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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"You'll Never Get Rich" is
the first of two musicals Fred Astaire made with
Columbia's resident bombshell, Rita Hayworth. But
although it's light, breezy and brimming to the
ceiling with comedy and music, there's not much
for the lovely Ms. Hayworth to do except tap one
solo and dance all too briefly in a contrived
finale with Astaire.
The plot focuses on Robert Curtis's (Astaire)
employer, Robert Cortland (Robert Benchley), whose
roving eye gets him in perpetual hot water with
his wife (Frieda Inescort). Currently, both
Roberts have their eye on Sheila (Hayworth). The
unlikely affair begins, then stops, then starts up
again when Sheila realizes she's falling in love
-- not with Benchley's Robert, but Astaire's. To
get Astaire's Robert out of the picture,
Benchley's Robert makes certain that he's drafted
into the army -- an error in judgment that
Benchley spends the next two hours trying to
rectify. How's it end? With music, fun and good
humor; all main staples of the Hollywood film
musical at its zenith.
Considering the lackluster transfers that Columbia
has been giving classic film buffs of late ("Talk
of the Town," "You Can't Take It With You," "The
Awful Truth") "You'll Never Get Rich" is above
par. The grayscale is accurately rendered --
though several scenes look as though second or
third generation film elements were used instead
of an original camera negative. There is a
definite grain structure present but apart from
that, the usual aliasing, edge enhancement and
pixelization that have accompanied many Columbia
titles are thankfully absent herein. The audio is
mono but very nicely balanced and -- for its
vintage -- natural sounding. There are no extras. |
