You'll Never Get Rich (1941)

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Robert Curtis (Fred Astaire) is a choreographer who is asked by his boss Martin Cortland (Robert Benchley) to cover for him while he lies to his wife Julia (Frieda Inescort). Cortland has been caught out buying a necklace for showgirl Sheila (Rita Hayworth) and he wants Curtis to pretend that the necklace is actually a gift from Curtis and not from Cortland. Then Curtis gets drafted into the army where Sheila turns up again. And so does Cortland. They put on a show.This film starts well with the deception over the necklace and a tap dance with Astaire and Hayworth - it's the highlight musical piece, far away better than any of the other unremarkable music numbers in the film. However, when Astaire joins the army, the film just chugs along until the end. It's not particularly entertaining. Funny moments include Cliff Nazarro talking gobbledy-gook at the station (although this gets repetitive during the rest of the film) and Astaire pretending to be a captain and........um......that's it. There is also some tedious slapstick thrown in for bad measure in the army dormitory.The big music numbers (when Astaire leaves to enrol and the finale) are, unfortunately, all choreographed in a military way - you know, lots of marching - and so they are not very good. Unless you like marching. Astaire is good as always but his dances are not memorable - the best, other than the highlight already mentioned, would have to be a solo routine in the Guardhouse accompanied by some dude singing.It's a shame that the majority of the film focuses on Astaire and his army life as it tries to get humour out of stale stereotypes. There are some mildly amusing moments and a standout, all too brief, tap dance highlight with Astaire and Hayworth at the beginning, but that's your lot on the entertainment front. I'd quite like to have a Chinese back-scratcher, though.

"You'll Never Get Rich" is a 1941 film starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, and a very large cast. Benchley plays Martin Cortland, a producer who chases around on his wife (Frieda Inescort) and sets his sights on Sheila (Hayworth), who is in his current show along with Robert Curtis (Astaire). When his wife suspects, Martin has Robert take Sheila out and present her with a diamond bracelet that Martin actually purchased for her but that his wife found in his pocket. Martin then pretends he bought it for Robert to give to Sheila. Sheila angrily refuses it, and when Robert goes to her place to explain, he comes face to face with her boyfriend, whom he thinks is her brother - whoever he is, he has a gun in his hand. Robert finds himself drafted and, desperate to get in and avoid Sheila's boyfriend, pads himself with the 5 extra pounds he needs to get into the service. He then spends just about the rest of the film in the guard house until the grand finale - and even then, he's returned to the guard house.That's the story and admittedly, it's not much. There are some very good dance numbers, but the thing about the film that's special is the partnership of Astaire and Hayworth. They are marvelous together. Supposedly Rita was his favorite partner, and it's easy to see why. She doesn't dance; she floats, and she's so gloriously beautiful, you can't take your eyes off of her. Fred and Rita dance to the "Boogie Barcarole," "So Near Yet So Far," and "The Wedding Cake Walk," sung by Martha Tilton for Rita. Fred's solos include "Shootin' the Work for Uncle Sam," and "Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye." It's hard to go wrong with stars like Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth, and while this isn't the best film of either one of them, it's still enjoyable.

I really enjoyed the first third of this hour-and-a-half movie. However, when Fred Astaire joins the army, the movie switches from dancing to humor, and the humor is not much. His consists mainly of a fellow soldier who is an expert in double talk. He's pretty good but his act wears thin quickly. So, too, does the storyline: lying, lying, and more lying. That's followed by cover-ups, false accusations, people falling in and out of love at the drop of a hat, etc. - you know, typical stupid fare of the day for these kind of films.Since they were not allowed to pollute the films with profanity and pornography, filmmakers still could promote everything wrong by trivializing adultery, lying, smoking, drinking, cheating and other evils. This movie, like a lot of comedies of the day, gives numerous examples of that. Too bad, because it looked like it was going to be a great film, at least in the dancing of Astaire and Hayworth in the beginning. Those two were great to watch. Hayworth, known more for her glamor, was actually a great dancer and reportedly Astaire's favorite partner. No arguments there! Rita looks fantastic and Astaire's stepping is always perfection. Unfortunately, in Fred's films they had to have a story go along with his dancing. I only give it five points to see Rita.

I think this film is a delightful comedy, with all players playing their respected roles beautifully. I especially love the dance steps and musical number done by Astaire and Hayworth during rehearsal at the beginning of the movie.