The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle

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The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle

1939

1h 33m

Biography

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Popcornmeter

86%

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7 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Aspiring dancer Irene (Ginger Rogers) convinces vaudevillian Vernon Castle (Fred Astaire) to give up his comic act for something more serious: ballroom dancing. Together, they work on perfecting their dance routine and take the act to Paris. It's a rocky road at first, but, after a knockout appearance at the Café de Paris, the duo become a sensation. With their fame steadily rising, the Castles seem on top of the world. But the outbreak of World War I threatens everything.

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SMH Staff

Sydney Morning Herald

08/28/2020

[Despite] a lack of anything very virile, the film, the film has definite beauty... Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are technically excellent.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

11/03/2016

1.5/4

If joy and liberation exudes from the best Astaire-Rogers films, this is defined by restriction.

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Graham Greene

The Spectator

12/07/2011

Perhaps the best the marvelous couple have made since Gay Divorce.

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Gabe Leibowitz

Film and Felt

10/13/2011

68/100

It's not exactly a stretch for Astaire and Rogers, but they do the old rags-to-riches angle seamlessly, and the finale is surprisingly touching.

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

05/24/2006

4/5

Lesser Astaire-Rogers vehicle, but pleasant.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

10/18/2005

4/5

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Steve D

05/20/2023

As thin as most of their films together.

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ashley h

@ashleyhobgood87 08/04/2020

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is a decent film. It is about a married couple, Irene and Vernon Castle, who are sensational ballroom dancers prior to World War I. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. H. C. Potter did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama and music.

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11/09/2015

the last RKO Fred & Ginger pix is a bio-pic

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09/05/2015

A sad Fred & Ginger movie. :-(

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08/05/2015

This film has a surprisingly lavish production and the most engaging, as well as time enduring story of the Astaire/Rogers pairings that I've seen so far.

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03/03/2015

Astaire & Rogers' final RKO film together is a conventional musical biography with plenty of dancing.

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H. C. Potter

Director

Fred Astaire

Vernon Castle

Ginger Rogers

Irene Castle

Edna May Oliver

Maggie Sutton

Walter Brennan

Walter Ash

Etienne Girardot

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Synopsis

Aspiring dancer Irene (Ginger Rogers) convinces vaudevillian Vernon Castle (Fred Astaire) to give up his comic act for something more serious: ballroom dancing. Together, they work on perfecting their dance routine and take the act to Paris. It's a rocky road at first, but, after a knockout appearance at the Café de Paris, the duo become a sensation. With their fame steadily rising, the Castles seem on top of the world. But the outbreak of World War I threatens everything.

Director: H. C. Potter
Producer: George Haight, Pandro S. Berman
Production Co: RKO Pictures
Genre: Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 29, 1939, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Runtime: 1h 33m

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