorized one and in this case I think it actually did some good. The idyllic lush green English countryside of P.G. Wodehouse is really brought out in this VHS copy. Especially in that number I mentioned before with Astaire and Fontaine which does take place in the garden.

Burns&Allen on the other hand as a couple of old vaudeville troopers complement Astaire in grand style in the Stiff Upper Lip number. The surreal fun-house sequence is marvelously staged.

P.G. Wodehouse's aristocracy runs the gamut with Constance Collier at her haughty best and for once Montagu Love as Fontaine's father as a nice man on film.

The biggest hit out of A Damsel in Distress is A Foggy Day maybe the best known song about the British capital city since London Bridge Is Falling Down. Done in the best simple elegant manner by Fred Astaire, it's one of those songs that will endure as long as London endures and even after.

Overlooking the young and inexperienced Joan Fontaine, A Damsel in Distress rates as a classic, classic score, classic dancing, classic comedy. Who could ask for anything more?

The ever-enjoyable Fred Astaire meets Burns & Allen in this hidden treasure

[jimjo1216 · 2 March 2011]

Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joan Fontaine. A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS (1937) may seem like a curiosity piece, but it's really a great, lesser-known movie. It's a fun comedy/musical in the vein of the Astaire/Rogers films of the decade. You can't really go wrong with a Fred Astaire movie, particularly from the black & white days. Astaire was so likable and charming on-screen. He was great at comedy, he could carry a tune, and brother could he ever dance.

The romance plot is set up with Astaire playing an American dancer traveling abroad and Joan Fontaine playing a young noblewoman who doesn't want to marry the eligible bachelors at home. The two meet and through a series of misunderstandings, Fred comes to believe that Joan is in love with him. She isn't at first, but if you've seen enough of these light-hearted Hollywood rom-coms, you know what happens. Fontaine's servants have bets on who she will marry, and they try to influence the romantic outcome in their favor.

George Burns and Gracie Allen are comedy legends. They're not known for their feature films, but they really sparkle in this one as Astaire's sidekicks. Their comedy bits are golden and they even join Fred for some dancing.

The rest of the supporting cast is great, particularly Reginald Gardiner and Montagu Love. Joan Fontaine, very early in her career, is absolutely lovely.

The music is from George and Ira Gershwin and is pretty good, if not as memorable as some of the music from the Astaire/Rogers flicks. I recognized "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "A Foggy Day". There are a few wonderful dance sequences, including a wildly inventive fun house scene with Astaire, Burns, Allen, and a crowd of extras. There's also a tremendous solo routine where Astaire tap dances and plays a drum set-- with his feet.

I caught this gem on TCM and I'm glad I did. I'm a huge Fred Astaire fan and this movie fits right in with his others. Plus it's got the added comedic bonus of George Burns and Gracie Allen. The movie is a lot of fun and it's got a nice little love story. It's time well spent if you're a classic movie fan. I just wish this forgotten treasure was more readily available.

Slightly disappointing stylistic departure for Astaire

[funkyfry · 6/10 · 14 November 2002]

A fairly clever story, but Astaire's persona and Gershwin's music go poorly with the aristocratic agrarian setting. Astaire plays an actor with a fabricated reputation as a lothario who falls for heiress Fontaine and persues her in her own castle, where she is "a prisoner" of her aunt. Burns and Allen are also jarring in the rarified atmosphere of a Wodehouse story; it sounds like they brought their own joke writers with them (because it's mostly bad puns like their radio show), and the effect is to diminish the quality of the film as a whole.

Some of the songs go on too long (the carnival sequence, though initially amusing, becomes annoying and seems to last a full reel) while others are given an unsuitable treatment and don't go on long enough (most notably the classic "Nice Work If You Can Get It" but also the well-done but seemingly amputated "A Foggy Day"). I used to wonder why Gershwin didn't win any Oscars that year for his wonderful score; now I wonder no longer. The producers seemingly went in a lot of cases with a more "realistic" approach, presenting the songs as they might have been done by vocal groups hired by the noblemen.... it might have been better if they had just thrown realism to the wind and done them in a full-on jazz style.

That said, the presentation of the song "Things are Looking Up" is quite nice, with Astaire dancing around Fontaine (to hide her inadequacy as a dance partner?) in a sylvan setting that is new for the performer. It was also refreshing to see him with a new consort, though it might have been a better choice to give him someone who could dance.

Decidedly Mixed

[flash-104 · 7/10 · 25 July 2007]

This musical is decidedly mixed, and none of the elements really fit together, but it somehow manages to be mostly enjoyable. The plot contains some of the elements of Wodehouse's novel, but none of its virtues, though he co-wrote the script. The songs, though charming, have nothing to do with this particular film, and are unusually crudely squeezed into the plot, even by pre-Oklahoma standards. Burns and Allen do their usual shtick quite competently, but it misses the tone of the rest of the film by about forty IQ points.

There are a few high points. Reginald Gardiner does good work when he remembers that this is a talkie, and stops mugging like a silent actor. And there are a few bits of writing which could only have been written by Wodehouse, though most of the film feels like the production of one of the Hollywood meetings he later parodied.

A Damsel in Distress

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 15 April 2024]

There is something oddly static about this self adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's comedy romance. Joan Fontaine is "Lady Alyce" an heiress who casually meets visiting dancer/composer Fred Astaire ("Jerry") on a trip to London. Their romance is soon smouldering (well, as much as anything actually smouldered in 1937), much to the chagrin of her well-to-do family at their ancestral "Tottney Castle". Aided and abetted by George Burns, his press man ("George") and Gracie Allen ("Gracie"), his secretary - who offer an efficient if not terrific foil for the slightly obvious gags - he persists in pursuing his love. The dancing, almost all of which is performed en seul by Astaire - illustrates well his skill and the quality of the Gershwin's score, but somehow his solo performances just don't really engage. It's not just that there isn't a Ginger Rogers, it's that there is anyone at all. The briefest of scenes with Fontaine offer a taste of what we might have had (granted, she is not so adept as his more famous partner), but instead this is essentially a solo effort that, for me, demonstrated certain limitations with Astaire's acting prowess. It's an enjoyable film to watch, and there's no denying "Put Me to the Test" and "Nice Work if You Can Get It" get toes a-tapping, but the dance ensembles scenes are more reminiscent of a choir practice, and the whole thing just lacks pizzazz...

Joan Fontaine Can't Dance, But They Asked Her

[boblipton · 7/10 · 11 May 2023]

Fred Astaire courts noble Joan Fontaine in a typical Princess Theater plot.

I enjoy looking at this occasionally, but it was not a success for Astaire nor the studio, despite good supporting comedy by George Burns and Gracie Allen and songs by George & Ira Gershwin, including "Nice Work If You Can Get It". The reasons are obvious. The songs are poorly integrated into the plot, Miss Fontaine's performance is wan, and her one dance number with Astaire is shot so you see as little of her as possible, and it's obvious when you can: she can't dance.

Surprisingly, Burns & Allen can dance, and they get to show off in a couple of numbers with Astaire. Montagu Love offer some nice warmth as her father. Ray Noble is reasonably funny as Love's idiot nephew, and cinematographer Joseph August gets some lovely landscape photography in. Nonetheless, after a series of classic movies starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers, this was an inferior variation on the formula, and the box office was poor. While its reputation has risen over the decades, Astaire went back to Rogers, and stuck with partners who could dance for the rest of his career.

Silly plot frames fine musical numbers

[doc-55 · 9/10 · 4 May 2001]

Disregard the plot and enjoy Fred Astaire doing A Foggy Day and several other dances, one a duo with a hapless Joan Fontaine. Here we see Astaire doing what are essentially "stage" dances in a purer form than in his films with Ginger Rogers, and before he learned how to take full advantage of the potential of film. Best of all: the fact that we see Burns and Allen before their radio/TV husband-wife comedy career, doing the kind of dancing they must have done in vaudeville and did not have a chance to do in their Paramount college films from the 30s. (George was once a tap dance instructor). Their two numbers with Fred are high points of the film, and worth waiting for. The first soft shoe trio is a warm-up for the "Chin up" exhilarating carnival number, in which the three of them sing and dance through the rides and other attractions. It almost seems spontaneous. Fan of Fred Astaire and Burns & Allen will find it worth bearing up under the "plot". I've seen this one 4 or 5 times, and find the fast forward button helpful.

Lightweight fun

[jamesrupert2014 · 7/10 · 1 September 2019]

While in London, lanky dancer Jerry (Fred Astaire) and his publicity team (George Burns and Gracie Allen) end up hobnobbing with Lady Alyce Marshmorton (Joan Fontaine) and the toffs and staff at Tottney Castle in this adaption of a novel by P.G. Wodehouse. While not one of Astaire's best films, there are some good numbers (especially the Academy Award winning "Stiff Upper Lip"), amusing gags (although the humour is a bit dated), and a slight, but entertaining story. The cast is generally excellent (although Fontaine's lack of dancing skills is frequently commented on) and Gracie Allen gets most of the best lines.

Fred Astaire in the world of P.G.Wodehouse and the music of George Gershwin

[clanciai · 8/10 · 17 February 2019]

Here for once Fred is without Ginger after a row of triumphant successes, and instead there is a very young and sweet Joan Fontaine, but she actually also dances with Fred in one very idyllic and romantic scene, which he would repeat 20 years later with Audrey Hepburn but in colours. The character of the film is also different from the previous Ginger ones, it is more lyrical and unreal, while on the other hand it is hysterically hilarious as a comedy, as it was written by P.G.Wodehouse - all his crazy ingredients are present, and there are some marvellous comic numbers, the greatest being perhaps Kegs' (Reginald Gardiner) uncontrollable passion for the opera. The characters are typically silly and ridiculous for Wodehouse's extraneous world but at the same time endearingly sympathetic in their human weakness and adorable as fools. The combination Wodehouse-George Gershwin is mildly speaking original and somewhat bizarre, combining the lyrical poetry and beauty of the music with the Wodehouse folly and eccentricism. The story is rather thin, but you will overlook its imperfections for all the hearty laughs and the beautiful romantic lyricism.

Joan flounders, Fred sparkles

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 15 July 2015]

Damsel in Distress had a lot going for it, and while not all my high expectations were met, most were. Not everything works here, but the good things are a great many and come off pretty splendidly.

There's actually not an awful lot wrong here. The story does get rather silly and contrived, with romances where while sweet it is not hard at all figuring out the outcome, and is occasionally more of a slow-mover more than a smooth-mover (a vast majority of the time it is the latter though). Harry Watson did to me come across like he was trying too hard and eager to please, and it irritated rather than amused. Am in agreement however that Joan Fontaine was the biggest flaw, have nothing against her overall as an actress and while there are signs of an aristocratic presence which suited the role just fine her acting inexperience here does show, her comic timing is flat (barely keeping up with the energy of the rest of the cast), her chemistry with Astaire is at times stilted and she is very ill at ease as a dancer, her work in Things are Looking Up is basically a walk-through.

Fred Astaire however absolutely sparkles, who cannot love the grace and poise of his dancing or his charming, suave screen presence? He shines particularly in Stiff Upper Lip, his unconventional but quite clever routine with the drums and especially A Foggy Day. George Burns and Gracie Allen are hilarious in their comic relief supporting roles and their dancing comes off remarkably well, more than holding their own against Astaire in Stiff Upper Lip in a way where two different styles gel surprisingly effectively. In other supporting roles, Reginald Gardiner is brilliantly funny with a conniving character that could easily have been over-played, and the conniving side of the character is more than convincing, and Montagu Love is equally great value.

George Stevens directs with grace and care throughout, the comedy elements are appropriately light and he doesn't lay it too thick or sentimental for the drama and romantic elements. Damsel in Distress looks lovely, with elegant production values and crisp, beautiful photography. The photography actually dazzles in Stiff Upper Lip, and is more than an ideal match for the cleverness of the choreography. The script is witty and light-hearted, enough to induce a number of laughs easily, and it's sweet and heart-warming as well.

Other than Astaire, George Gershwin's songs and Hermes Pan's Oscar-winning choreography are what stand out. The songs are typically fine, as can be expected from Gershwin, One Foggy Day and Nice Work If You Can Get It are classic standards for good reason. The choreography is every bit as superb, Astaire's scene with the drums will delight and surprise fans but the highlight is indeed Stiff Upper Lip, set in a funhouse, it is so much fun and is the most imaginative and colourful the choreography gets.

All in all, while Fontaine is disappointing, Astaire, the songs and the choreography are winning on every level. While not a must-watch, it is still highly recommended but the many good things are so impressive. 7/10 Bethany Cox

"Keep muddling through"

[Steffi_P · 5/10 · 21 October 2009]

One thing that you got a lot in the late 30s, when many of the franchises that had kept the industry going were now starting to lose appeal, was the studios putting together meaty packages of all the popular elements they had at their disposal in the hope of creating a sure-fire hit. 1937's Damsel in Distress gives us the dancing of Fred Astaire, the music of Gershwin, the writing of PG Wodehouse, plus a bevy of comedy supporting players. How could it fail? Well…

Fred Astaire's pairings with Ginger Rogers were beginning to lose money, and were perhaps being perceived as repetitive. Damsel in Distress seems to be an attempt to revive flagging box office takings by sending one half of the duo out on his own and putting him in a new environment with a new leading lady. While Joan Fontaine was a great actress, she was neither a singer nor a dancer, and what made the previous musicals work was the way Fred and Ginger clicked through dance – when their two characters danced together, you knew they were made for each other. You would later get the same thing when Astaire was teamed with Cyd Charisse. You're not going to get it with Fontaine. And it's not just Ginger who's missing; it seems to have been RKO's deliberate intention to remove all the familiar faces from the supporting cast – no Eric Blore, no Erik Rhodes and not even Edward Everett-Horton. Those jokers were half the fun! Instead, we get "cockney" lad Harry Watson, who presumably grew up to become Dick van Dyke's dialogue coach, and comedy couple George Burns and Gracie Allen, who are about as funny as cancer.

Of course the Gershwins were always good, and Damsel in Distress contains some of their best songs. The choreography of Hermes Pan plays nicely off the lively tunes as well. However, like most musicals of the period, the song and dance numbers are simply showpieces for which the narrative must take a break. The Fun House routine, for which the picture won its only Oscar, is very amusing, although it shows how Hermes Pan was now more interested in props and elaboration than showcasing the talent of Fred. The simple flow of "Things are Looking Up" is actually more satisfying and sits better with the rest of the picture.

Director George Stevens was someone who could always be relied upon to treat even the silliest of stories with grace and tenderness. The slow, measured pace he encourages from his actors, often with long moments between the dialogue in which the characters emote wordlessly, give great weight to the romantic scenes. The best "Stevens" moment from Damsel in Distress has to be when Fontaine confesses her feelings to Astaire at the cottage. As in many such scenes, we gradually move in from mid-shot to close-up, but Stevens begins that first close-up of Fontaine with her face moving into the frame, giving the moment that little bit more intensity. The steady pace of a George Stevens picture also often brought out the best in the comedy, although unfortunately there is not enough raw material here.

As for poor old PG Wodehouse, you can just about see traces of his style, the basic plot being a typical Wodehouse blend of warm romance and gentle satire with an emphasis on the interplay between aristocrats and their servants. Someone probably thought this would go well with sassy sophistication and stuffy vs. modern dynamic of Astaire's musical comedies, but it clashes horribly. Few of the cast, with the exception of Reginald Gardiner and Montagu Love, look like they belong here. Incidentally the aforementioned Messrs. Blore, Rhodes and Everett-Horton would all fit very nicely into Wodehouse world.

The trouble then with Damsel in Distress is that it throws together all its (mostly) worthy elements without any consideration of how they might work together. Bits and pieces of it are nice, and the songs are excellent, but overall it's a rather bland affair. The picture was predictably a great mistake that did no favours for Astaire's falling star, or Fontaine's rising one.

Astaire, Fontaine, Burns, Allen & Jan Duggan Too!

[drednm · 15 November 2005]

A Damsel in Distress is a delight because of the great Gershwin songs, Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, and a terrific supporting cast headed by Gracie Allen and George Burns.

Typically silly plot for an Astaire film has him as an American dance star in England with Burns as his publicist and Allen his secretary. They concoct a story about his being a love bug with women falling victim to him left and right. He runs into Fontaine who is being held captive in her castle by a domineering aunt and docile father. Silly plot.

The great songs include A Foggy Day, Things Are Looking Up, Nice Work if You Can get It, and I Can't Be Bothered Now. Fontaine does not sing, but does a brief (and decent) number with Astaire. Surprisingly good in a few dance numbers with Astaire are Burns and Allen, including an inventive and fun romp through an amusement park.

Also in the cast are Reginald Gardiner, Constance Collier, Montagu Love, Harry Watson (as Albert), Ray Noble, and my favorite--Jan Duggan as the lead madrigal singer.

Jan Duggan is in the middle of the swoony trio who sings Nice Work if You Can Get It. Her facial expressions are hilarious. She was also a scene stealer in the W.C. Fields comedy, The Old Fashioned Way, playing Cleopatra Pepperday.

Much abuse has been heaped on this film because of the absence of Ginger Rogers, who, as noted elsewhere, would have been hideously miscast. The TCM host notes that Ruby Keeler and Jessie Matthews were considered. Yikes. Two more would-be disasters. Fontaine is fine as Alyce and the dynamic allows the musical numbers to belong to Astaire, with ample comic relief by Burns and Allen.

Fun film, great songs, good cast, and Jan Duggan in a rare spotlight!

Far cuter than I thought

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 1 June 2023]

It's one fantastic number after another in A Damsel in Distress, one of the Fred Astaire musicals that, for some reason, doesn't really make the top of anyone's list. "Nice Work if You Can Get It", "I Can't Be Bothered Now" and "A Foggy Day" are all Gershwin tunes from this movie!

Perhaps this movie was written off as just a silly B-picture because George Burns and Gracie Allen took up more screen time than Fred's love interest Joan Fontaine. Most of the movie was intended to make the audience laugh and distract them from the Great Depression, rather than to wow them with a fantastic romance. Some of the humor is irritating, but the main storyline is very cute. Joan is wealthy and titled, and the staff who work for her family take bets on whom she will marry. She's supposed to marry a dimwitted cousin, but while on holiday in New York, she falls in love with an American. No one knows who he is, but when she tumbles into a taxi with Fred to outrun her bodyguard, Fred is assumed to be her mystery man.

If you like Burns and Allen humor, you'll be rolling on the floor with laughter. They're at their peak with silly puns and deadpan expressions - and you'll have the added treat of seeing them tap dance alongside the great Fred Astaire! After seeing George as a crotchety old man in Oh, God!, it's endlessly entertaining to see him soft-shoe with the most famous dancer in the world. Rumor has it that Gracie was so nervous to dance with Fred, he intentionally tripped and fell on the first day of rehearsals to make her feel more comfortable. What a gentleman!

There's an extensive sequence at the carnival, since the plot isn't that complicated and needs a bit of filler, and the dancing will blow your mind. From dancing in front of distorted mirrors, to running in place in a spinning tunnel, to balancing their legs on different moving planes, to sliding down escalators, the dance is incredibly imaginative. Even if you hate Joan Fontaine, she's hardly in the movie, so you can definitely stomach her presence and watch all the song and dance entertainment without her. It's very cute, even with some 1930s gags that don't translate to modern times.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. During the carnival scene, they go on a spinning teacups ride and the motion might make you sick. Also, during that same scene, there's an extended dance number that takes place on spinning floors, spinning walls, and distorted mirrors., and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

damsel in distress

[mossgrymk · 6/10 · 27 May 2023]

About half as good as director George Stevens' other musical with Astaire, "Swing Time". Aside from an inspired, Busby Berkeley-ish, surreal dance number set in a funhouse and two great Gershwin songs ("Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "Things Are Looking Up") there is nothing that rises above the mildly pleasant or unsurprising unless, that is, you were not aware that George and Gracie were pretty decent hoofers, especially Gracie. And judging from the non musical dialogue it's a good thing P. G. Wodehouse stuck to writing novels (when he wasn't broadcasting for Nazi Germany). Also, it is most dispiriting to see a great actress like Joan Fontaine stuck in a dull love interest role that could and should have been outsourced to Helen Vinson or Margaret Lindsey. C plus.