ET 13: Boy Meets Girl: Two Treatments

Both films, Top Hat and Singin’ in the Rain had unforgettable “Boy Meets Girl” moments that had their songs playing in my head for days, after watching them in class which were “Isn’t this a lovely day” and “You were meant for me” respectively.

In both of the films, the pairs Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers, in Top Hat and Gene Kelly/Debbie Reynolds, in Singin’ in the Rain had brilliant yet entirely different settings and scenery during their entire “Boy Meets Girl” scenes. In the beginning of the scene of “Isn’t This A Lovely Day”, you could see that Fred was making the first move as he tried to charm Ginger under the gazebo with the play on words relating it to the situation they were in. Gene Kelly in “You Were Meant For Me” however, played the more dominant male role. He also attempted to charm Debbie by physically changing the scene by releasing machine-made mist and switching on a sunset background for the set. Both males however, have the same intention of winning the girl over by pulling them in, for a dance. Both Ginger and Debbie however had different looks on their faces during both of those scenes. Ginger Rogers played the more resistant role as she walked away and constantly looked anywhere else but at Fred as he tried to charm her. Debbie Reynolds on the other hand had many pauses as she portrayed many look of uncertainty as she looked as if she questioned the possibility of love between herself and a superstar like Gene Kelly.


In relation to choreography though, both films are comparable in many ways. In terms of dance, both scenes had tap-dancing though had different intensities of it. In Singin’ In the Rain’s “You Were Meant For Me”, as Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds danced – they demonstrated more waltz-like dances and were much more elegant. Tap-dancing in their scene was short and light in order to preserve that sweet romantic scene they both had. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ dance in Top Hat’s “Isn’t This A Lovely Day” however portrayed something entirely different. Their dance started off with Ginger shadowing Fred which moved on to Fred somewhat challenging Ginger to keep up with his pace. As they progress, they soon try to match each other’s taps and they begin a more fast-paced dance as compared to Gene and Debbie’s dance. The lyrics of both songs fit really well with their respected scenes. “Isn’t This A Lovely Day” by Irving Berlin in Top Hat, is the perfect example of taking a bad situation and changing it into a love song. As Fred Astaire sings as he describes the thunder and lightning, he also relates it to how being with Ginger, even on a rainy day would be a beautiful day in his eyes. “You Were Meant For Me” by Ignacio Herb Brown, like its title, described how both Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly were made for each other and how they were meant to be together. The way the spotlight is on both of them makes it look as if their love really was meant to be and the lyrics to the song only intensified the scene even more than it already was.

In conclusion, both “Boy Meets Girl” moments in both films had really beautiful ways of portraying that spark of romance. The lyrics of the songs chosen accompanied by the dances really does enhance the scenes of both films making it truly remarkable and unforgettable.