Shall We Dance

Astaire and Rogers add a third name to their already formidable marquee: Gershwin. George and Ira contributed a cornucopia of honey-toned now-standards (“They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “They All Laughed”) to this breezy charmer, in which Astaire’s faux-Russian ballet star Petrov (née Peter P. Peters) woos dancing sensation Rogers onboard an ocean liner. Spoiler: romantic complications ensue. Among the hoofing highlights: Astaire tapping up a storm to the rhythms of a steamship’s pistons; the duo dancing on roller skates to “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”; and a finale featuring a chorus line of masked Rogers lookalikes.