"Top Hat is a Thirties' romance of the Twenties, the sins of the decade wiped clean by a flow of lyrical optimism, all innocence regained in the exhilaration of 'stepping out, my dear, to breathe an atmosphere that simply reeks of class,' as the title song puts it. Top Hat is essentially an innocent film; its satire (of continental manners, of Venice as a kind of celestial powder room) is semi-wish-fulfillment." ­ Arlene Croce, The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book (Galahad, 1972).

"Top Hat has a special quality which goes beyond the excellence of the dancing, singing, and acting. It lies in the affinity of the screen personalities of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Neither technical proficiency nor talent alone is enough for a film performer to reach audiences successfully. In both Astaire and Rogers we find not only talent but also a distinctive screen presence. Together they create a style and a mood which is still remembered and, many would say, unequaled." ­ Julia Johnson, Magill's Survey of the Cinema (Salem Press, 1980).

"There has been so much justifiable enthusiasm for the genuine brilliance of Mr. Astaire's work that by comparison Miss Rogers has been neglected. ... She has grace and attractiveness and comedy skill, and just the proper amount of romantic gaiety. In addition, she is the best listener since George M. Cohan. She can even simulate attention to the lines of a song when a new melody is being tossed at her amorously." ­ Richard Watts, Jr., New York Herald Tribune, August 1935.

"When Top Hat is letting Mr. Astaire perform his incomparable magic or teaming him with the increasingly dexterous Miss Rogers, it is providing the most urbane fun that you will find anywhere on the screen. If the comedy itself is a little on the thin side, it is sprightly enough to plug those inevitable gaps between the shimmeringly gay dances." ­ Andre Sennwald, Variety, August 30, 1935.

"All the dances of Astaire and Rogers are fabulous, but perhaps the most memorable is the 'Cheek to Cheek' number. I love the way they will dance quickly only to slow down so we catch them in some lovely position.... It is terrific how they change speeds so often ­ it is one of their trademarks; but they do it for audience appreciation, not to catch their breaths. The film ends with them spinning off the screen at full speed, and it is exhilarating." ­ Danny Peary, Cult Movies (Dell, 1981).

"(Getting the top Broadway songwriters) in particular sets RKO's dance musical apart from other musical cycles of the 1930s. ... RKO offered more Berlin and went on to inveigle scores from [Jerome] Kern and Dorothy Fields and from the Gershwins. Moreover, RKO's musical arrangements are ingenious at matching sound to action." ­ Ethan Mordden, The Hollywood Studios: House Style in the Golden Age of the Movies (Knopf, 1988).

"Astaire and Rogers were among the first to bring eloquent physical movement to moving pictures. To watch Top Hat is to know that they remain the greatest." - Carrie Rickey, The A List: 100 Essential Films (Da Capo Press).

"This scintillating, zestful, and professional musical is one of the classics of the Thirties and the best of the famous series that Astaire and Rogers made together." - Georges Sadoul, Dictionary of Films (University of California Press).

"Marvellous Astaire-Rogers musical, with a more or less realistic London supplanted by a totally artificial Venice, and show stopping numbers in a style which is no more, separated by amusing plot complications lightly handled by a team of deft farceurs." - Halliwell's Film & Video Guide (HarperPerennial).

"Although the plot is run of the mill and displays the usual "boy meets girl" twists of most of the Astaire-Rogers films, the score is one of the best they ever worked with...The grace and symmetry of their bodies, set against the sleek black-and-white Art Deco set created by Carroll Clark (under the titular direction of Van Nest Polglase), were perfect expressions of the music." - Patricia King Hanson The International Dictionary of Films & Filmmakers (Perigee).

AWARDS & HONORS

Top Hat cost only $620,000 to produce but brought in more than $3 million at the box office. It was the second-highest grossing film of 1935 (after Mutiny on the Bounty) and was RKO studio's biggest moneymaker of the decade.

Top Hat won Oscar® nominations for Best Picture, Art Direction/Interior Decoration, Choreography, and Best Song for "Cheek to Cheek." This is the only Astaire-Rogers film chosen as a "National Treasure" ­ a list of 25 films picked every year for the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. The film was ranked number 17 in the top 30 films chosen by members of the British Film Institute in 1983.

Compiled by Rob Nixon & Jeff Stafford