Soon, the Castles are the toast of France, and have even greater success touring America. Endorsements, modelling, and instructional books combine to make them wealthy. Their world conquest is halted, however, when World War I breaks out and Vernon joins the Royal Canadian Flying Corps. After a series of close shaves, the inevitable tragedy occurs, and we are expected to have a good cry.
How others will see it. Men suspect that male ballroom dancers are sissies, even though Vernon does become a World War I fighter pilot, a manly vocation if there ever was one. Rogers is an ideal gender role model, so it is unsurprising that women (in generally) prefer the movie.
Of course, the primary interest here is not the Castles biography, but the pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. This means dancing and songs, but the formula of their prior films is absent. That is, he doesn't impersonate someone else to impress or aggravate her, and she doesn't play hard to get. Also, the film is a drama instead of a comedy, and there is only one original song, which lacks heavy "Continental"-style promotion. Edward Everett Horton is missing in action, unfortunately, but we do have Walter Brennan in his trademarked sidekick role.
Brennan's casting annoyed Irene Castle, who served as a technical advisor to the film (she lived until 1967, and went through three additional husbands). Irene Castle's manservant, the character played by Brennan, was black. This would have been difficult for the Hollywood of 1939 to cast, since male black actors in white films of the day typically had small roles as toadying simpletons.
How I felt about it. The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle was supposed to be the final pairing of Astaire and Rogers. While Astaire was comfortable cranking out additional films of the highly popular series, Rogers was presumably tired of the endless dance rehearsals, and wanted the freedom to take dramatic roles. Her ambitions were proven correct when she won best actress for Kitty Foyle in short order. Eventually, she would make one more musical with Astaire, The Barkleys of Broadway in 1949.
But back to the present film. Early scenes set in New York are fun. Astaire tries to date the star of the show, who enjoys making a fool of him. He has better luck with the starstruck Rogers, who regales us with her outrageous rendition of "The Yama Yama Man." Then its off to Paris, and entertaining scenes with Edna May Oliver.
Alas, the Castles become successful, and the film loses its momentum as the director struggles to convey their achievements in compact cinematic form. The movie eventually regains its ground for a few stirring war scenes involving heroic pilot Astaire. Overall, it is a good movie with enough enjoyable moments for any Astaire-Rogers fan.