Shall We Dance poster

1937·109 min·Released

Shall We Dance

“Foot-free Fred and joyous Ginger...in their gayest, gladdest show!”

Comedy
Romance

Ballet star Petrov arranges to cross the Atlantic aboard the same ship as the dancer and musical star he's fallen for but barely knows. By the time the ocean liner reaches New York, a little white lie has churned through the rumour mill and turned into a hot gossip item—that the two celebrities are secretly married.

7.3(123 votes)

Popularity1

Videos

Shall We Dance - Trailer

Cast & Crew

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Petrov

Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers

Linda Keene

Edward Everett Horton

Edward Everett Horton

Jeffrey Baird

Eric Blore

Eric Blore

Cecil Flintridge

Jerome Cowan

Jerome Cowan

Arthur Miller

Ketti Gallian

Ketti Gallian

Lady Tarrington

William Brisbane

William Brisbane

Jim Montgomery

Ann Shoemaker

Ann Shoemaker

Matron

Harriet Hoctor

Harriet Hoctor

Ballet Dancer

Rolfe Sedan

Rolfe Sedan

Ballet Master (uncredited)

Richard Tucker

Richard Tucker

Mr. Russell (uncredited)

Ben Alexander

Ben Alexander

Evans (uncredited)

CinemaSerf

Written on 8/22/2025

“Just Caesar, just Napoleon, only Garbo, so just Petrov is enough... You don’t want to dance with the great Petrov? Don’t be a silly horse.” With an introduction like that, how can “Linda” (Ginger Rogers) possibly decline to dance with this clearly modest and unassuming gent (Fred Astaire) as they embark on an ocean liner bound for New York. As they travel and despite their frosty start, the pair start to bond a little, but nowhere near as much as some gossips assume and before they are halfway across the Atlantic are married! Except, well… She avails herself of the mail aeroplane to disembark but things steadily worsen and the newspapers even start drawing storks above their headlines! “Petrov” - well, “Peter”really knows all along that it’s his publicity people who are stirring things but he is also becoming quite keen on this lady - despite being the centre of the attentions of the recently freed-up “Lady Tarrington” (Ketti Gallian). Amusingly, though, even he is befuddled when photos appear in the papers that even he can’t quite fathom. Who is the dummy now? Making up this chaotic storyline are his dedicated butler “Cecil” (Eric Blore) and his right-hand man “Baird” (Edward Everett Horton) who is in danger of tripping over his own conspiracy cloak! There is a really gorgeous chemistry on display here, with Rogers’s facial expressions speaking volumes of disdain, disbelief and, believe it or not, affection too. There are two stand out musical set-pieces from the Gershwins in “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”; the dance routines - especially on the ice rink, are mischievous and naturally choreographed and the whole film effortlessly entertains us with some great comedic timing, a little zany behaviour and a cast of professionals who all look like they were having a good laugh.

Media

Shall We Dance - Trailer

Shall We Dance - Trailer