Shall We Dance

Film history is the story of films constantly building on one another. If one contemporary director knows this, it’s Paul Thomas Anderson, PTA for professional purposes. In PTA & HIS MASTERS we take a look at the unofficial filmic predecessors of Paul Thomas Anderson. We place the director – arguably one of the most important directors of his generation – next to the influences he unabashedly cites in his work. In PTA & HIS MASTERS linken we PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE aan Mark Sandrich’ SHALL WE DANCE (1937).

SHALL WE DANCE was the seventh movie of duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who would eventually star in ten movies together. Fred Astaire plays ballet dancer Peter Peters, who professionally goes by the name of Petrov, a temperamental Russian who is loved by the audience because of his image. Peter falls head over heels for tap dancer Linda Keene, played by Ginger Rogers. After a difficult first meeting, the two of them grow closer. Their budding romance runs into several obstacles and eventually the tabloid press makes the whole world believe that the two are married. Now what else is there for them to do but to get married so they can get divorced?

The great score by George Gershwin, the sprawling Art Deco sets and the convincing performances by the cast turn SHALL WE DANCE into the perfect Hollywoodmusical with wonderful 30s screwball elements. With songs like Slap That Bass and Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, performed by the duo on rollerskates, the musical continues to be a piece of heartwarming escapist entertainment.

PTA falls back on classical Hollywood as well to escape his productions for a moment or to search for inspiration. Thus, SHALL WE DANCE became a source of inspiration for PTA’s atypical romantic comedy PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE. It were the musicals of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that set the tone of the quirky romance. “Even though they were musicals they’re really romances more than anything else. They’re always about him getting with her and her getting with him, and fighting it out.” PTA pays homage to classical Hollywood musical in his own unusual way.

Ginger Rogers once jokingly said about the popularity of her dance partner Fred: “I did everything Fred did, you know, only backwards and in high heels”. Keep that in mind when watching the wonderful dance numbers!