In The Gay Divorcee (1934), Fred Astaire plays Guy Holden, an American dancer in London who falls for Mimi, played by Ginger Rogers, a woman who has come to England to obtain a divorce. Directed by Mark Sandrich, the film is based on the stage musical Gay Divorce, and it gave Astaire and Rogers their first starring roles together.
The film’s highlight is the Night and Day number, in which Astaire dances to Cole Porter’s song with a grace that became his trademark. The Gay Divorcee won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for The Continental, and it confirmed Astaire and Rogers as a screen partnership.
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