• "
Pick Yourself Up": The first of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields's standards is a
polka sung and danced by Astaire and Rogers. It is also a technical tour-de-force, with the basic polka embellished by syncopated rhythms, and overlaid with tap decoration. In particular, Rogers recaptures the spontaneity and commitment that she first displayed in the "
I'll Be Hard to Handle" number from
Roberta; that film's score was originally written by Kern for the
Broadway stage. • "
The Way You Look Tonight": Kern and Fields's Oscar-winning
foxtrot is sung by Astaire, seated at a piano, while Ginger is busy washing her hair in a side room. Astaire conveys a sunny yet nostalgic romanticism, but later, when they dance to "Never Gonna Dance", the pair will create a mood of sombre poignancy. As evidence of its enduring appeal, the song has been featured in modern cinema and television. It is featured in the films
Chinatown and ''
My Best Friend's Wedding, and it plays a prominent role as an important element in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' series finale, "
What You Leave Behind". • "Waltz in Swing Time": Described by one critic as "the finest piece of pure dance music ever written for Astaire", this is the most virtuosic partnered romantic duet Astaire ever committed to film. Kern was always reluctant to compose in the swing style, so the film's orchestrator,
Robert Russell Bennett — a longtime Kern associate on Broadway — composed the number using some themes provided by Kern. and later in a letter to John Mueller; the published sheet music notes that the waltz was "constructed and arranged" by Bennett. The dance is a nostalgic celebration of love, in the form of a syncopated waltz with tap overlays — a concept that Astaire would rework in the "Belle of New York" segment of the "Currier and Ives" routine from
The Belle of New York. In the midst of this complex routine, Astaire and Rogers find time to gently poke fun at notions of elegance, in a reminder of a similar episode in "Pick Yourself Up". • "
A Fine Romance": Kern and Fields's third standard, a
quickstep to Fields's bittersweet lyrics, is sung alternately by Rogers and Astaire, with Rogers providing an object lesson in acting while a bowler-hatted Astaire at times appears to be impersonating
Stan Laurel. Never a man to discard a favorite piece of fine clothing, Astaire wears the same coat in the opening scene of
Holiday Inn. • "Bojangles of Harlem": Kern, Bennett and Borne combined their talents to produce a jaunty instrumental piece ideally suited to Astaire, who here — while overtly paying tribute to Bill Robinson — actually broadens his tribute to African-American tap dancers by dancing in the style of Astaire's one-time teacher,
John W. Bubbles, and dressing in the style of the character, ''Sportin' Life'', a role that Bubbles played in
Gershwin's
Porgy and Bess.(who also choreographed the opening chorus), after which Astaire dances a short opening solo that features poses mimicking and satirizing
Al Jolson, all of which was captured by Stevens in one take. A two-minute solo follows, with Astaire dancing with his shadows; it took three days to shoot. Astaire's choreography exercises every limb, and makes extensive use of hand-clappers. Hermes Pan earned an
Academy Award nomination for Best Dance Direction. • "
Never Gonna Dance": After Astaire sings Fields's closing line of Kern's haunting ballad, they begin the acknowledgement phase of the dance, replete with a poignant nostalgia for their now-doomed affair, in which the music changes to "The Way You Look Tonight", and they dance slowly in a manner reminiscent of the opening part of "Let's Face The Music And Dance" from
Follow the Fleet. At the end of this episode, Astaire adopts a crestfallen, helpless pose. They begin the denial phase, and again the music changes and speeds up, this time to the "Waltz In Swing Time" while the dancers separate to twirl their way up their respective staircases, escaping to the platform at the top of the Silver Sandal Set — an elaborate
Art Deco-influenced Hollywood Moderne creation of
Carroll Clark and John Harkrider. The music switches to a frantic, fast-paced, recapitulation of "Never Gonna Dance" as the pair dance a last, desperate and virtuosic routine before Rogers flees and Astaire repeats his pose of dejection, in a final acceptance of the affair's end. This final routine was shot 47 times in one day before Astaire was satisfied, with Rogers's feet left bruised and bleeding by the time they finished. • Finale duet: At the end of the film, Astaire and Rogers sing shortened versions of "A Fine Romance" and "The Way You Look Tonight" simultaneously (with altered lyrics). Harmonies were slightly altered so that the two songs fit well together.
Musical notes • Kern and Fields also wrote an additional song, "It's Not in the Cards", as a full opening number, but it was cut, heard only momentarily at the conclusion of the first scene, and later as background music. • Kern was hired to write seven songs, for which he was paid $50,000 and a gross percentage up to $37,500. Astaire requested that two of the songs be swing numbers, but the weak version of "Bojangles of Harlem" that he delivered remained unacceptable, despite Astaire having spent several hours tap-dancing in Kern's hotel room in an attempt to loosen it up. Kern required the services of Robert Russell Bennet, and, during rehearsal, Astaire's rehearsal pianist, Hal Borne, contributed ideas. Although Astaire requested that Borne receive credit for his contribution, Kern was insistent that Borne receive no credit, was not to compose any music, and was not to be paid for writing any music. Bennett also received no credit in the film, but the sheet music for "Waltz in Swing Time" credits him with the construction and arrangement. ==Reception==