Plot: What’s it about?
Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is a song and dance man, perhaps one of the finest America has to offer, so of course, he is in high demand. Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton) is a man with a lot of cash and a lot of social clout, a true impresario.. Horace brings Jerry to London to star in one of his shows, after all, he wants the best to be on his stage. On his first night out on the town, Jerry meets the beautiful Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers), a fashion model. The two have instant sparks and Jerry falls in love at first sight, but Dale soon makes a mistake that causes a lot of trouble. She thinks that Jerry is Horace, who happens to be married, so she thinks Jerry is a cad trying to play the field. The more he tries to win her over, the more she denies his advances. Can he ever show her the truth and make her fall for him?
I’ve seen hundreds of musicals from the 20s through the 40s, some of which were a delight to watch, but to me, most are quite intolerable. Call me a heretic, but Fred Astaire just isn’t that interesting to me, even when he busts out his top drawer moves on the floor. If a musical has a great storyline and a great production design, then yeah, nine times of out ten, I’ll be satisfied. But when it comes to a musical, I need more of a storyline than other genres, if that makes sense. Singin’ in the Rain? Sure. Top Hat? Not a chance. This is just what the case promised, a whimsical storyline and two veteran leads. I didn’t find the storyline to be as whimsical, more like thin and as far as the leads, they’re not at their best here. I might be insane, but neither seemed to be into the material here, which comes through more in the non sing & dance portions. I know you musical fans must hate me, but Top Hat was a bomb in my opinion, so I can’t recommend this disc. But hey, if you’re into musicals, then by all means, sing and dance your heart out with this one.
Video: How does it look?
Top Hat is presented in full frame, as intended. This film is almost seventy years old, but Warner has done a fine turn on this disc and made the movie look terrific. The print looks clean as can be, with minimal debris & damage and that impressed me. There is some grain evident at times, but other than that this is an above average transfer. The black levels are well balanced also and I saw few instances of compression errors, a solid transfer for this older film.
Audio: How does it sound?
This disc includes the original mono track and though it is solid, it lacks the range needed for a musical release like this. In terms of mono this sounds good, but the musical numbers just don’t have the extra kick a surround track would offer. I wasn’t disappointed with this track on its own merits though, so no real concerns. The track always sounds clear and shows no age related flaws, which is great news for a movie of this vintage. The vocals also sound good on the whole, though dialogue turns out better than the singing aspects of the film. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
An audio commentary track is up first, as film historian Larry Billman and Astaire’s daughter Ava talk about the production. This is kind of a general discussion of Astaire’s career, with a focus on his work with Rogers and of course, a great deal of time is spent on this movie. So this is not that specific throughout, but for fans of the man’s work, this session is certainly worth a spin. This disc also includes a featurette that looks at the production, as well as a comedy short with Bob Hope titled Watch the Birdie, the animated short Page Miss Glory, and finally, the film’s theatrical trailer.
