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Plenty of romantic musical comedies are built upon the flimsiest baubles, putting all of their strengths in movie star personas, high-energy choreography, top-notch production values, and a strong score. You Were Never Lovelier is built upon this formula, and it’s an utterly charming and beguiling little song-and-dance show.
It comes the closest to recapturing the megawatt power of earlier Fred Astaire triumphs like Top Hat and Swing Time, replacing the chorus-girl-made-good Ginger Rogers with the romantic-and-erotic Rita Hayworth. They partner together beautifully, giving Astaire a ballroom dancer on his technical level. Yet there’s a tradeoff here, while they meet in perfect synchronicity on the dance floor, their chemistry never quite reaches the swooning romance of Astaire and Rogers.
Astaire still gets plenty of solid work in. His solo, “Audition Dance,” is a comedic and nimble in equal measure as he hoofs across a room, throws himself into a chair and propels it into the corner of the room, and leaps onto a desk. “I’m Old Fashioned,” the romantic centerpiece of the film, is an achingly tender Latin dance in which Astaire plays the secondary role to Hayworth’s more aggressive perusal. It’s a number that’s hard to top, but “The Shorty George” comes close. There’s always a faster partner dance in an Astaire film, and “George” is the virtuoso number in which they challenge each other in fleet footed flirtations. Astaire’s limber and fluid movements are hypnotic to watch, and knowing that he had a partner at his skill-level unlocks some next-level work from him.
Since this is a Columbia feature, that never becomes a hindrance as its clearly a showcase for Hayworth with Astaire merely paying a visit to her home studio. The title alone describes her looks here. Her peaches and cream complexion, luscious hair and erotic body movements are greatly served by a series of knockout costumes. Hayworth’s potent Love Goddess persona reaches an apex in her reprise of “Dearly Beloved,” a solo dance number in her bedroom, clad in a va-va-voom nightgown, that combines a sweet innocence with a pin-up queen’s volcanic sensuality. Hayworth had two primary modes that she excelled in, sultry femme fatale and mischievous musical comedy actress. You Were Never Lovelier is a great vehicle for her immense talents as a high-energy performer.
Drunk on glamour and exotic garnishes (the film in set in Buenos Aires, Xaiver Cugat and His Orchestra play major supporting roles), You Were Never Lovelier is a movie filled with tremendous warmth and laughter. A tasty and gorgeous little trifle, if movies were food this would be a luxurious dessert.
