Roberta

Roberta
by William A. Seiter

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VHS Tape Cover Information

Actor: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Helen Westley, Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott
Director: William A. Seiter
Writer: Alice Duer Miller
Writer: Allan Scott
Writer: Dorothy Yost
Writer: Glenn Tryon
Writer: Jane Murfin
Writer: Jerome Kern
Writer: Otto A. Harbach
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Russian (Original Language)
Format: NTSC
Running Time: 106 minutes
Release Date: 1992-12-31
Audience Rating: Unrated
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

VHS Movie Reviews of Roberta

Movie Review: One of the best!
Summary: 5 Stars

As others have noted, the negative criticism of this excellent film is both uninformed and off-point. Randolph Scott is "wooden" because he's playing a former football player, contrasting with the irrepressible vitality of Astaire & Rogers, and the awesome talents of Irene Dunne, which must have taken some effort for Scott, who could be quite unreserved off-camera. It's also a film full of interesting historical perspectives, from emigre Russian aristocrats in Paris, to Astaire's aspersions against the outfits he's supposed to be selling in the fashion show, itself a staple of films of that time and after, e.g., "The Women" and "How To Marry A Millionaire." Yes, the dancing doesn't occupy quite as much time as it does in other Astaire-Rogers films, but with Dunne and Scott on the set, who cares? And then there's Jerome Kern's music, which should make any discerning mind wonder exactly what happened to American theatrical composition and popular song between his era and the present. But that's the stuff of a documentary, not the engagingly pure, multifaceted entertainment that "Roberta" offers. More than two thumbs up: this one gets a double high-five!

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Summary of Roberta

When Huck Haines (Fred Astaire) and his jazz band of Wabash Indianians find themselves stuck in Paris without a paying gig, it's up to his buddy John (Randolph Scott) to appeal to his aunt, the legendary dressmaker Roberta (Helen Westley), for help. He also finds a Russian princess (Irene Dunne) working in the shop and a down-home American girl (Ginger Rogers) masquerading as a Polish countess because it's the best way to get a singing job. Roberta was the third RKO collaboration between Astaire and Rogers, and it's one of the more tepid, with too much time spent on 1930s Parisian fashion and the romance between Dunne and Scott. Dunne gets top billing and the best Jerome Kern ballads ("Yesterdays," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"), but as the second-banana couple Astaire and Rogers still get a tap battle, a romantic duet, and plenty of comic banter. In short, the Fred and Ginger magic is there, but not nearly enough of it. For more, watch the films immediately preceding and succeeding, The Gay Divorcee and Top Hat. --David Horiuchi

Comedy VHS Video

Musicals & Performing Arts

VHS Video Movies

Movies most talked about in SCREEN TEAMS: FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS

Astaire & Rogers Collection Volume 1 (Flying Down to Rio, The Gay Divorcee, Roberta, Top Hat, Follow the Fleet)
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Astaire & Rogers (3 Tape Gift Set/ RKO Orig Editions): Top Hat, Shall We Dance, Swing Time
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Shall We Dance
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Roberta
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The Gay Divorcee
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Follow the Fleet
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