A Damsel In Distress (1937)

An American song and dance man (Fred Astaire) visiting London becomes involved with a British aristocrat (Joan Fontaine) who is in love with a man her family does not approve of. He mistakenly believes she is in love with him which causes all sort of complications. Loosely based on the novel by P.G. Wodehouse (which was made into a play in 1928) and directed by George Stevens (GIANT). After seven musicals with Ginger Rogers (who wanted to do more non-musical parts), this was Astaire's first film sans Rogers. She is sorely missed. But we do get a wonderful George and Ira Gershwin score including the classics, A Foggy Day In London Town and Nice Work If You Can Get It and if that's not enough, there are two delightful dance numbers with Astaire partnering with George Burns and Gracie Allen: a charming dance with whisk brooms and an amusing fun house number. Fontaine is lovely so it's easy (well, maybe not so easy) to overlook her awkward dancing. With Constance Collier, Reginald Gardiner and Montagu Love.