The Barkleys of Broadway

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' tenth and final film together was 1949's The Barkleys of Broadway, which is also their only color film together. It had been ten years since they were co-stars, and Rogers was a replacement for Judy Garland, who was too ill to take the role. It ends up being a fitting swan song for the duo, with a story that parallels real life.

In a switch from their usual films, Astaire and Rogers are already married as the film begins. They are a famed musical comedy team, and we meet them as they celebrate a smash opening night. But in the limo ride home it's revealed they constantly bicker, with Astaire being a ball-buster and Rogers has a desire to try more dramatic work. She meets a snooty French playwright, Jacques Francois, who wants her to play Sarah Bernhardt in his new play. Astaire is incredulous, and the two split up. Their friend and composer, Oscar Levant, works to get them back together again.

What's surprising about this film is that it has real teeth. The arguments between the couple are not entirely comic, and they would have made a good episode of the Dr. Phil show. In real life, Rogers did long to shake the limits of musical comedy, and ended up winning an Oscar for a dramatic role in Kitty Foyle.

As these things go, The Barkleys of Broadway, directed by Charles Walters, and with songs by Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin, is passable entertainment. Astaire, who looked goofy in his younger days, grew into his looks, and Rogers is radiant. Levant, who specialized in the witty, sexually ambiguous third wheel, has a lot of good lines. He also has two chances to show off his piano-playing skills, banging out the "Sabre Dance" and Tchaikovsky's 1st piano concerto. The most interesting musical number is when Astaire dances solo, aided by dozens of pairs of shoes that appear to dance by themselves, an early and pretty effective use of green screen. In a very touching scene, the two dance to the Gershwin's ""They Can't Take That Away From Me, a reprise from their earlier film, Shall We Dance.