John Mueller, in his book Astaire Dancing writes “It is the comparative absence of unevenness in Top Hat that makes it, all things considered, the most successful of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers films. . .the. . .film with the best box office both when it was released and today.” The British film reviewer Leslie Halliwell wrote about it, “a more or less realistic London (is) supplanted by a totally artificial Venice (with) show stopping numbers (and) amusing plot complications lightly handled by a team of deft farceurs”.

The movie was made from April through June 1935, and released the following August. The script, with basic similarities to The Gay Divorcee, was written by Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott. Direction was again by Mark Sandrich, photography again by David Abel, art direction again by Carroll Clark, score again by Max Steiner. Hermes Pan did the dance direction. The songs were by Irving Berlin. Helen Broderick joined Edward Everett Horton as the comic couple, and Eric Blore and Erik Rhodes both reappeared. It was nominated for Oscars: for best picture, Carroll Clark and Van Nest Polglase for best art direction, Hermes Pan for best dance direction, and “Cheek to Cheek” for best song. The film cost $609,000 to make and it made $3.2 million worldwide. It broke attendance records at Radio City Music Hall. Berlin made $285,000 through a percentage deal with RKO. Three songs from the film (“Cheek to Cheek”, “Top Hat”, and “Isn’t This a Lovely Day?”) were ranked among the top ten on the Hit Parade radio show.

Jimmy Cagney visited the set when Astaire did his solo “Top Hat” number, with its taps simulating machine-gun fire, and expressed approval of Astaire’s dancing. About the feathered dress Ginger Rogers wore in the “Cheek to Cheek” number, Astaire wrote in his autobiography, Steps in Time, “I arranged a romantic, flowing type of dance to fit the situation in the picture and we took special pains to try for extra-smooth smoothness. . .We then got ready to rehearse the number right through with the playback for camera and lights. Everything went well through the song, but when we did the first movement of the dance, feathers started to fly as if a chicken had been attacked by a coyote. . .I never saw so many feathers in my life. . .I had feathers in my eyes, my ears, my mouth, all over the front of my suit. . .Ginger didn’t say much. I knew we were in trouble. . .the cameraman stopped us, saying he couldn’t photograph the number that way, and also that the floor was covered with feathers. . .Finally, the fallout had run its main course. With just a minimum amount flying, the cameraman decided he would take a chance and photograph the number. . .When we finished shooting. . .Hermes Pan and I sang a little parody. . .to Ginger. . .

Feathers—I hate feathers--
And I hate them so that I can hardly speak--
And I never find the happiness I seek- -
With those chicken feathers dancing- -
Cheek to Cheek.

Next morning the rushes were good. Very few of the flying feathers picked up on the film and the glossy white floor showed none at all. What a relief.”
I hope you enjoy watching Top Hat with me tonight.