20. The Notorious Landlady (1962)
A semi-straight turn from Fred Astaire in this witty comedy drama. He is an American diplomat in London whose employee (Jack Lemmon) is renting a flat from a mysterious, organ-playing landlady (Kim Novak) who is widely suspected of having offed her husband. Astaire brings a touch of old-school sophistication, while he and Lemmon make for an appealing double act, trading gags rather than toe-taps.
19. Dancing Lady (1933)
Studio RKO may have had qualms about its new hire Astaire – “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Also dances” – but it is evidence of his stardom before getting involved with the movies that he made his cinema debut on loan to MGM as himself in this pre-Code backstage musical. An early warning for future co-stars: Joan Crawford injured her ankle trying to keep up in their duet.
18. On the Beach (1959)
Astaire excels in his first non-musical film role, as one of the final survivors of global nuclear destruction in this adaptation of Nevil Shute’s 1957 novel. In a crashing departure from his familiar, twinkly eyed persona, Astaire plays a depressed scientist plagued by guilt over his role in building the bombs. No fancy footwork here, but he does steer a Ferrari to victory in the Australian Grand Prix.
17. Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
A Technicolor revue from MGM in honour of the famed Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr and the era when Astaire hit the big time. Draw a veil over his appearance in yellowface and savour his first on-screen dance with Gene Kelly in the bantering number The Babbit and the Bromide, which Astaire originally performed with his sister, Adele, in the stage version of Funny Face in 1927.
16. Royal Wedding (1951)
Astaire had the idea to do a routine dancing on the ceiling back in the 1920s – and it took him nearly 30 years to make the dream come true in You’re All the World to Me from this Stanley Donen musical comedy. No shade to co-star Jane Powell, but the film’s second-most memorable dance – a moment of sublime tap virtuosity – has Astaire partnered with a hatrack.
15. The Towering Inferno (1974)
Few actors have the charisma to compete with a 138-storey skyscraper on fire, but Astaire won this classic disaster movie’s sole acting Oscar nomination for a supporting role. He donned his dinner jacket and hit the dancefloor once more to play the conman Harlee, wooing a wealthy woman played by Jennifer Jones in a markedly poignant, even heroic, characterisation from the septuagenarian star.
14. Finian’s Rainbow (1968)
Francis Ford Coppola’s antiracist fantasy musical about a leprechaun (Tommy Steele) and a pot of gold polarised critics, but there is no denying the joy to be found in seeing Astaire turn on the charm, and the choreography, again. He plays Finian, a shady but amicable Irishman, who dances his way through “Rainbow Valley”, by way of a gymnastic tap-and-cane number in a barn and a jig or two with Petula Clark.
13. Holiday Inn (1942)
Best remembered for Bing Crosby singing White Christmas, the blockbuster musical Holiday Inn has a song for every season, all written by Irving Berlin. In the film’s most explosive number, Astaire takes to the stage solo for a tap tribute to 4 July, complete with a pocketful of fireworks and a lit cigarette. Not always an easy watch, this is one of a handful of Astaire’s films to feature blackface.
12. Funny Face (1957)
A film really has to be this gorgeous and this funny for audiences to swallow the 30-year age gap between Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. Plaudits to Givenchy for Hepburn’s chic wardrobe, George and Ira Gershwin for the tunes, Kay Thompson for the laughs and Astaire’s sheer panache as he croons S’wonderful with Hepburn in soft focus.
11. The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
No sooner had he returned from retirement number one than fate threw Astaire back with Ginger Rogers in this bittersweet romance about a showbiz marriage on the rocks. When they take to the stage for They Can’t Take That Away from Me, the old magic returns in full force. A few months later, the Academy gave him an honorary Oscar.
10. Three Little Words (1950)
The musical numbers come thick and fast in this sprightly biopic of the Tin Pan Alley songwriters Bert Kalmar (Astaire) and Harry Ruby (Red Skelton). Astaire was fond of this film, which tapped into his nostalgia for vaudeville. Highlights include his numbers with Vera-Ellen, who plays Kalmar’s wife; her agility allowed Astaire to include plenty of energetic high kicks, including the choreographer Hermes Pan’s innovative “hurdling lift”.
9. You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
Rita Hayworth was one of Astaire’s best dance partners, although they made only two films together. This is the best of them, with more time for his old-fashioned chivalry to spark with her naturalistic sex appeal and Latin skills. Astaire said he designed the steps with Hayworth himself; highlights include the high-speed swing routine the Shorty George and the romantic swirls of I’m Old-Fashioned.
8. Follow the Fleet (1936)
Art deco splendour abounds in the rightly celebrated Let’s Face the Music and Dance routine, in which Fred’n’Ginger twirl in perfect symmetry around one of the grandest of Van Nest Polglase’s so-called big white sets. The routine is done in one immaculate, head-to-toe take. But in I’d Rather Lead a Band, Astaire really flexes his tap skills, dancing on and off the beat.
7. Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
There is plenty to like in this black-and-white backstage musical with songs by Cole Porter, but hold tight for Begin the Beguine. Astaire and his co-star, Eleanor Powell, had such fast feet that they reportedly intimidated each other. When they dance together, the effect is hypnotic: on a mirrored floor, with a million twinkling lights. When the band stops playing, their feet become their own orchestra.
6. Shall We Dance (1937)
Perhaps the Fred’n’Ginger film with the funniest numbers, including the deathless Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, and the greatest variety of dance styles and spoofs, although it has a typically ridiculous plot. There are serious moments: Slap That Bass sees Astaire and the Gershwins pay tribute to jazz rhythms with a Black chorus, while the finale is a beautifully surreal showstopper.
5. Easter Parade (1948)
Astaire came out of retirement when Gene Kelly broke his ankle to co-star with Judy Garland in this MGM musical packed with Berlin show tunes. One minute, Astaire commands the stage as he swaggers through Steppin’ Out with My Baby, twirling his cane at full speed and in scintillating slow-mo; the next, he and Garland clown around in rags as Just a Couple of Swells.
4. Silk Stockings (1957)
With Cyd Charisse as his partner in Porter numbers such as All of You, gilded by “glorious Technicolor, breathtaking CinemaScope and stereophonic sound”, cold-war musical Silk Stockings (a remake of Ninotchka), represented a glorious high for Astaire. At the end of the film, he parodies modern moves in The Ritz Roll and Rock and finally flattens his top hat. He didn’t make another musical for 11 years.
3. Swing Time (1936)
Never Gonna Dance? Don’t believe it. This was Astaire’s favourite collaboration with Rogers. The finale is spectacular, an extravaganza on a giant glossy-black staircase, but this film is crammed with funny and romantic highlights. From A Fine Romance and The Way You Look Tonight to Pick Yourself Up and Astaire’s epic Bojangles of Harlem homage, they required seriously hard-to-reach levels of precision.
2. The Band Wagon (1953)
This hyperactive MGM musical birthed the hymn to the collective joys of showbiz That’s Entertainment, yet Astaire pulls focus as a solo lead, humming By Myself and starting a frenzy in an arcade with Shine on Your Shoes. Pure bliss arrives when he pairs with Charisse for classical romance (the impeccable Dancing in the Dark) or free-form noir pastiche (The Girl Hunt Ballet).
1. Top Hat (1935)
Elegance is at the heart of Astaire’s enduring appeal. No film showcases his old-fashioned poise and sparkling charisma better than this timeless classic, the finest of his collaborations with Rogers. The plot is no more substantial than the feathers on Rogers’ Cheek to Cheek gown, but the footwork is fluid and the chemistry between the miscommunicating lovers is divine.
