''In Person'' is a 1935 American romantic

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

William A. Seiter William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director. Life and career Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senn ...

and starring

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included ''Jezebel'' and ''Dark Victory ...

and

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray MM (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army ...

Plot

Glamorous movie star Carol Corliss suffers from

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no way to escape. These situations can include public transit, shopping centers, crowds and q ...

. Her fear of large groups of people, including her adoring fans, causes the actress to assume a veiled, buck-toothed disguise whenever she is in public. Carol's psychiatrist, Dr. Aaron Sylvester, recommends a vacation in the mountains as a cure. After she faints in a large crowd, outdoorsman Emory Muir rescues her, never believing the drab woman could be a movie star. Carol pretends to be the plain Miss Clara Colfax and convinces Muir to take her to his mountain retreat to recover. He reluctantly agrees, and allows Carol to stay in the lake cabin. There, George sees her swimming undisguised and wonders as to her true identity. George phones her psychiatrist, who declines to name his patient. While in town, George discovers a picture of Carol Corliss and realizes his guest "Clara" is, in fact, the famous actress. Upon his return, Carol decides to reveal herself to George, but he acts unimpressed and pretends to disbelieve her. In the cabin, Carol hears herself on the radio singing "Got a New Lease on Life," and she sings and dances along for George to no avail. He is only "convinced" of her real persona once she takes him to the movie theatre where her newest film is showing. Over time, Carol begins to realize she is falling for George. Matters are complicated further when Carol's frequent film co-star, Jay Holmes, arrives at the lake to confess his love for her.

Cast

as Carol Corliss/Clara Colfax *

as Emory Muir *

as Jay Holmes * Grant Mitchell as Judge Thaddeus Parks *

Samuel S. Hinds Samuel Southey Hinds (April 4, 1875October 13, 1948) was an American actor and former lawyer. He was often cast as kindly authority figures and appeared in more than 200 films in a career lasting 22 years. Early years Hinds was born in Brookly ...

as Dr. Aaron Sylvester * Joan Breslau as Minna * Louis Mason as Sheriff Twing *

Spencer Charters Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles. Biography Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until aroun ...

as Parson Calverton Lunk

Production

In November 1934, the ''Hollywood Reporter'' wrote that

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

had been RKO's first choice for the male lead in the film. The studio borrowed George Brent from

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

for the role. Additionally, Ginger Rogers stated in her

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

that

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

had turned down the role of Carol before Rogers accepted. Released at the height of the Astaire/Rogers musical partnership, ''In Person'' was first and foremost a vehicle to showcase Ginger Rogers' singing and dancing. On a title

lobby card A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...

for the film, she is billed as "Fresh from her great triumph in '

Top Hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

'". Rogers wanted to prove to her public that she was more than just Astaire's dancing partner, and this film highlights her talents as a

comedienne A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who ...

. Parts of the film were shot on location at

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the Western United States, western United States, located in the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County, California. It is a snow and rain-fed lake, having no other m ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Music

Rogers performed three musical numbers in the film: "Got a New Lease on Life", "Don't Mention Love To Me" and "Out of Sight, Out of Mind". The score was written by

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor (music), conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films ''Rhapsody in Bl ...

(music) and

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include " The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (193 ...

(lyrics).

Reception

Box office

The film made a modest box-office profit of $147,000, largely due to the strength of Ginger Rogers' popularity.

Critical response

''In Person'' was well-received, but neither it nor its star could escape the shadow of the Astaire/Rogers musicals. In ''The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book'', dance historian and critic

Arlene Croce Arlene Louise Croce (; May 5, 1934 – December 16, 2024) was an American dance critic. She co-founded '' Ballet Review'' magazine in 1965 and served as its first editor. From 1973 to 1996 she was a dance critic for ''The New Yorker'' magazine. ...

writes of the film, "Rogers' charm was irresistible, her skill variable." Croce goes on to highlight the difference between the musical numbers of ''In Person'' and those of the following Astaire/Rogers film

Follow the Fleet ''Follow the Fleet'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film with a nautical theme starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their fifth collaboration as dance partners. It also features Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, wi ...

; " ogersgoes ersatz in "Out of Sight, Out of Mind," slinking with a studiously lighted cigarette among men in dinner jackets, looking like a junior miss caught out in Ladies' Evening Wear. Yet only a year later she was the cream of sophistication in "Let's Face the Music and Dance. The difference: Astaire."

References

External links

''In Person''
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

* * {{AFI film, id=6202, title=In Person 1935 romantic comedy films 1935 films American romantic comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by William A. Seiter 1930s American films