Columbia Pictures
An eccentric New York theatre owner (Robert Benchley) has his eyes on the beautiful chorus girl Sheila Winthrop (Rita Hayworth). His wife (Frieda Inescort) has her eyes on him. Sheila has her eyes on the show’s choreographer Robert Curtis (Fred Astaire). Having been discovered, the boss throws Robert into the middle of a comedic cover-up that eventually forces Robert to flee into the Army. Robert will never get rich as a private, but at least he’s out of his predicament … or is he?
REVIEW
You’ll Never Get Rich was an interesting curio from Columbia Pictures in 1941. The film’s biggest star, Fred Astaire, was on a career downswing since he had parted ways with Ginger Rogers after seven films between 1933 and 1939 (though they would reunite one more time, ten years later in 1949), and there is nothing in the screenplay for You’ll Never Get Rich that rises above B-movie material. But Columbia had an up-and-coming starlet who began her career with small uncredited roles beginning in 1926 at the age of 8, and by 1935 was billed as Rita Cansino, and under contract to Fox Films the studio hoped to groom her as the new Dolores del Rio with the lead in 1936’s Ramona, but by the end of her contract the studio had merged with 20th Century Studios to form 20th Century Fox and Darryl F. Zanuck cast Loretta Young instead. After snagging a small role in a film at Columbia in 1936, the studio signed her to a seven year contract but studio head Harry Cohn felt her name sounded ‘too ethnic’ and she adopted her mother’s maiden name, Hayworth (of Irish-American ancestry), so audiences would regard her as more ‘American’. She also dyed her hair ginger red and began to build her resumé at Columbia, and was loaned to Warner Bros. for The Strawberry Blonde. But it was her return to Columbia and the release of You’ll Never Get Rich in 1941 that made her an ‘overnight’ sensation (leading to another Astaire-Hayworth film in 1942, You Were Never Lovelier).
As mentioned, the screenplay for You’ll Never Get Rich, by Michael Fessier and Ernest Pagano, isn’t anything special, but perhaps the stars — especially Astaire — knew that and elevated his own performance to make up for the lackluster plotline. There are some very clever moments though, including the surreal opening credits (which may have inspired some of the equally surreal opening credits of the TV series Green Acres), and the whole plotline of the philandering husband trying to fool his not-oblivious wife into believing Robert and Sheila are actually the two lovebirds (and to be clear, Sheila has no interest in Mr. Cortland, but she does actually have eyes for Robert … who is somewhat oblivious to her attentions until he’s forced to pretend he’s interested in her) feels like typical 1940s screwball comedy (although the climax of the film may be considered a bit problematic today). All of the players handle the script with skill (props to Inescort for some of her droll one-liners and whithering side-eye glances), and Astaire and Hayworth do have some nice chemistry (with with a nearly 20 year age difference — studios seemed to always cast Astaire with much younger actresses). What really makes the film a stand-out, though, are the musical numbers … or rather the dance numbers (though the song ‘Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye’ by Cole Porter was Oscar nominated). Astaire is simply amazing with his lightning fast dance steps, his feet almost a blur by the speed in which he moves them. The opening dance with maybe a hundred dancers is fabulous — and it’s just a rehearsal! A big number in a train station and the final musical number for the military base show rival anything Busby Berkeley produced, expertly choreographed by Robert Alton (Astaire’s second-most frequent collaborator after Hermes Pan). Hayworth, though, is truly a marvel in her dance numbers with Astaire. Hayworth became known as ‘The Love Goddess’ for her sultry performances in movies like Gilda, but here without having to live up to that moniker she is able to play a more comedic role while totally surprising with her dancing, expertly matching Astaire step-for-step. You’ll Never Get Rich — and the title seems rather nonsensical as neither Robert or Sheila seem to be concerned about attaining wealth (but it does come from an old Army song with the lyrics ‘You’ll never get rich / By digging a ditch / You’re in the Army now!’) — could have just been a standard B-movie had Astaire not been cast as the lead, and without him Hayworth may not have become a Hollywood icon (which would have also significantly changed the title of a certain Stephen King novel). The two, along with the rest of the cast, make the story entertaining but it is the dancing that truly makes the film worth watching.
Columbia Pictures
VIDEO
Sony has released a product that rivals the best of the Warner Archive releases. You’ll Never Get Rich may have started out as a B-movie at Columbia, but it became one of their bigger budgeted films and it went on to become a major success, so the studio has lavished some attention on this Blu-ray.
The image is appropriately filmic with fine film grain, and the black-and-white image holds some lovely detail, the blacks are rich, the whites pop but are never blown out, the gray tones in-between give the image some nice depth, giving the entire movie a crispness that makes it feel brand new. Short of a 4K restoration, this is probably the best the film has looked since it was first released, and it is a worthy addition to any movie fan’s library.
AUDIO
The disc’s DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track is spectacular. No hiss, crackles or pops, everything is balanced well, keeping the dialogue crisp and clear, never allowing the music to overtake any of the singing, and making sure ever tap of every dancer is heard loud and clear (sometimes a bit overdone in Astaire’s solo number in the barracks guard house, but that is inherent in the original production). As with the video image, there is absolutely nothing here to complain about.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The film has a second audio track featuring film historian Steven C. Smith that is entertaining and informative, not just a random rambling on about films and personalities of the era but one that also includes many anecdotes about the film itself, which is always welcome. There’s nothing worse than an audio commentary for a movie that barely mentions the movie, so this one is a keeper. The only other bonus is the film’s trailer.
OVERVIEW
You’ll Never Get Rich has probably fallen into the category of lesser Fred Astaire vehicles over the years, but it certainly has some historical value as Rita Hayworth’s star-making film. Watching the two of them together, particularly in their dance numbers, is magical, and all of the big dance numbers are showstoppers. It also features a cast of actors that may not be as well known today as they were in the 1940s, so this release gives movie fans a chance to discover some talent they may not have been aware of before. The story is slim, but everyone works hard — and effortlessly — to make the film better than it should have been, and this Blu-ray deserves a place on any collector’s shelf.
Sony Pictures generously provided Hotchka with the Blu-ray for reviewing purposes.
You’ll Never Get Rich has a run time of 1 hour 25 minutes and is not rated.
You’ll Never Get Rich trailer (1941)
Columbia Pictures