Born to Dance (1936) Review: Jimmy Stewart Sings and My Mind is Blown

If you have any love for the golden age of tap dancing, you should put this on right now. It is pure joy if you want to see Eleanor Powell dance like she has no bones in her legs, but if you need a plot that makes sense, you will probably get annoyed fast. 🤷‍♂️

Honestly, the story is just a flimsy clothesline to hang some incredible Cole Porter tunes on. We have Jimmy Stewart playing a sailor named Ted, which is hilarious because he has to sing "Easy to Love."

He is so young and gangly here. His voice kinda wobbles and cracks, but it is so charming because he looks like he might pass out from nerves. 😭

But the real reason anyone watches this is Eleanor Powell. Her feet move so fast in the "Rap Tap on Wood" number that it looks like special effects. It is actually a bit scary how perfect her timing is.

Then there is Buddy Ebsen, who plays another sailor. He does this weird, rubber-limbed dance style that makes him look like a giant marionette whose strings got cut.

There is this one incredibly weird moment where Reginald Gardiner plays a policeman who conducts an imaginary orchestra in the middle of a park. It goes on for like three minutes and has absolutely nothing to do with the story. I loved it.

The whole movie feels like it was filmed in some alternate universe where the Navy is just an excuse to wear cute sailor suits. Just look at the giant battleship set at the end. It looks like a shiny, white Art Deco nightclub instead of a real boat. ⚓️

It reminds me a bit of the silly transit-based setups in old melodramas like The Midnight Limited, except everyone here is way too happy. There is zero real tension.

Even the "bad guy" Broadway star played by Virginia Bruce isn't really evil. She just wears some of the most ridiculous, oversized hats I have ever seen in my life.

One hat looks like a giant, upside-down satin salad bowl. I spent ten minutes just staring at it instead of listening to the dialogue.

The pacing gets a little slow in the middle when the romance gets complicated. You can tell the writers didn't really know how to get the characters from the club back to the boat, so they just had people run around doors.

But then Powell starts dancing again, and all is forgiven. It's just a vibe, you know? It is the kind of movie where you can smell the stage makeup and the dust from the rafters.

• Best moment: Eleanor Powell tapping on a tabletop without breaking a single glass.
• Worst moment: Jimmy Stewart trying to look comfortable while singing. Bless him.

Anyway, don't expect a masterpiece of cinema. Just turn off your brain, enjoy the tap shoe sounds, and ignore the paper-thin plot.