1935, USA, Language: English, Italian, Subtitles: Hungarian (101’); Introduction by Katinka Faragó; Screening: 09.05, 21.15, Toldi Cinema, Nagyterem

Absolutely unbelievable: RKO Studio, whose business success was in fact founded on the legendary pair of film history, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, constructed a Venice doppelganger in pure white for this Sándor Faragó adaptation. Even the seawater was dyed black in order to bring out the sparkling Art Deco set in greater contrast. Top Hat is one of the finest films by the immortal pair, a typical comedy built on misunderstandings (the Broadway star courts the stage designer woman, but she believes that the man is the husband of her girlfriend): Ginger is at her most beautiful in this film, the white tie elegance dazzles in every scene, while the lightness of the dances makes the musical scenes virtually ethereal and timeless. Irving Berlin composed the music: Cheek to Cheek, the film’s most famous number, lives on in countless jazz variations. It’s first line goes: ‘Heaven, I’m in heaven’. Every fantastical musical of that age seems as though it were played out in heaven, Top Hat in particular.

Directed by: Mark Sandrich
Screenplay by: Dwight Taylor, Allan Scott
Director of photography: David Abel
Music by: Irving Berlin, Max Steiner
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore, Helen Broderick
Genre: comedy, musical
Production: RKO Radio Pictures
Format: black and white, 1.37:1

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