The Gay Divorcee

"Porter!" - It all starts in the disembarkation area of a transatlantic liner: Mimi (Ginger Rogers) just wants to pick up her absentminded Aunt Hortense (Alice Brady), but instead of the summoned help, she meets dancer Guy Holden (Fred Astaire), who promptly falls in love with her while trying to get her out of an awkward situation. A fast-paced divorce comedy - pre-Hays Code meets screwball comedy - progresses, embedded in a cascade of fantastic song and dance numbers: quirky ("Let's -K-nock K-nees": Edward Everett Horton as a cranky lawyer together with Betty Grable), epic ("The Continental" - 17 minutes), effortless (and unforgettable: "Night and Day" by Cole Porter). (mg)