THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE (1939)

Studio: RKO Radio Pictures

Producer: George Haight

Director: H. C. Potter

Music: Robert Russell Bennett (lyrics) & Irving Berlin (music)

Release Date: March 29th, 1939

Awards: In 2006 it was nominated for the Best Classic DVD.

Origination: Based on the book, My Husband and My Memories of Vernon Castle, written by Irene Castle.

Interesting Fact: This was the last Astaire & Rogers film with RKO, where they had made nine films together. Ten years later they starred again as a couple in their final film together in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949).

Irene: "You could be a perfectly wonderful dancer if you wanted to."

I just watched this last night to refresh myself with the film. This movie is a fitting tribute to both Mr. & Mrs. Castle as well as the Astaire & Rogers partnership. The Hollywood couple had been in eight other films, by this time, and were now at their partnership prime. The routines they dance are gorgeous and you can't help but smile as you watch them glide across the floor.

Now on the story of Vernon & Irene Castle. It is a story of determination & love. I don't think I have seen such a romantic film, as this, in a long time. Europe and America fell in love with them as this couple changed the world of dance and ballroom. If you love anything about dance you need to see this film.

Here is a tribute video I found on Youtube.com.

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MOVIE?

FRED ASTAIRE & GINGER ROGERS

They are the most popular dancing team in the world to this day. Fred was a stickler for perfection and performed each swooning step with exactness. Ginger, on the other hand, only had to do the same thing but backwards and in high heels.

They were first teamed in "Flying Down to Rio" (1933) during a depression ridden era. This movie was one of the many films intended to be an escape for the public from the sadness that surrounded them, as the name suggests. It was, however, their dancing that floated across the screen that set the country dreaming. They went on to star in an additional nine other movies, here they are:

Ginger Rogers (1911-1995)

Fred Astaire (1899-1987)

Flying Down to Rio (1933)

The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Roberta (1935)

Top Hat (1935)

Follow the Fleet (1936)

Swing Time (1936)

Shall We Dance (1937)

Carefree (1938)

The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle (1939)

The Barkley's of Broadway (1949)

Both of them were successful independently in more than just dancing, but their names together was a household combination. My favorite film of theirs was the true story of Vernon and Irene Castle. It helped me discover how love for another can also be expressed through dancing.