The Sky's the Limit

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Movie
Original title The Sky's the Limit
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1943
length 86 minutes
Rod
Director Edward H. Griffith
script Frank Frenton
Lynn Root
S.K. Lauren
William T. Ryder (Story)
production David Hempstead
music Leigh Harline
camera Russell Metty
cut Roland Gross
occupation

The Sky's the Limit is a 1943 American dance film starring Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie . The film received two Academy Award nominations, one for best movie song ( My Shining Hour ) and one for best score ( Leigh Harline ).

action

During the Second World War , Fred Atwell, ace pilot of the Flying Tigers squadron, is to take part in a confetti parade in the United States with his two comrades Reginald Fenton and Richard Merlin and receive ten days home leave. Her schedule is so crammed that Fred pulls the emergency brake on a train ride to experience a little more.

Eventually he comes to New York City, where he meets Joan Manison and accompanies her to a nightclub. Joan is a photographer who is tired of photographing celebrities. She would much rather work as a war reporter. But her boss Phil Harriman, who wants to marry her, prevents this.

Fred, who now calls himself Burton and is unemployed, tries to seduce her and even rents into the same building in which she lives. After his advances fell on deaf ears, she slowly began to like him. She takes him to a troop amusement, where she does volunteer work. They sing and dance together. But his comrades are there too, making fun of forcing him to do insane dances to protect his secret.

Joan wants Fred to make something of himself. When she learns that he used to work as a journalist, she finds him a job at her newspaper. However, an interview with Phil ends up giving him advice to win Joan's heart. Due to several mix-ups, it is finally Fred who has a romantic dinner with Joan. The lady even wants to marry him afterwards.

But Fred's leave from the front has been cut and he only has two days left. Joan is still trying to find him a job and introduces him to factory owner Harvey J. Sloan. However, Fred makes fun of criticizing this. Joan then ends their relationship.

Phil and Fred then go to a bar, where he lets him know his true identity. The two get drunk and dance to it.

Fred has to leave the next day. Phil tries again to win Joan's heart. When this doesn't work, he sends her to the airfield, where she discovers Fred and the dizziness is finally exposed. Before it leaves, the two swear eternal love.

background

Fred Astaire choreographed all the dance routines himself. For a Fred Astaire film, however, there are relatively few dance routines, just four, that appear very late in the film. My Shining Hour in particular is considered one of the highlights of the film and was nominated for an Oscar.

The two main actors are separated by 27 years.

The film became a success in the United States. He grossed about $ 1,410,000 in the United States and Canada alone. Worldwide there was another 775,000 US dollars.

reception

When the film was released in 1943, Bosley Crowther wrote a kind of slap on the film in the New York Times . He criticized the weak story and described the few dance interludes as mediocre at best.

In retrospect, the film is not considered Fred Astaire's best, but neither is it one of the worst. While his films with Ginger Rogers are often counted among his highlights, The Sky's the Limit is more of an insider tip. For a Fred Astaire film, however, there are relatively few dance interludes, just four, that appear very late in the film. My Shining Hour in particular is considered one of the highlights of the film and was nominated for an Oscar.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Sky's the Limit *** ½ (1943, Fred Astaire, Joan Leslie, Robert Benchley, Robert Ryan) - Classic Movie Review 5164 | Derek Winnert. Retrieved February 2, 2019 (American English).
  2. ↑ a b Jnpickens: Musical Monday: The Sky's the Limit (1943). In: Comet Over Hollywood. November 12, 2018, accessed February 2, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c The Sky's the Limit (1943) Movie Review. In: 2020 Movie Reviews. Retrieved February 2, 2019 (American English).
  4. ^ Media History Digital Library Media History Digital Library: Variety (January 1944) . New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company, 1944, pp. 54 ( archive.org [accessed February 2, 2019]).
  5. ↑ Bosley Crowther, 'The Sky's the Limit,' Presenting Fred Astaire, Joan Leslie and Robert Benchley, Shows a Flying Tiger on a Furlough . In: The New York Times . September 3, 1943, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed February 2, 2019]).
  6. ↑ Glenn Erickson: DVD Savant Review: The Sky's the Limit. In: dvdtalk.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019 .