Soon though, Rogers essayed a string of tough, wisecracking chorines in the Warner Bros. Depression musicals 42ND STREET (1933) and GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (1933), the latter featuring her by now legendary rendition of "We're in the Money" in pig Latin. Then she joined RKO, where, after starring in the charming satire of radio, PROFESSIONAL SWEETHEART (1933), she began her legendary dancing partnership with Fred Astaire. Having stolen the spotlight in supporting roles in FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933), the duo glided through many a gilded 1930s musical including THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934), ROBERTA (1935), FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936), SHALL WE DANCE (1937) CAREFREE (1938), and their two best, TOP HAT (1935) and SWING TIME (1936), saving RKO Studios and forming one of the most memorable pairings since Rolls and Royce.
Not classically trained but an experienced show dancer, Rogers expanded her range in tap and ballroom styles with remarkable quickness and accomplishment during the series of films with Astaire. She would remain his finest partner because she best fulfilled the dual requirements of being a trained actress and a willing dance pupil. Her glowing expressiveness and effortlessness on the dance floor were crucial complements to Astaire's trademark style, and her unique, enchanting mix of the elegant and the down-to-earth meshed beautifully with his combination of sophistication and modesty. Most of Astaire's partners simply basked in his glow; as dance critic Arlene Croce wrote, "Rogers could even shed her own light." More confident and gifted than most of his later partners and less awed by his formidable abilities than any of the others, Rogers alone helped create a light yet substantial and sexy romantic tension with Astaire both on and off the dance floor which still resonates today.
After the series of musicals with Astaire had run their course, Rogers found herself on surer career ground than her partner, for she had enjoyed such solo successes during the 1930s as IN PERSON (1935) and VIVACIOUS LADY (1938). Most notable here was the superb STAGE DOOR (1937), which reaffirmed her skill as a sharp yet playful comedienne and also stands as one of her finest achievements as a straight actress. Rogers subsequently expanded her range, earning an Oscar for her poignant dramatic work in KITTY FOYLE (1940) and turning in fine comic performances in two films directed by Garson Kanin, TOM, DICK AND HARRY (1941) and especially the delightful BACHELOR MOTHER (1939).
During her peak solo years from 1937-45, Rogers also gave what some consider the performance of a lifetime in Billy Wilder's first American directorial effort, THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (1942). One of the only stars during the sound era often called on to play children or indulge in child-like behavior, Rogers here had to disguise herself, at various times, as an adolescent, a female rival and even her own mother. Expert at mimicry and the pert comeback -- and the movie star most likely to dream in her films -- Rogers had firmly established a screen persona as a likably fierce and feminist "American girl next door," a working class Cinderella trying to choose Mr. Right. In retrospect, perhaps the only downside, in her career during this period was her mother Lela's testifying as a "friendly witness" before the infamous HUAC blacklisting trials of the late 1940s.
Easily one of the most versatile performers in the history of Hollywood, Rogers made regular film appearances through the late 1950s in such diverse films as I'LL BE SEEING YOU (1944), THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY (1949), a musical reunion with Astaire, STORM WARNING (1951), MONKEY BUSINESS (1952), and TEEN-AGE REBEL (1956). Although many of her films are comedies, some of her best work came in serious drama: the uneven but touching PRIMROSE PATH (1940), controversial in its day, features splendid work in its tale of a shantytown prostitute's family, and Rogers bravely explored her own middle age as a posy and affected stage star in FOREVER FEMALE (1953). As with most stars at their mid-career stage, Rogers enjoyed fewer roles specifically tailored to her distinctive star persona after the mid-40s, but at her best continued to deliver performances of charm, insight and energy. Few stars fought typecasting quite as much; Rogers even changed her look considerably from film to film. If the resulting strain sometimes showed in her miscasting, she always had the glow of a star athlete. Also, her penchant for playing performers (in over 30 films) added an intriguing, reflexive edge to even routine material unworthy of her.
After returning to the live theater in the late 50s and doing tours, summer stock and TV, Rogers again basked in the spotlight in 1965 when she scored in the lead role of the hit Broadway musical, Hello Dolly!, playing for a year and a half of continuously sold-out shows after original star Carol Channing left the cast. She later went on the road with Dolly and enjoyed another year and a half of success. Rogers followed up with the 1969 London production of Mame, for which she was the highest-paid performer to appear on the London stage up to that time. Starting in 1975, Rogers toured for four years with a small group of dancers and comics in "The Ginger Rogers Show," a nostalgic retrospective of her career. Always guesting on TV or making personal appearances, she finally enjoyed a chance at directing in 1987 with a stage revival of the musical, Babes in Arms. Long one of the more underrated of Hollywood's legendary divas, Rogers, a true "domestic goddess" long before comic Roseanne coined the term, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kennedy Center in 1992. Husbands have included actors Lew Ayres, Jack Briggs, Jacques Bergerac and William Marshall.
Actress 1940: KITTY FOYLE
1 nomination, 1 Award