THE STANFORD THEATRE
The Gay Divorcee poster

The Gay Divorcee

1934 ★ 107 min
Starring: Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Edward Everett Horton
Director: Mark Sandrich
Writer: George Marion, Jr., Dorothy Yost, Edward Kaufman
Producer: Pandro S. Berman

The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, and Eric Blore. The screenplay was written by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost, and Edward Kaufman.

Trivia

  • Nominated for: Academy Award for Best Picture; Academy Award for Best Production Design; Academy Award for Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment; Academy Award for Best Sound.
  • Based on Gay Divorce (1932 musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein).
  • After the success of Astaire and Rogers's first feature, Flying Down to Rio (1933), RKO's head of production, Pandro S. Berman, purchased the screen rights to Dwight Taylor's Broadway musical Gay Divorce, with another Astaire and Rogers matchup in mind.
  • According to Astaire's autobiography, director Mark Sandrich claimed that RKO altered the title to insinuate that the film concerned the amorous adventures of a recently divorced woman (divorcée).
  • Dance routines from the film, specifically "Night and Day" and the scene in which Astaire dances on the table, were taken from Astaire's performances in the original play, Gay Divorce.

Filming Locations

  • Santa Monica
  • Exteriors set in what was supposed to be the English countryside were shot in Clear Lake, California.
  • Additional exteriors were filmed in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara, California.

Previous Showings

31 Runs • 19 Festivals

Original Billings: 1 run (November 11, 1934)

Original Run: November 11, 1934 (Sunday - Tuesday)

All runs on record (31):

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