Although "The Sky's the Limit" (1943) was a MGM film, the budget for production design was on the level of a Republic B-Western. This makes this black and white film noteworthy for production design buffs as they can pick apart each set and the many surprisingly obvious (for MGM) sound stage background projections. The low budget also required the use of stock footage, a technique that the MGM editors (used to working on high quality productions) were probably out-of-practice employing.
As already pointed out, the most glaring example is the aerial combat scene that opens the movie. Fred Atwell (Fred Astaire) is shown in an obvious WWII P-40 cockpit mock-up (Ed Wood quality). Even worse the editors cut in footage from a WWI biplane dogfight. Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie (who plays his love interest) were 44 and 18 respectively when the film was produced. This kind of shoots down the overall credibility of their romance. Imagine an 18 year-old girl waking up to find a strange 44 year-old man in her kitchen. But they glam up Leslie so much that she looks a bit older. For anyone unfamiliar with Astaire he was hardly leading man material but was quite a featured dancer. He looked about 60 when he was 30 and not much older when he made "Finian's Rainbow" in 1968 at the age of 69.
Some things to watch for are the neon lights on the instruments of the nightclub orchestra and the self-reflexive reference to Ginger Rogers (Astaire's usual co-star). There are a couple of good song and dance numbers although "The Sky's the Limit" could not really be considered a musical. Although the film itself is obscure, Astaire's dance number in the hotel bar is often referenced in discussions of musicals. Utilizing a marble floor, mirrors, and shelves of glasses he does an amazing multi-tempo dance routine, which climaxes in a frenzy of broken glass.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
As already pointed out, the most glaring example is the aerial combat scene that opens the movie. Fred Atwell (Fred Astaire) is shown in an obvious WWII P-40 cockpit mock-up (Ed Wood quality). Even worse the editors cut in footage from a WWI biplane dogfight. Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie (who plays his love interest) were 44 and 18 respectively when the film was produced. This kind of shoots down the overall credibility of their romance. Imagine an 18 year-old girl waking up to find a strange 44 year-old man in her kitchen. But they glam up Leslie so much that she looks a bit older. For anyone unfamiliar with Astaire he was hardly leading man material but was quite a featured dancer. He looked about 60 when he was 30 and not much older when he made "Finian's Rainbow" in 1968 at the age of 69.
Some things to watch for are the neon lights on the instruments of the nightclub orchestra and the self-reflexive reference to Ginger Rogers (Astaire's usual co-star). There are a couple of good song and dance numbers although "The Sky's the Limit" could not really be considered a musical. Although the film itself is obscure, Astaire's dance number in the hotel bar is often referenced in discussions of musicals. Utilizing a marble floor, mirrors, and shelves of glasses he does an amazing multi-tempo dance routine, which climaxes in a frenzy of broken glass.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.