Fred
Astaire is a performer whose meticulous work one never tires of watching.
Astaire always made his dancing look effortless, no matter the amount of
athleticism required to bring off his routines, either with or without a
partner. While we wait for the legendary films he made with Ginger Rogers
at RKO to make their debut on DVD, the folks at Columbia TriStar bring us YOU'LL
NEVER GET RICH ($20), one of the two delightfully diverting musicals
in which Astaire co-starred with the gorgeous Rita Hayworth, who does a
great job dancing with Astaire.
The
plot of YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH finds Astaire portraying dancer
Robert Curtis, who finds his love life complicated by the extramarital
shenanigans of his boss, producer Martin Cortland (Robert Benchley), after
he is caught trying to romance showgirl Sheila Winthrop (Hayworth).
Entangled in the romantic web spun by Cortland, Curtis sees a way out when
he is drafted into the army. However, things are further complicated when
Curtis realizes that he’s in love with Sheila and she is about to marry
someone else. The cast of YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH also includes John
Hubbard, Frieda Inescort, Donald MacBride and Marjorie Gateson.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH available on
DVD in a pretty nice looking full screen transfer that frames the movie in
its proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The black and white film element shows
signs of age in the form of mild blemishes and scratches, none of which
are too distracting. Additionally, there are a couple of shots in the film
that has been replaced with footage that appears several generations
removed from the original negative. Still, for the most part, the image
appears rather sharp and nicely defined. Blacks are inky, whites are
stable and the picture produces good contrast and grayscale. There is a
noticeable grain structure for much of the presentation, but it is never
excessive. Digital compression artifacts are a non-issue.
The
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack holds up well, when one considers that
the recordings are over six decades old. Most of the background hiss and
other audible anomalies have been cleaned up, plus the Cole Porter music
sounds pleasant, despite the limited fidelity. Additionally, dialogue is
always completely understandable. Although no other language tracks are
included on the DVD, subtitles have been provided in English, French and
Japanese. The basic interactive menus allow one access to the standard
scene selection and set up features, as well as trailers for YOU'LL
NEVER GET RICH, GILDA and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI.
YOU'LL
NEVER GET RICH is a fun and diverting musical in which Fred Astaire
not only get to dance with the beauteous Rita Hayworth, he also does some
of his most energetic, yet effortless, solo dancing. Columbia’s DVD
looks and sounds fine, making it something that Astaire and Hayworth fans
will want to check out.
Fred
Astaire is a performer whose meticulous work one never tires of watching.
Astaire always made his dancing look effortless, no matter the amount of
athleticism required to bring off his routines, either with or without a
partner. While we wait for the legendary films he made with Ginger Rogers
at RKO to make their debut on DVD, the folks at Columbia TriStar bring us YOU'LL
NEVER GET RICH ($20), one of the two delightfully diverting musicals
in which Astaire co-starred with the gorgeous Rita Hayworth, who does a
great job dancing with Astaire.
The
plot of YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH finds Astaire portraying dancer
Robert Curtis, who finds his love life complicated by the extramarital
shenanigans of his boss, producer Martin Cortland (Robert Benchley), after
he is caught trying to romance showgirl Sheila Winthrop (Hayworth).
Entangled in the romantic web spun by Cortland, Curtis sees a way out when
he is drafted into the army. However, things are further complicated when
Curtis realizes that he’s in love with Sheila and she is about to marry
someone else. The cast of YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH also includes John
Hubbard, Frieda Inescort, Donald MacBride and Marjorie Gateson.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH available on
DVD in a pretty nice looking full screen transfer that frames the movie in
its proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The black and white film element shows
signs of age in the form of mild blemishes and scratches, none of which
are too distracting. Additionally, there are a couple of shots in the film
that has been replaced with footage that appears several generations
removed from the original negative. Still, for the most part, the image
appears rather sharp and nicely defined. Blacks are inky, whites are
stable and the picture produces good contrast and grayscale. There is a
noticeable grain structure for much of the presentation, but it is never
excessive. Digital compression artifacts are a non-issue.
The
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack holds up well, when one considers that
the recordings are over six decades old. Most of the background hiss and
other audible anomalies have been cleaned up, plus the Cole Porter music
sounds pleasant, despite the limited fidelity. Additionally, dialogue is
always completely understandable. Although no other language tracks are
included on the DVD, subtitles have been provided in English, French and
Japanese. The basic interactive menus allow one access to the standard
scene selection and set up features, as well as trailers for YOU'LL
NEVER GET RICH, GILDA and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI.
YOU'LL
NEVER GET RICH is a fun and diverting musical in which Fred Astaire
not only get to dance with the beauteous Rita Hayworth, he also does some
of his most energetic, yet effortless, solo dancing. Columbia’s DVD
looks and sounds fine, making it something that Astaire and Hayworth fans
will want to check out.