clanciai Review of A Damsel in Distress

A Damsel in Distress (1937)

Fred Astaire in the world of P.G.Wodehouse and the music of George Gershwin

[8/10 · 17 February 2019]

Here for once Fred is without Ginger after a row of triumphant successes, and instead there is a very young and sweet Joan Fontaine, but she actually also dances with Fred in one very idyllic and romantic scene, which he would repeat 20 years later with Audrey Hepburn but in colours. The character of the film is also different from the previous Ginger ones, it is more lyrical and unreal, while on the other hand it is hysterically hilarious as a comedy, as it was written by P.G.Wodehouse - all his crazy ingredients are present, and there are some marvellous comic numbers, the greatest being perhaps Kegs' (Reginald Gardiner) uncontrollable passion for the opera. The characters are typically silly and ridiculous for Wodehouse's extraneous world but at the same time endearingly sympathetic in their human weakness and adorable as fools. The combination Wodehouse-George Gershwin is mildly speaking original and somewhat bizarre, combining the lyrical poetry and beauty of the music with the Wodehouse folly and eccentricism. The story is rather thin, but you will overlook its imperfections for all the hearty laughs and the beautiful romantic lyricism.