The Gay Divorcee
| The Gay Divorcee | |
|---|---|
 The Gay Divorcee movie poster | |
| Directed by | Mark Sandrich |
| Written by | George Marion Jr. Dorothy Yost Edward Kaufman |
| Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
| Starring | Fred Astaire Ginger Rogers Alice Brady |
| Cinematography | David Abel |
| Edited by | William Hamilton |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures Inc. |
Release dates | October 12, 1934 (U.S. release) |
Running time | 107 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 film that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was 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 movie is a screwball musical comedy with a slim plot. It included the popular dance team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and also starred Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore and Erik Rhodes.
The stage version included many songs by Cole Porter, most of which were excised from the film, "Night and Day" being a notable exception.
New songs introduced in the film
- "The Continental" (w. Herb Magidson m. Con Conrad) which won the very first Academy Award for Best Song, and is the music to the twenty-minute dance sequence towards the end of the film.
- "Don't Let It Bother You" (w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel)
- "Let's K-nock K-nees" (w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel)
- "Needle in a Haystack" (w. Herb Magidson m. Con Conrad)
Plot summary
The plot sees Mimi Glossop (Rogers) arrive in England to seek a divorce from her geologist husband, whom she hasn't seen for several years. Under the guidance of her domineering and much-married aunt Hortense (Brady), she consults a bumbling and less-than-competent lawyer Egbert Fitzgerald (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 (Rhodes). But Egbert forgets to arrange for private detectives to 'catch' the couple.
By coincidence, Guy Holden (Astaire) an American dancer, 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.
Cast
- Fred Astaire as Guy Holden
- Ginger Rogers as Mimi Glossop/Mrs. Green
- Alice Brady as Aunt Hortense
- Edward Everett Horton as Egbert Fitzgerald
- Erik Rhodes as Rodolfo Tonetti
- Eric Blore as Waiter
- Betty Grable as Guest