OPERA HOUSE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 254, 27 October 1939, Page 9

OPERA HOUSE

“THE STORY Ol VERNON AND IRENE ( ASTLE” ! Marking their eighth co-starring ' appearance in a musical film, Fred ! Astaire and Ginger Rogers again prove : themselves America’s number one , dancing favourites in their latest 'vehicle, “The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle,” which opens at the ' Opera House to-day. Since this tuneful cavalcade of songs and i dances is based on the colourful i lives of the couple who enjoyed the I reputation as the world’s foremost dance team during the nostalgic period | just prior to the World War, it is fitting that its interpretation on the , screen should be by the team of toj day which, enjoys a similar reputation. (The fascinating story is a talc of (he I persistence, perseverance, and ultimate j reward of two people who had faith i in themselves and in each other. Too, j it is a story of a boy and a girl who i made the world dance-conscious, who set the tempo for to-day’s modern dances. Such matchless melodies of yesteryear as “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee,” “Oh, You Beautiful Doll, and “The Castle Walk,” in addition to a score of other old-time lilting songs, provide the musical background for the film’s acti.n. Astaire and Mis.Rogers, in the roles of their terpsichorean predecessors, exhibit their dancing talents in such famous numbers the Castle Walk, the Texas Tommy the Castle Waltz, the Tonga and the • Maxixe, and many other noted dances i popularised by Vernon and Irene Castle during their heyday. “Th' 1 Story of Vernon and Irene Castle” was produced by RKO Radio Pictures.