Shall We Dance

Those who know me fairly well might be surprised by the direction this takes.

There are at least three movies I know of that with this title. The Japanese film bearing this title is one of my favorite movies of all time. I have little affinity for the American version that followed. But it's actually the first movie made in the 1930's that's going to be the subject here; I've always loved Fred Astaire and the movies he made with Ginger Rogers but what makes this film even more special is the fact that the score & lyrics for the film were composed by the Gershwin brothers. Sadly, George Gershwin was already experiencing symptoms from the brain tumor that would claim his life only two months after the film was released.

A favorite song from the movie is "They Can't Take That Away From Me". Both Astaire & Rogers have said that it's one of their favorite songs, even though there is no dance scene associated with the song during the movie. However, they did dance to the song in their last movie together, The Barkleys of Broadway. 

What sticks with me about the lyrics is how well Ira Gershwin understood the human condition and love; we may be drawn initially to someone by qualities we find attractive, but it's the quirks that we find memorable and surprisingly, most endearing: "...the way you wear your hat, the way you sip your tea...", etc.  When past relationships come to mind, it's typically because I've been reminded of some little quirk which probably drove me nuts at the time, but now allows me to remember them fondly.