Customer Reviews
Simply Lovely - By: Gem, 30 Dec 2007 
In 'Gilda' & 'Affair in Trinidad', Rita Hayworth performs dance routines which are not the kind of routines found in movie musicals. The routines in 'Gilda' & 'Trinidad' give the impression that Hayworth is a musical & rhythmical person who is responding naturallly to the music but is not a dancer. These routines work very well as Rita is a great mover but if anyone is in any doubt about her talent as a dancer then watch 'You Were Never Lovelier' - she is a sheer delight to watch. She is a fabulous dancer & a wonderful partner for Fred Astaire. 'The Shorty George', a tap routine, is my favourite next to Astaire's wonderful solo number.
This film has a silly, nonsensical storyline but this is part of its charm. The characters are engaging, the music is lovely, the dance routines are a joy & Adolphe Menjou is very funny in the role of Eduardo Acuna.
Movies were never lovelier.
Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer...And "I'm Old Fashioned" - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 15 Jul 2007 In some of Fred Astaire's movies there's only one excellent reason to watch, & that's to watch Fred Astaire. In You Were Never Lovelier there are three other excellent reasons. Rita Hayworth. Jerome Kern. Johnny Mercer. The four of them have concocted a romantic & funny South American fable that features some great dancing by both Astaire & Hayworth & some memorable songs by Kern & Mercer.
Eduardo Acuna (Adolphe Menjou), a wealthy Buenos Aires businessman, has four beautiful daughters, & in the Acuna family they must marry in age order. The eldest fulfills her responsibilities & the two youngest have beaus they're now anxious to share vows with. But the second eldest, Maria (Rita Hayworth) is in no hurry. She wants romance & charm & the men she meets are just panting boys. Then she sees Robert Davis (Fred Astaire), a very charming, down-on-his-luck dancer, singing Dearly Beloved at her elder sister's wedding. He tries to chat her up; she stares him down. Then the plot intervenes. Before long she knows what she wants. Robert knows what he wants. Eduardo Acuna knows what he doesn't want...a down-on-his-luck dancer in the family. From then on it's songs, dances, romance & misunderstandings, which moves into songs, dances & romance. The plot feels sluggish at times & there's way too much Xavier Cugat & his orchestra, but Astaire & Hayworth are at their peak, Kern has written some memorable melodies & few could top Mercer at lyric writing, none in Hollywood.
Hayworth not only was a gorgeous creature, she was a gifted dancer; many think she was the best Astaire worked with. Technicallly, she not only handled the steps Astaire created, she did so without a hint of effort. After you've watched the dances a couple of times, go back & watch again, but this time concentrate on her face & her hand & arm action. She gives every indication of being utterly relaxed & enjoying herself, even in the fast tap routines. She seems naturallly to find the most graceful attitude for an extended arm, a turn of her head, a raised hand. She may not be quite as good as Astaire, but she's good enough.
Among the stand-out routines are:
--The Audition Dance. Robert shows up at Acuna's office & demands a chance to show his stuff as a dancer. From there Astaire takes off on a fast tap routine that takes him alll over the floor, onto Acuna's desk, the sofa & chairs. He works into the dance a cane, a rug, the drapes & Acuna's head.
--I'm Old Fashioned. This is probably the best romantic wooing dance Astaire did. It's alll fluid motion & spontaneous recognition, danced on the elegant, polished outdoor landing of Acuna's mansion. Rita Hayworth is a vision, & matches him step for step. We move from Maria declaring with humor & assurance that Robert's the man for her, to Robert's protestation that he's just a guy from Omaha, Nebraska, to the dance that brings them closer & closer together until we know through the dance that a love match has just happened. The funny exit through the doors & back into the living-room, bumping into each other, each giving way, bumping again & then going in together arm in arm hits just the right note. The dance works so well in part because Kern & Mercer came up with a classic:
I'm old fashioned,
I love the moonlight,
I love the old fashioned things.
The sound of rain
Upon a window pane,
The starry song that April sings.
This year's fancies
Are passing fancies
But sighing sighs, holding hands,
These my heart understands.
I'm old fashioned
But I don't mind it.
That's how I want to be,
As long as you agree,
To stay old fashioned with me.
--The Shorty George. This fast tap routine starts out with Maria visiting Robert at a rehearsal. He sings The Shorty George & she takes a couple of lines. He looks surprised that she knows the song. He starts to dance & invites her to join him. Hayworth stays right with Astaire & looks like she's having the time of her life.
--You Were Never Lovelier. Robert declares his feelings for Maria, but more misunderstandings occur. Finallly, everything is resolved. Robert shakes off some knight's armor he was wearing (there is sort of a reason) & appears below Maria's bedroom window in black tie. She rushes down...and off they go dancing while alll the members of the Acuna family look on approvingly. And the Johnny Mercer lyrics & Jerome Kern music brings us to the happy end:
You were never lovelier, you were never so fair;
Dreams were never lovelier,
Pardon me if I stare.
Down the sky the moonbeams fly to light your face;
I can only say they chose the proper place.
You were never lovelier, & to coin a new phrase,
I was never luckier
In my palmiest days.
Make a note, & you can quote me, honor bright,
You were never lovelier than you are tonight.
I don't think she ever was! - By: M. Porter, 18 Jun 2007 
I've waited a while to review this since buying the DVD. I've watched it half a dozen times since & it still seems as fresh as when I first saw it too many years ago. I fell in love with Rita Hayworth then (as an impressionable teenager & have probably been `in love' ever since). In my view she was then, & still is now, the most beautiful woman ever to grace the silver screen and, in this film, she was `never lovelier' (and I have seen Gilda & Cover Girl - many times!). I don't like comparing - Fred had some wonderful partners & I'm not reallly qualified to comment on their respective abilities but Rita is my favourite - for obvious reasons. She dances sublimely and, as a reviewer below has commented, `I'm Old-fashioned' is superb amongst several dance numbers (I wonder what her singing voice actuallly was like - her singing was dubbed).
Of the two films with Fred this is the best and, in my view, better than Cover Girl, although that is in colour & she is again beautifully photographed. I probably prefer this film because I prefer Astaire to Kelly - again I make no judgement, I just like Fred's style more than Kelly's.
Yes the plot is of it's time & shouldn't be taken seriously (I doubt it reallly was when it was made) but just seen as a vehicle for a fantastic score, great dancing, & a chance to see a truly beautiful woman beautifully photographed.
A must for Astaire fans & an absolute necessity for anyone who likes Rita Hayworth. Interestingly, I do think that he dances differently with Rita than with Ginger. Mind you, that might be because when he dances with Rita I watch her, when he dances with Ginger I watch them both!
The Wonderful Rita and Fred - By: tupennytiggy, 28 Jan 2007 Superb, superb, superb, what can one say to add to the below reviews just breathtaking dance sequences with a wonderful Fred & Rita, what a pity they never danced more together than on two films, the world is a sadder place for this! Ginger Rogers move over Rita has such lightness & swiftness of foot, in comparison to heavy footed Ginger!!!
I would recommend this DVD to anyone who enjoys nostalgia & also You Will Never Get Rich, which duos Rita & Fred again.
Delightfully corny - By: Ms. R. G. Smith, 08 Nov 2006 The storyline for this is hilarous to modern-day women, with gems of lines such as "remember not to act too intelligent on your honeymoon dear, I made that mistake with your father", & a storyline that makes out that a woman's life just isn't complete unless she marries :-)
The dance routine to "I'm Old Fashioned" makes me cry every time I watch it - the combination of the beautiful song & the elegant dancing just turns me to jelly. Jerome Kern was THE best songwriter of that era!
An enjoyable if corny romp!
