Roberta

1935
Approved
1h 46m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Irene Dunne in Roberta (1935)

An American jazzman and his buddy woo a Russian princess and a fake countess in Paris.An American jazzman and his buddy woo a Russian princess and a fake countess in Paris.An American jazzman and his buddy woo a Russian princess and a fake countess in Paris.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

3.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 nominations total

Trivia
The floor in the "I'll Be Hard to Handle" dance was the only wooden floor in all of the Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers musicals. They both loved working on it, as they could tap and actually make the sounds of the taps. In the other musicals, their taps were dubbed over, as they were too quiet. Their enjoyment is clearly seen, as their giggles at each other are unscripted.

Goofs
When John Kent arrives in Paris and goes to the building where Roberta lives, the doorman tells him that she is on the "troisième étage" and indicates that John should press the corresponding button. John eventually is taken to Roberta on the third floor, which is incorrect since the "troisième étage " corresponds to the fourth floor. In France, the "premiere étage" (first floor) is not the ground floor but the next one up.

Quotes
John Kent: You don't appreciate her. I know she seems a little hard and sophisticated, but underneath she's a pearl.
Huckleberry Haines: And a pearl so I'm told, is the result of a chronic irritation on an oyster.

Connections
Featured in The All Talking, All Singing, All Dancing Show (1973)

Soundtracks
(Back Home Again In) Indiana
(1917) (uncredited)
Music by James F. Hanley
Performed by The Wabash Indianians

User reviews77

Review

Featured review

7/10

You may be puzzled when you watch this film...

... because when it was made Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire were still supporting players. The real stars of the film are Randolph Scott in modern dress not western garb,and queen and songbird of the RKO lot at the time, Irene Dunne. A somewhat musical rom-com, it has Huck Haines (Fred Astaire) and his big band arriving in France only to learn that their promised gig has fallen through. Huck's best friend John Kent (Randolph Scott) decides to look up his aunt, a dressmaker named Roberta (Helen Westley) to see if she has any advice on work for the band.

John ends up inheriting the dressmaking firm with Roberta's death, and he falls for lead designer Stephanie (Irene Dunne), while Huck meets up with Lizzie Gatz (Ginger Rogers) a neighborhood gal pretending to be European aristocracy.

Give this one a chance. I All four leads are charming and on top of their game. The costumes are elaborate, and the models are stunning, including a young blonde Lucille Ball. The songs are good, too, including the standard "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".