Description
Top Hat is the first volume to spotlight this classic Hollywood film, probing the musical genre, notions of romance and subjectivity, as well as the contested relations between the sexes.
- Offers a detailed analysis of one of Hollywood's greatest musicals, including a comprehensive survey of the film's production, promotion and reception, all measured against the background of 1930s socio-political contexts in the USA
- Explores the musical genre and questions of (gendered) national identity, romance, subjectivity and the notion of the couple
- Written in a clear, accessible style, Top Hat probes text and context carefully to appeal to the student and teacher of the musical and of Hollywood film history, as well as the film-loving general reader
Table of Contents
List of Figures vi
Synopsis vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. The Making of Top Hat 6
2. Fred Astaire: "Outlaw" Stylist of the Dance 19
3. Ginger Rogers: Confirming and Defying Convention 26
4. Introduction to Narrative and Number: The Bumpy Road to Love 35
5. The Numbers 43
6. Querying National and Sexual Identity 85
Conclusion: A Perfectly Swell Romance 101
Notes 104
Bibliography 106
Index 114
