When one thinks about Fred Astaire's film dance partners apart from Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth is not a name that immediately springs to mind, yet they were successfully paired in this lightweight concoction and re-teamed for "You Were Never Lovelier" a year later.
One needs to remember that Hayworth started her career as a dancer and was on the cusp of her reincarnation as a glamorpuss when she made this movie. She and Astaire actually look great together and have remarkable chemistry and despite the rather stupid story, Hayworth also holds her own as both an actress and a light comedienne. There's little to recommend the plot which has producer Robert Benchley -- far from as amusing as he could be -- using choreographer Astaire as a cover against his various dalliances and his suspicious wife. Through a series of unlikely events, Astaire ends up in the army and spends most of his time in the guardhouse, only being let out to help "let's put on a show". If you can forgive some of the idiotic supporting performances, especially a fellow who likes to "double-talk", the movie remains worthwhile for the lead coupling and Cole Porter's (minor) musical score. One of his tunes (Since I Kissed my Baby Goodbye) was actually Oscar-nominated, despite the fact that it was from a guardhouse scene and performed by a number of black musicians from the 4 Tones and the Delta Rhythm Boys, including Chico Hamilton (all uncredited). The irony is that the U.S. army was totally segregated in those days and there are no other black faces at this particular training camp.
One last word on Astaire: choosing between him and "The Irishman" (Kelly) doesn't quite fall into the Buster Keaton vs. Charlie Chaplin dichotomy, since I like them both. If I had to choose, I would probably go for Astaire for his sheer elegance. I must reluctantly admit, however, that he does tend to look at his feet (a la Ruby Keeler) much of the time and lacks Kelly's virility, but his inventiveness, exuberance, and the way he made all of his partners look good endures. He even makes a minor film like this one remain watchable.
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