TOP HAT (1935) POSTER, SWEDISH

This film is considered one of the most iconic screen musicals of all time, and was the first film written specifically for the virtuosic dance partners Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In many ways, it is the quintessential Astaire-Rogers film. A cheerful romantic comedy with an easily resolved central conflict, Top Hat contains some of the pair’s most memorable on-screen moments. From the romantic duet ‘Cheek to Cheek’ to Astaire’s brilliant solo ‘Top Hat, White Tie and Tails’. The highly distinguished composer Irving Berlin, also prominently featured on the poster, contributed the music. Berlin, Astaire, and Rogers made two more films together after Top Hat, all of them unforgettable for their sublime music and choreography.

This poster was printed in three sheets, and would have been pasted onto billboards. As a result only unused posters would have survived. With its jaunty shapes and lively figures, this Swedish poster captures some of the extraordinary energy brought to the screen by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Like their dancing, the poster’s spirit of light-hearted fun leaps irresistibly across to the onlooker.