Top Hat (1935)

Director:

Mark Sandrich

Writers:

Allan Scott (writer)
Dwight Taylor (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

6 September 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

They're Dancing Cheek-To-Cheek Again!

Plot:

Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel...

Plot Keywords:

Flirting | Bathtub Scene | Misandry | Black Eye | Face Slap

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Jerry Travers
Ginger Rogers	...	Dale Tremont
Edward Everett Horton	...	Horace Hardwick
Erik Rhodes	...	Alberto Beddini
Eric Blore	...	Bates
Helen Broderick	...	Madge Hardwick
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Adair	...	London Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Lucille Ball	...	Flower Clerk (uncredited)
Phyllis Coghlan	...	(uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Venice Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Tom Costello	...	(uncredited)
Jack Geiger	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Charlie Hall	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Peter Hobbes	...	Theater Callboy (uncredited)
Ben Holmes	...	(uncredited)
John Impolito	...	(uncredited)
Lora Lane	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Donald Meek	...	(uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Lido Waiter (uncredited)
Leonard Mudie	...	Flower Salesman (uncredited)
Edgar Norton	...	London Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Elevator Passenger (uncredited)
Tom Ricketts	...	Thackeray Club Waiter (uncredited)
Florence Roberts	...	(uncredited)
Rita Rozelle	...	(uncredited)
Genaro Spagnoli	...	Fisherman (uncredited)
Mary Stewart	...	Dancer / Singer (uncredited)
Nick Thompson	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Sandrich

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sándor Faragó		play (uncredited)
Aladar Laszlo		play (uncredited)
Károly Nóti		uncredited
Allan Scott		writer
Dwight Taylor		screenplay
Dwight Taylor		story

Produced by
Pandro S. Berman	....	producer

Original Music by
Irving Berlin

Cinematography by
David Abel

Film Editing by
William Hamilton

Art Direction by
Van Nest Polglase

Costume Design by
Bernard Newman		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Argyle Nelson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Carroll Clark	....	associate art director
Thomas Little	....	set dresser

Sound Department
George Marsh	....	sound editor
Hugh McDowell Jr.	....	sound recordist
Eddie Harman	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Clem Portman	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)
John E. Tribby	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Richard Van Hessen	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Robert Wise	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Vernon L. Walker	....	photographic effects
Harry Redmond Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)
Harry Redmond Sr.	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Miehle	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Philip Faulkner Jr.	....	music recordist (as P.J. Faulkner Jr.)
Max Steiner	....	musical director
Maurice De Packh	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Arthur Knowlton	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Edward B. Powell	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Gene Rose	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Eddie Sharpe	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: incidental music (uncredited)

Other crew
Hermes Pan	....	choreographer
Fred Astaire	....	choreographer (uncredited)
Elizabeth McGaffey	....	research director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• R.K.O. Radio Pictures (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (edited)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1957) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Image Entertainment (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Cult & Classic (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Runtime:

101 min | USA:81 min (re-release) (re-edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

South Korea:All | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | Germany:12 | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

During "Cheek to Cheek", Ginger Rogers' gown shed its feathers, exasperating Fred Astaire and causing delays in order to sew the feathers down. Rogers earned the nickname "Feathers" from Astaire as a result.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Horace and Bates are speaking to the hotel manager, the hook of the coat hanger that Bates is holding changes orientation between shots.

Quotes:

Jerry Travers: Are you afraid of thunder?
Dale Tremont: Oh, no. It's just the noise.
Jerry Travers: You know what thunder is, don't you?
Dale Tremont: Of course. It's something about the air.
Jerry Travers: No, no. When a clumsy cloud from here meets a fluffy little cloud from there, he billows towards her. She scurries away and he scuds right up to her. She cries a little and there you have you showers. He comforts her. They spark. That's the lightning. They kiss. Thunder.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Recording 'The Producers': A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Piccolino

Fred and Ginger at their very best

"Top Hat" has everything to make a perfect musical - great leading stars in Astaire and Rogers, good character support from Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, and Eric Blore, fabulous numbers ("Top Hat, White Tie and Tails", "Isn't it a Lovely Day", "The Picolina", and "Cheek to Cheek"), an hilarious plot of mistaken identity, and breathtaking designs which transport you into a Hollywood fantasy of Venice. This was the stars' greatest teaming and the film packs a great deal of energy, fun, and sex all these years later. A true musical classic and one of RKO's finest.