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Swing Time

 Swing Time
type
TVTItem
 Swing Time
label
Swing Time
 Swing Time
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SwingTime
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comment
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })A 1936 Musical Romantic Comedy film directed by George Stevens, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; Victor Moore and Helen Broderick play supporting roles. The music is by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Many critics feel that this movie has the most advanced dancing (particularly from Ginger Rogers) of the Astaire/Rogers musicals.John "Lucky" Garnett (Astaire), a featured troupe dancer and Professional Gambler, misses his wedding to wealthy hometown girl Margaret when his buddies play a trick on him. Margaret's father tells Lucky that he must earn $25,000 in order to demonstrate his good intentions if he wants another chance with her. With only the clothes on his back and his lucky quarter, Lucky hops a freight train for New York along with his friend "Pop" Cardetti (Moore), a stage magician.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })The quarter leads them to meet Penny Carrol (Rogers) when Lucky asks her for change, but her initial politeness changes to anger when she thinks Lucky has stolen the quarter back from her purse. Wanting to explain, Lucky follows Penny to her job at a dancing academy and signs up for a free introductory lesson so he can get a chance to talk to her. He pretends to be hopelessly clumsy, leading the still-angry Penny to insult him in front of the academy's fussy owner. To save her job, Lucky insists on demonstrating what he has just "learned" and executes a complex routine with her. Impressed, the owner sets up an audition for them at an upscale nightclub.The audition is repeatedly delayed, first because Lucky can't procure the proper clothes in time and then because the band's contract is in the hands of a shady casino owner. Meanwhile, Lucky gambles his way to a large sum of money with the help of ten dollars borrowed from Penny's friend Mabel Anderson (Broderick). Penny alternates between being angry at Lucky and starting to develop feelings for him. Lucky finds himself falling for Penny as well, but their budding romance is stifled when he remembers his pledge to Margaret. When Pop reveals to a perplexed Penny the reason behind Lucky's aloofness, Penny again snubs her partner and, in spite of her love for him, turns to bandleader Ricky Romero, who has been in love with her for some time.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })At the club's grand re-opening, Lucky is surprised by the appearance of Margaret, and Penny tells him that she and Ricky are engaged. Thoroughly depressed, Lucky prepares to tell Margaret that he no longer wants to marry her, but she surprises him by revealing that she, too, has fallen in love with someone else. Minutes before Penny is to marry Ricky, Mabel tells her about Lucky's broken engagement, while Lucky and Pop conspire to delay Ricky using the same hoax that Lucky's friends used on him. In the end, Penny calls off the wedding and reunites with Lucky.Never Gonna Dance, a Screen-to-Stage Adaptation, premiered on Broadway in 2003.
 Swing Time
fetched
2021-03-24T06:25:11Z
 Swing Time
parsed
2021-03-24T06:25:11Z
 Swing Time
processingComment
Dropped link to Roberta: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Swing Time
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Swing Time / int_1752f96e
type
Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario
 Swing Time / int_1752f96e
comment
Breakup Makeup Scenario: The storyline is a series of these. Penny storms away from Lucky several times, but they never stay apart for long.
 Swing Time / int_1752f96e
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Swing Time / int_1752f96e
 Swing Time / int_19077d9e
type
Professional Gambler
 Swing Time / int_19077d9e
comment
Professional Gambler: Lucky. In the opening scene, he insists there is no money in dancing and gambling is his true talent. However, he gives it up in the end due to Character Development and the fact that he is by that time part-owner of the nightclub.
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Swing Time / int_19077d9e
 Swing Time / int_191a3673
type
Graceful Loser
 Swing Time / int_191a3673
comment
Graceful Loser: Ricky in the end—rather surprisingly, as he's been hostile and jealous up to that point.
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Swing Time / int_191a3673
 Swing Time / int_26203f22
type
Covered in Kisses
 Swing Time / int_26203f22
comment
Covered in Kisses: Lucky has some of Penny's lipstick on his mouth after the Kissing Discretion Shot.
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Swing Time / int_26203f22
 Swing Time / int_2924b198
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Quarreling Song
 Swing Time / int_2924b198
comment
Quarreling Song: "A Fine Romance."
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Swing Time / int_2924b198
 Swing Time / int_384b5fd8
type
Empathy Pet
 Swing Time / int_384b5fd8
comment
Empathy Pet: When Lucky misses his wedding, he faces the anger of Margaret's dog and cat. (And a glare from her ancestor's portrait.) They all (even the portrait!) become much friendlier when he promises to earn $25,000.
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Swing Time / int_384b5fd8
 Swing Time / int_389b0e
type
Title Theme Tune
 Swing Time / int_389b0e
comment
Title Theme Tune: an unusual case: only the first section of "Waltz in Swing Time" has lyrics (which mostly repeat the movie's title), and they are only sung over the opening titles.
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Swing Time / int_389b0e
 Swing Time / int_3b113b7
type
Character Development
 Swing Time / int_3b113b7
comment
Character Development: Lucky in particular, but Penny too.
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Swing Time / int_3b113b7
 Swing Time / int_4ba29ebb
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Lost Him in a Card Game
 Swing Time / int_4ba29ebb
comment
Lost Him in a Card Game: The contract for Ricky's band changes hands this way several times.
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Swing Time / int_4ba29ebb
 Swing Time / int_5103ab7b
type
Sexy Backless Outfit
 Swing Time / int_5103ab7b
comment
Sexy Backless Outfit: Penny's Simple, yet Opulent dress for "Never Gonna Dance" (see picture). It comes with a matching sparkly-accented Pimped-Out Cape, seen in an earlier sequence.
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Swing Time / int_5103ab7b
 Swing Time / int_512b00e0
type
BSoD Song
 Swing Time / int_512b00e0
comment
BSoD Song: "Never Gonna Dance" is a surreal, disjointed song expressing Lucky's sense of desolation when it seems he is losing Penny for good. (Also a Break-Up Song and Grief Song.)
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Swing Time / int_512b00e0
 Swing Time / int_5313c266
type
Bookends
 Swing Time / int_5313c266
comment
Book-Ends: The movie opens and closes with a groom being late to his wedding because someone has convinced him that his trousers are hopelessly out of style and need to be sent out for altering before he can be seen in them.
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Swing Time / int_5313c266
 Swing Time / int_7e676cdf
type
Engagement Challenge
 Swing Time / int_7e676cdf
comment
Engagement Challenge: The $25,000 that Lucky must earn in order to impress Margaret's father. (This is about half a million dollars in today's money.)
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Swing Time / int_7e676cdf
 Swing Time / int_7eb49b31
type
Almost Kiss
 Swing Time / int_7eb49b31
comment
Almost Kiss: During a day trip to the country, Penny has been coming on to Lucky pretty strongly, and he's just decided to go for it ... when Pop hits him with a snowball as a reminder to remember his promise to Margaret.
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Swing Time / int_7eb49b31
 Swing Time / int_8e47b1f5
type
Kissing Discretion Shot
 Swing Time / int_8e47b1f5
comment
Kissing Discretion Shot: When Penny and Lucky reconcile in the dressing room. They move closer ... closer ... and then someone opens the door, blocking the audience's view for a few crucial seconds. Screams of frustration must have been heard in many theaters in 1936. note To expand, Astaire and Rogers had only done hand kisses and short pecks onscreen so far, and teasing the audience was becoming a game. They'd already had an Almost Kiss earlier in the same movie. They wouldn't do a full-scale romantic kiss until Carefree in 1938.
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Swing Time / int_8e47b1f5
 Swing Time / int_95713538
type
Outside Ride
 Swing Time / int_95713538
comment
Outside Ride: Lucky and Pop riding to New York on a freight train.
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Swing Time / int_95713538
 Swing Time / int_99244825
type
Screen-to-Stage Adaptation
 Swing Time / int_99244825
comment
Screen-to-Stage Adaptation: A Broadway musical, Never Gonna Dance based on the film, used much of the Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields' original score. The show, which had a book by Jeffrey Hatcher, began performances on October 27, 2003, running for 44 previews and 84 performances. It opened on December 4, 2003 and closed on February 15, 2004. It was directed by Michael Greif and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.
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Swing Time / int_99244825
 Swing Time / int_acecb17d
type
Chekhov's Skill
 Swing Time / int_acecb17d
comment
Chekhov's Skill: Pop's magic trick, picking the ace of spades out of a seemingly random deck. He uses it to beat a marked deck to win Ricky's contract from the casino owner.
 Swing Time / int_acecb17d
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Swing Time / int_acecb17d
 Swing Time / int_ad62678e
type
Living Shadow
 Swing Time / int_ad62678e
comment
Living Shadow: Played for laughs and awesome during the "Bojangles of Harlem" number. Lucky dances before a large backdrop on which he seems to cast three shadows. The shadows begin moving independently of him, and eventually walk away. (The amazing thing, on a meta level, is realizing that until this point he had been dancing in perfect sync with the separately recorded shadows, which he wasn't even looking at.note Specifically, he was dancing in front of a monochrome backdrop onto which the three dancing shadows were later superimposed. If you can take your eyes off Fred's feet, watch his hair and you'll see it keeps blending into the backdrop.)
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Swing Time / int_ad62678e
 Swing Time / int_b39b94da
type
Born Lucky
 Swing Time / int_b39b94da
comment
Born Lucky: Lucky doesn't even have to gamble to win money—even cigarette machines spill coins for him. This becomes a problem later when he is trying to avoid getting $25,000 so he won't have to go back to Margaret.
 Swing Time / int_b39b94da
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Swing Time / int_b39b94da
 Swing Time / int_b7e0c5ff
type
Love Triangle
 Swing Time / int_b7e0c5ff
comment
Love Triangle: Lucky and Penny show romantic tension, despite Penny's engagement to Ricky.
 Swing Time / int_b7e0c5ff
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Swing Time / int_b7e0c5ff
 Swing Time / int_bac26c8f
type
Serenade Your Lover
 Swing Time / int_bac26c8f
comment
Serenade Your Lover: "The Way You Look Tonight."
 Swing Time / int_bac26c8f
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Swing Time / int_bac26c8f
 Swing Time / int_be554c8e
type
ElevenOClockNumber
 Swing Time / int_be554c8e
comment
Eleven O'Clock Number: "Never Gonna Dance." The song leads into a dance done to a Reprise Medley of tunes from Lucky and Penny's happier moments.
 Swing Time / int_be554c8e
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Swing Time / int_be554c8e
 Swing Time / int_c326149a
type
Hobos
 Swing Time / int_c326149a
comment
Lucky hopping the freight train like a hobo, a familiar image of The Great Depression—but wearing the immaculate suit from his canceled wedding.
 Swing Time / int_c326149a
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Swing Time / int_c326149a
 Swing Time / int_c3d6c819
type
Counterpoint Duet
 Swing Time / int_c3d6c819
comment
Counterpoint Duet: For the finale, Lucky sings the tune of "A Fine Romance" in counterpoint with Penny singing the tune of "The Way You Look Tonight," demonstrating that the two melodies fit together perfectly.
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Swing Time / int_c3d6c819
 Swing Time / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Swing Time / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: To the Marx Brothers and Major Bowes' Amateur Hour (a radio variety show) in "Never Gonna Dance." The line "I'll give my rhythm back to the breeze" may be a shout-out to the George Gershwin song "I Got Rhythm." A subtle one to Dorothy Fields' lyric for "I Won't Dance" from Roberta (which itself contained a Shout-Out to The Gay Divorcee). "I Won't Dance" ends with these lines: "I know that music leads the way to romance / So if I hold you in my arms, I won't dance." At the end of Swing Time, Lucky sings while taking Penny into his arms, "Remember how my arms hold you when we dance / But we're not going to dance / This is a fine romance." The name of the nightclub, the Silver Sandal, is likely a nod to the Silver Slipper, a Broadway speakeasy of the Prohibition era.
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Swing Time / int_c75df49a
 Swing Time / int_c7853b1e
type
On the Rebound
 Swing Time / int_c7853b1e
comment
On the Rebound: Penny and Ricky.
 Swing Time / int_c7853b1e
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Swing Time / int_c7853b1e
 Swing Time / int_cce399
type
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman
 Swing Time / int_cce399
comment
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Lucky runs into an inordinate number of problems best solved by gambling and/or dancing.
 Swing Time / int_cce399
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1.0
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Swing Time / int_cce399
 Swing Time / int_da484c4a
type
Drunken Master
 Swing Time / int_da484c4a
comment
Drunken Master: The young Upper-Class Twit from whom Lucky tries to win a suit of evening clothes is either this, or just so amazingly good at piquet that he's unbeatable even when sozzled. It's one of the few times Lucky loses a wager (but in his defense, he doesn't actually know how to play piquet and relies on Pop to help him).
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Swing Time / int_da484c4a
 Swing Time / int_dc9b1fe9
type
Cue the Sun
 Swing Time / int_dc9b1fe9
comment
Cue the Sun: During the final duet, the sun breaks through the clouds as Lucky and Penny embrace.
 Swing Time / int_dc9b1fe9
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Swing Time / int_dc9b1fe9
 Swing Time / int_e5448c9
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PimpedOutDress
 Swing Time / int_e5448c9
comment
Pimped-Out Dress: Penny wears an elaborately ruffled dress for the audition scene.
 Swing Time / int_e5448c9
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Swing Time / int_e5448c9
 Swing Time / int_e796ce97
type
Blackface
 Swing Time / int_e796ce97
comment
Blackface: For a tribute to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson during the Silver Sandal re-opening gala. Less exaggerated than some examples. note Strangely, the costume and dance style in this number are more typical of another African-American dancer: John Bubbles, who originated the role of Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess. Astaire admired Robinson and reportedly took some dance lessons from Bubbles, so the intent may have been a Homage to both.
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Swing Time / int_e796ce97
 Swing Time / int_ece6f910
type
Moment Killer
 Swing Time / int_ece6f910
comment
Moment Killer: Pop and the snowball, possibly a Brick Joke from Lucky asking Pop not to let him be alone with Penny, because he was afraid of being tempted in exactly the way he was.
 Swing Time / int_ece6f910
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Swing Time / int_ece6f910
 Swing Time / int_f09e6c1c
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Ironic Juxtaposition
 Swing Time / int_f09e6c1c
comment
Ironic Juxtaposition: Lucky hopping the freight train like a hobo, a familiar image of The Great Depression—but wearing the immaculate suit from his canceled wedding. Penny washes her hair while Lucky sings "The Way You Look Tonight" to her from the next room. As he finishes singing about how lovely she looks, she comes into the room with her hair full of lather.
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Swing Time / int_f09e6c1c
 Swing Time / int_f7eda5d8
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Snow Means Love
 Swing Time / int_f7eda5d8
comment
Snow Means Love: Penny and Lucky almost manage to acknowledge their feelings in the snowy day trip scene (see Almost Kiss). It's also snowing (visible through the window) when they finally reunite.
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Swing Time / int_f7eda5d8
 Swing Time / int_faa71569
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Romantic False Lead
 Swing Time / int_faa71569
comment
Romantic False Lead: Margaret and Ricky.
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Swing Time / int_faa71569
 Swing Time / int_fbec00a4
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Good Luck Charm
 Swing Time / int_fbec00a4
comment
Good Luck Charm: The lucky quarter. Pop seems to take it more seriously than Lucky does, as Lucky is willing to have it changed so Pop can buy cigarettes. During the final duet, Lucky tosses it away, singing, "Goodbye quarter, goodbye aces."
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Swing Time

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Swing Time
hasFeature
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
hasFeature
AFI's 100 Years… 100 Songs / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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BSoD Song / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Bizarre Gambling Winnings / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Counterpoint Duet / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Empathy Pet / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Engagement Challenge / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Even the Dog Is Ashamed / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Good Luck Charm / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Grief Song / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Kissing Discretion Shot / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Living Shadow / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
hasFeature
Lost Him in a Card Game / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Moment Killer / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
hasFeature
Pick a Card / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Professional Gambler / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
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Quarreling Song / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
hasFeature
Romantic Comedy / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
hasFeature
Screen-to-Stage Adaptation / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
hasFeature
Serenade Your Lover / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
hasFeature
Snow Means Love / int_b9bdc4b1
 Swing Time
seeAlso
Swing Time
 Swing Time
hasFeature
Title Theme Tune / int_b9bdc4b1