Swing Time

Introduction by critic Brian Seibert at the 5pm screening on July 13

Dance number for dance number, this may be Fred and Ginger’s finest hour. The pair rarely performed with such ebullience as in the “Pick Yourself Up” tap polka; with such virtuosity as in the “Waltz in Swing Time”; and with such tenderness as in the “Never Gonna Dance” closer. Subbing for usual helmer Mark Sandrich, George Stevens keeps the story—in which gambling man Fred goes to New York seeking fortune and instead finds “a fine romance” with working girl Ginger—sailing along elegantly. Add to that Astaire crooning “The Way You Look Tonight” and a Big White Set to rule them all, and you have one of the screen’s most perfect partnerships’ highest peaks.