| The Gay Divorcee | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Mark Sandrich |
| Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
| Written by | George Marion Jr. Dorothy Yost Edward Kaufman |
| Starring | Fred Astaire Ginger Rogers Alice Brady |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | David Abel |
| Editing by | William Hamilton |
| Distributed by | RKO Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 12, 1934 |
| Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American film based on the musical play Gay Divorce written by Dwight Taylor, Kenneth S. Webb, Samuel Hoffenstein, with screenplay by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost and Edward Kaufman, from an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners. The Hays Office insisted on the name change, believing that while a divorcee could be gay or lighthearted, it would be unseemly to allow a divorce to appear so. The movie was directed by Mark Sandrich.
The film is a screwball musical comedy with a slim plot. This was the second of the Rogers and Astaire musicals; Flying Down to Rio (1933) was the first. It included the popular dance team of Fred Astaire and a 23-year-old Ginger Rogers, and also starred Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore and Erik Rhodes. It is the first of the series to feature Astaire and Rogers as the main attraction.[1]
The stage version included many songs by Cole Porter, most of which were excised from the film, "Night and Day" being a notable exception. Oddly enough, although it changed most of the songs, it kept the original plot of the stage version. The film featured three members of the original cast of The Gay Divorce repeating their stage roles - Astaire, Erik Rhodes, and Eric Blore. [2]
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.[3]
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The plot sees Mimi Glossop (Ginger Rogers) arrive in England to seek a divorce from her geologist husband Cyril (William Austin), whom she hasn't seen for several years. Under the guidance of her domineering and much-married aunt Hortense (Alice Brady), she consults a bumbling and less-than-competent lawyer Egbert Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton), who happens to be one of Hortense's previous fiancés. He arranges for her to spend a night at a seaside hotel and to be caught in an adulterous relationship, for which purpose he hires a professional co-respondent, Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes). But Egbert forgets to arrange for private detectives to 'catch' the couple.
By coincidence, Guy Holden (Fred Astaire) an American dancer and friend of Egbert's, who briefly met Mimi on her arrival in England, and is now besotted with her, also arrives at the hotel, only to be mistaken by Mimi for the co-respondent. Whilst they are in Mimi's bedroom, Tonetti arrives and holds them 'prisoner'. They contrive to escape and dance the night away.
The film was nominated for the following Academy Awards, winning in the category Music (Song):[4]
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