You have never been more enchanting
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | You have never been more enchanting |
| Original title | You Were Never Lovelier |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1942 |
| length | 97 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | William A. Seiter |
| script |
Michael Fessier , Ernest Pagano , Delmer Daves |
| production |
Louis F. Edelman for Columbia Pictures |
| music |
Jerome Kern , Johnny Mercer , Nicanor Molinare Leigh Harline |
| camera | Ted Tetzlaff |
| cut | William A. Lyon |
| occupation | |
| |
You were never bewitching , also known as A beautiful girl like you (Original title: You Were Never Lovelier ) is an American film musical with Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth from the year 1942. The by Columbia Pictures produced film was directed by William A . Seiter staged. Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer were hired for the songs , who contributed the Oscar- nominated song Dearly Beloved and I'm Old Fashioned .
action
Eduardo Acuña, owner of a hotel in Buenos Aires , has made it into his head to marry off his four daughters in order of their age. Julia, the eldest, should therefore marry first, followed by the beautiful, but so far rather stubborn Maria. After Julia got married, the two youngest sisters, Cecy and Lita, who are both already engaged, want Maria to finally land a suitor. In order to soften his daughter's heart towards men, Acuña begins to write soulful love letters and to have them delivered to Mary along with orchids . At first she is unimpressed, but her curiosity about the unknown admirer increases as the fiery vows of love arrive regularly. Meanwhile, tap dancer Robert Davis tries to get an engagement in the orchestra of his old friend Xavier Cugat in Acuña's hotel after losing his money at a horse race. To do this, however, he has to convince Acuña of himself and his talent.
When Acuña has to travel for a while, he forgets to make sure that his daughter receives the flowers and letters on time, even during his absence. Maria is more than disappointed about their absence. Acuña only becomes aware of his oversight on his return, whereupon he immediately writes a particularly glowing letter. Robert Davis happens to be waiting in the anteroom of Acuña's office and promptly becomes the bearer of the letter and the orchids. Assuming that Robert is not only the messenger but also her admirer, Maria falls in love with him. In order to avoid that Robert reveals the secret of the letters, Acuña promises him an engagement on the condition that Robert dispels the romantic illusions of Maria. But at the next meeting, the dancer falls in love with her as well and cannot bring himself to break her heart. Maria's father is then impatient. At a masked ball on the occasion of his silver wedding anniversary with his wife Delfina, he surprisingly announced that Robert would have to travel to New York the next morning . In order to get their older sister under the hood, Cecy and Lita decide to make Robert jealous and force him to stay. To this end, they persuade Acuña's secretary Fernando to crowd between Maria and Robert during a dance. But the latter cannot offer that. Then Maria and Robert withdraw into the garden and confess their love for each other.
To get rid of the dancer, Acuña decides to send his daughter a farewell letter in Robert's name. As he is about to write this letter, while Maria's merits are whispering, his wife Delfina suddenly appears in his study. She is immediately convinced that her husband has fallen in love with another woman named Maria, namely Maria Castro, who is a guest at the ball with her husband Juan. When Delfina accuses her husband of infidelity, Juan challenges him to a duel. To prevent tragedy, Robert breaks his silence and explains the situation. When Maria learns that it was not Robert who wrote her the love letters, but her father, she storms off, hurt. However, this outburst of feelings proves her father that she actually loves Robert, which is why he no longer wants to chase him away. In order to win Maria back for himself, Robert regularly sends her orchids as a token of his love. But only when Robert disguises himself as a knight in shimmering armor and appears on a horse under her balcony, her interest blossoms again. When he falls unhappy from his horse with his heavy armor and makes Maria laugh unintentionally, she runs down to him. They make up and seal their love with a kiss.
background
You were never more enchanting was the second and last joint film by Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth after their first very successful collaboration for Reich you will never (1941). While you will never get rich before the entry of the United States into World War II and thematized the life of a soldier, there is no reference to the then current war events in You were never more captivating . In order to enable the American audience to escape from reality , an exotic location for the action was chosen in Buenos Aires . At the same time it was an attempt by Columbia Pictures - in view of the dwindling revenue from Europe since the beginning of the war - to win the Latin American market for itself. Originally the original title should be Carnival in Rio . But when the location was relocated to Argentina , the decision was made for You Were Never Lovelier . The Argentine film Los martes orquídeas (1941), which was published in English-speaking countries under the title The Gay Señorita , served as a template .
While Astaire sang his own songs, Hayworth was dubbed her songs by the singer Nan Wynn. Because Columbia Pictures did not have a suitable stage for dance rehearsals, rehearsals were moved to a nearby funeral home. Every time a memorial service was held, rehearsals had to be interrupted. The dance to the title song You Were Never Lovelier was removed from the final version after a preview and only a short excerpt can be seen in the US trailer of the film.
Music and dance numbers
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- Chiu, Chiu ( Nicanor Molinare ): Xavier Cugat and his orchestra play the Spanish-language song Chiu, Chiu to samba rhythms in Acuña's hotel. Lina Romay , Miguelito Valdés and a choir willsing.
- Dearly Beloved (Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer): Robert Davis (Fred Astaire) sings the soulful balladDearly Belovedat the wedding of Maria's (Rita Hayworth) eldest sister. Later, when Maria receives letters from her secret admirer, she sings the song in her bedroom while she changes in elegant movements until shesinksdreamily on her bedin a blacknegligee.
- Audition Dance : In order to convince Acuña of his talent and thereby get a permanent job, Robert, with Cugat's help, performs a dance number in Acuña's office in which he taps dynamically through the room to Latin American music, using several objects as instruments and also dancing on Acuña's desk.
- I'm Old Fashioned (Kern / Mercer): When Robert appears in a tuxedo for a rendezvous with Maria in the Acuñas house, Maria takes him into the garden shortly afterwards, where she plays the songI'm Old Fashionedin a black evening dress(Eng .: "I am old-fashioned") and reveals her romantic spirit to him. In doing so, they slowly begin to dance with each other, rocking. Their speed increases over several turns and they reach the terrace, where they continue to dance dynamically until they return to the house.
- The Shorty George (Kern / Mercer): When Maria Robert visits his dance rehearsals with Cugat's orchestra and hebegins to sing and danceto The Shorty George (Eng .: "The Short George"), Maria spontaneously joins him on the Dance floor, where both of them step side by side with many jumps and expansive steps until they embrace towards the exit.
- Wedding in the Spring (Kern / Mercer): Once again, Cugats Orchester, Lina Romay, Miguelito Valdés and the choir for Wedding in the Spring (German: "Wedding in Spring") come into action when a costume party takes place on the occasion of Acuña's silver wedding anniversary. The guests dance in a circle and Robert and Maria also begin to dance together. While Maria wears a glittering evening dress and a comb with Spanish lace, the so-called "Peineta", Robert is dressed in a tuxedo, hat and cape. Together they move towards the garden, where Robert wants to talk to Maria in private.
- You Were Never Lovelier (Kern / Mercer): Robert Maria tries to confess his love in the garden. When he struggles for the right words, he sings the title song You Were Never Lovelier (Eng: "You were never lovelier"), with which he confesses to Maria how carried away he is with her. Then Maria gives him a kiss.
- Thesis Orchids (Kern / Mercer): When Maria learns that it was not Robert but her father who wrote her the love letters, she no longer wants to see Robert. The latter then sent her numerous orchids, which he had four messenger boys deliver. They sing the song These Orchids (German: "These Orchids").
- At the end, when Maria is ready to forgive Robert and walks over to him in the courtyard in a white dress with flower ornaments, they dance eloquently to the melody of You Were Never Lovelier , which is followed by a deep hug and a final kiss.
reception
publication
The world premiere of You Were Never Lovelier took place in New York on December 3, 1942 Radio City Music Hall instead. The critics agreed that the plot was rather banal, but they praised the songs by Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer and the dancing skills of Astaire and Hayworth. Like you'll never get rich , the film musical was very successful at the US box office, making Hayworth the ultimate Columbia Pictures star. In Germany , the film was shown in cinemas for the first time on July 8, 1949, but in the original English language with German subtitles. The film was only dubbed for a television broadcast under the title A beautiful girl like you , which took place on January 29, 1984 as part of a Rita Hayworth series on ZDF . Here borrowed Eckart Dux and Viktoria Brams the two leads their voices.
Reviews
For Bosley Crowther of the New York Times , You Were never more enchanting , "cheerfully frivolous joke with Mr. Astaire and Miss Hayworth dancing gracefully alone and together." Both look "better when dancing than when acting", but it is "completely natural". The “lovely song” I'm Old Fashioned “get the best out of both”. Fred Astaire also performed "one of the most energetic solos of his career to a melange of Latin American rhythms". In short, the result was “light and charming entertainment”. According to Time , the film provided "new evidence" "that Fred Astaire is still a gifted dancer and comedian and that Rita Hayworth is still the most adorable partner he has ever had." Fred Astaire's dancing is "not as original or as wonderfully designed as his masterpieces", but it is still "the best dance art in the film world". The “graceful” Rita Hayworth is “as rich in charm as the skilful copy of a Renaissance painting”.
Variety described you were never more captivating than "unrealistic canvas food". There is "not the slightest reference to the war" and that is "enough to compensate for the weaknesses of the plot". Also, Rita Hayworth "never looked more adorable or showed more talent than here". According to the Hollywood Reporter , the focus is "on a feather-light romance whose predictable happy ending is never in danger." The film was "more than half over" before Astaire and Hayworth dance together, "followed by two more numbers". The dance interludes were "all wonderfully executed, but not numerous enough [...] to satisfy fans".
In retrospect, Hal Erickson of All Movie Guide found the plot of the film “as banal as it is shallow” and recommended: “Forget the story and enjoy the dances of Astaire and Hayworth, the musical numbers of conductor Xavier Cugat and the score of Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer with standards like Dearly Beloved and I'm Old Fashioned ”. The lexicon of international films described you was never more enchanting than "a musical with famous songs by Jerome Kern, in which Fred Astaire shines in one of his best solo numbers".
Awards
At the Academy Awards in 1943 , You Were Never More Enchanting received three nominations for an Oscar in the categories of Best Sound , Best Film Music and Best Song . The film Yankee Doodle Dandy was able to assert itself in the first two categories . In the Best Song category, Kerns and Mercer's Dearly Beloved Irving Berlin's big hit White Christmas from the film Musik, Musik had to admit defeat.
German version
A first German dubbed version was created in 1983 for television on behalf of ZDF. Brigitte Theile was responsible for the dialogue script and the dubbing .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Davis | Fred Astaire | Eckart Dux |
| Maria Acuña | Rita Hayworth | Viktoria Brams |
| Eduardo Acuña | Adolphe Menjou | Wolf Ackva |
| Mrs. Maria Castro | Isobel Elsom | Franziska Bronnen |
| Cecy Acuña | Leslie Brooks | Heidi Treutler |
| Lita Acuña | Adele Mara | Marina Koehler |
| Fernando | Gus Schilling | Horst Raspe |
| Mrs. Delfina Acuña | Barbara Brown | Kornelia buoy |
| Juan Castro | Douglas Leavitt | Bruno W. Pantel |
| Xavier "Cugie" Cugat | Xavier Cugat | Michael Cramer |
| Julia Acuña | Catherine Craig | Manuela Renard |
Web links
- You Were Never Lovelier in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- You Were Never Lovelier at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- You Were Never Lovelier at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- Pictures of the film on cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 143.
- ↑ “A gay bit of frivolous fluff in which Mr. Astaire and Miss Hayworth dance singly or together quite charmingly […]. The principals look better when they're dancing than when they're acting, but that is natural. A smooth tune called I'm Old-Fashioned brings out the best in both, […] and Mr. Astaire performs one of the snappiest solos of his career to a melange of Latin music […]. And so You Were Never Lovelier is reported in as light and winsome fare. " Bosley Crowther : 'You Were Never Lovelier,' With Rita Hayworth, Fred Astaire, Arrives at the Music Hall . In: The New York Times , December 4, 1942.
- ↑ “ You Were Never Lovelier […] presents fresh evidence that Fred Astaire is still a superb dancer and a deft light-comedian and that Rita Hayworth is still the most ambrosial lady he has ever teamed with. […] This time Fred Astaire's dancing is not as expertly invented or as lyrically staged as his best, but it is still the best dancing in movies. Long-boned Rita Hayworth is as richly lovely as a good reproduction of a Renaissance painting. " See Cinema: The New Pictures . In: Time , November 16, 1942.
- ↑ “This is purely escapist screen fare […]. There isn't even a hint of the war, and that is some compensation for the few slow spots in the story's unfolding. Hayworth has never been portrayed lovelier or more talented than she is here. " See You Were Never Lovelier . In: Variety , 1942.
- ^ "The accent is on a featherweight romance, its prolonged outcome never for a moment in doubt. […] The picture is more than half over before [Mr. Astaire] and Miss Hayworth join in a dance that is followed by two more routines, all dazzlingly executed but not numerous enough to satisfy fans. ” The Hollywood Reporter quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 144.
- ↑ “The plot of You Were Never Lovelier is as forgettable as it is frothy. So forget the storyline and revel in the Astaire-Hayworth dance duets, the specialty numbers by bandleader Xavier Cugat and the Jerome Kern-Johnny Mercer score, including such standards-to-be as Dearly Beloved and I'm Old Fashioned . " Hal Erickson , cf. omovie.com
- ↑ You have never been more enchanting. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 26, 2019 .
- ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de