Top Hat tells the story of the whirlwind romance of Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont. They meet, flirt, misunderstand each other, fall in love, fall out favor and eventually decide to marry, all the while singing and dancing. What is this film telling us about love and romance? Does "the course of true love never did run smooth"? What is it based on? What is the role of communication and (mis)understanding? What about the marriage of Horace and Madge: is that a failed relationship -- or just another stage? Are Jerry and Dale really in heaven -- or is it all an illusion?
ReplyDeleteOut of all the themes that are portrayed in the Top Hat, love/romance is most definitely the most important one. This film tells us that love/romance can be complicated without communication. We can see this theme within the relationship of Jerry and Dale. From the beginning of the film, Jerry and Dale’s first encounter with each other is very hostile. Dale wants nothing to do with Jerry, whereas Jerry wants everything to do with Dale. As the film progressing, the two inevitably see each other more often, but Dale is suffering from a misunderstanding of who Jerry really is. Like I said before, Dale wants nothing to do with Jerry, but now she is tolerable of him, despite the misunderstanding and no communication. I feel as though this film sports the concept of communication nicely, well the lack there of. It shows how complicated things can get and how misunderstandings can ultimately destroy a good relationship without communication. If the communication and understanding had been there from the first encounter, Jerry and Dale would have come off to a better start. As for where their relationship is now, I do believe that they are in heaven. It wasn’t always, but it is now. After coming together and straightening things out, there is nothing holding Dale back anymore. Her misunderstandings are cleared and this permits her to continue happily with Jerry. It also allows her to recall the singing and dancing they did together and to believe in the connection that they shared during those moments. That connection she felt and is still feeling, is not a connection of lust but of love.
Jerry Travers instantly becomes infatuated with Dale Tremont the first time he lays his eyes on her. In fact, I would even go as far to say that he fell in love with her at first sight. The movie heavily romanticizes the idea of love since without even getting to know her, Jerry starts to fantasize about marrying her. In reality, and in modern times, love is something that is gradual and grows over time. Someone who falls in love probably has known their significant other for a while. This idea of falling in love is so cheapened by movies that everyone expects that “magic moment” of seeing “the one” and being in love. Jerry Travers epitomizes this stereotype. He acts like a man who has seen the sun for the first time when he lays his eyes on Dale Tremont. Even Dale Tremont fits the stereotype, because she quickly falls for Jerry and the two seem to really enjoy each other. However, as with any stereotypical romantic film, conflict arises and causes them to have a huge misunderstanding. The resulting conflict of the film is based on a misunderstanding of who was actually Horace Hardwick. Verbal communication seems to not be a focus, since all the characters constantly assume what is happening and what others mean. The film seems to use only emotion as a form of communication. Jerry loves Dale, and he constantly shows it to her, and even by the end of the film she falls for him after she believed that he was in the wrong. Thus, the film shows us that when one falls in love – in deep love – with someone else, everything will work out in the end. This seems to be a common theme in modern romantic movies as well; the main character will fall in love with someone and by constantly pestering them for their attention and love, the love interest will reciprocate. Movies often seem to lump attraction and love together, when in fact, while similar, those two are not on the same level. Attraction is very shallow, a very basic form of emotional attachment to someone. I’d argue that love goes deeper than that; it is a very deep emotional attachment between two people who really understand and know each other. Jerry and Dale’s relationship seem to be based on attraction and lust rather than true love. I think they are both infatuated with each other, which is an illusion of true love, and if we were to see more of their life after they married we would most likely see conflict – actual conflict – rise up. Horace and Madge also seem to fit this idea of being in fake love; they’ve both been married for a long time but Madge says some nasty things to Horace and Horace cheated on Madge. They are in between the “honeymoon” stage – where they “love” each other and are really happy to be together – and the failed relationship stage. The audience can observe their relationship falling apart through the subtle actions of Horace, and the not-so-subtle jabs by Madge. Horace always seems to shy away from Madge while Madge blatantly says comments insinuating she wants to hurt him.
ReplyDeleteMark Sandrich's, Top Hat, argues that without communication and understanding of each other, love can be made complicated and be negatively affected. The relationship between Jerry and Dale is a complicated one. Jerry starts by meeting Dale and falls instantly in love, however Dale has a much different feeling. As they progress through their relationship and as people, they began to have mutual feelings, however, Dale thinks that Jerry is actually Horace (Madge's husband). The lack of communication jeopardizes their relationship, and allows for misunderstandings. Luckily for their relationship, they resolve their misunderstandings and eventually get married. The lack of communication also is relevant between Horace and Madge. Horace cheats on Madge, and does not tell her about his affair. This makes Madge furious and she hits Horace. This lack of communication threatens their relationship and is detrimental to them living happily ever after. The director in this case allows for a happy ending even though the lack of communication, complicated the relations within the two couples. As unreal as the relationships are in this movie, they enter a sort of realism, when the relationships began to show conflict between the two parties. Every relationship in the world has had conflict once in it's time, much like Jerry and Dales', and Horace and Madge's relationship. The overall complexity of these two relationships, is due to the lack of communication between the two lovers, which leads to misunderstandings and negatively affects relationships in the movie Top Hat.
ReplyDeleteJerry and Dale’s relationship in Top Hat prove the importance of communication in a relationship. The plot of the story revolves around the constant miscommunication between the two and events that happen because of it. Throughout the course of events, both never fully tell each other the truth which causes numerous cases of misunderstanding. Jerry and Dale show that without communication a relationship doesn’t fully function. They clicked while tap dancing in the gazebo, but Jerry never telling Dale his name or any substantial facts, does not help their relationship progress. They seem to be stuck in a revolving door, and can’t get out until Madge helps to pull them out. There are numerous moments when Dale and Jerry are close to breaking out of the constant miscommunication cycle, yet it doesn’t happen. Their relationship explains the importance of communication because without being able to tell the other the truth, then problems arise and create a divide. Madge and Horace’s relationship is an example of a strong, trusting relationship, but how miscommunication once again can create tensions. Madge is confident that Horace stayed loyal and did not cheat on her although in reality Horace once upon a time did. Although Madge’s ability to trust Horace in the situation proves the strength in their relationship, but Madge begins to question her trust in Horace after he begins to act strange around her. Once again the power of miscommunication effects another relationship in the film, but of course the power of communication fixes all the tensions. The film portrays a wonderful love story with an overall happy ending, but it is because of communication that the relationships are able to survive.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as Jerry Travers first sets his sight upon Dale Tremont, he falls in love with her. He spends countless times trying to flirt with her and get her attention. Everything he seems to do, is directed towards getting Dale to notice him, and give him the attention he is trying to give her. After a bit of time, the flirting is reciprocated and they begin to fall in love with each other. While all seems to start going smoothly, they hit a large bump in their relationship, as Dale confuses Jerry with Horace. This creates a large ripple effect, as she has many conversations with Madge, only furthering the problem as they continue to talk about the wrong person, developing a deep, but for now unspoken, animosity in the relationship. This aspect of the film clearly shows the detrimental effects that a lack of communication can have on a relationship. After Jerry made it through a bumpy patch trying to get Dale to show affection towards him, it doesn’t get any easier as she mistakes him with someone else. She proceeds to develop a deep misunderstanding of Jerry, and begin to distrust him and no longer have the same feelings for him. However, eventually it gets brought up and things get sorted out, and she finally figures out who Jerry really is. The main theme of this film is clearly love/romance, and the film shows you that if two people truly love each other enough, everything will end up working out. It was definitely not easy for Jerry, but eventually he wins over the adoration of Dale, and clears all of the misunderstandings up, showing that true love ultimately triumphs over everything.
ReplyDeleteTop Hat is a love story about Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont. They eventually fell in love by the end of the film but they had to go through obstacles to get there. These obstacles could’ve been avoided though. This film shows us in order for love and romance to be successful, communication is key. With better communication the obstacles that Jerry and Dale encounter before they fall in love and get married would’ve been avoided. For example, Dale thought that Jerry was Horace but this simple misunderstanding could’ve been prevented through good communication and she would’ve seen Jerry much differently in the beginning knowing that he wasn’t Horace. The marriage of Horace and Madge isn’t a failed relationship but the relationship was threatened partially due to a major lack in communication but in the end it ends up just being another stage in their relationship. Jerry and Dale at the end of the film aren’t per say in heaven but it isn’t an illusion. They’re just really in love with each other and going through the “honeymoon” stage of their relationship.
ReplyDeleteA Tapping Heart
ReplyDeleteRomance has been a fascinating topic for artists. Film is a particularly interesting form of art that has become a major platform for the concept of love. With the filmography’s advancement in sound, filmmakers were able to create more complex storylines, characters, and concepts, while also first introducing musicals to movies. Top Hat, an early sound film, is a comedic romance, about a misunderstanding between lovers. Using dialogue, music, and most importantly dance, this film exemplifies an overarching theme, that when it comes to love it is never an easy journey. Staring the character Jerry Travers, a famous American actor and tap dancer, inadvertently falling in love with the lovely Dale Tremont. By using his skills in tap and music, the couple fall madly in love with each other. The film’s dance numbers and songs are also incorporated in such a way to display the chemistry between characters, as well as progress the plot of the movie. After falling in love, the new couple run into a simple but major problem; Dale believes that Jerry is Horace Hardwick, a theatrical producer who hired Jerry to dance in his new musical and who is also a married man. Because of this a long and strenuous misunderstanding evolves into a total fiasco between the couple, and also brings to light the problems in Horace’s own marriage. The entire movie is about the problems in relationships, new or old, but also underlines the value of love.
I think that Top Hat utilized the role of communication to demonstrate the different stages of love and romance. While having Horace and Madge as the older, more experienced relationship, I feel that the relationship between Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont were used as a contrast to the older couple as the younger inexperienced relationship. Horace and Madge were both very familiar with each other in their relationship. They were so experienced, they displayed characteristic such as annoyance, calmness, and patience with each other. Many times in the film, when reference would be made about Horace, Madge would respond saying how Horace would or wouldn’t usually act the way he was said to have. Though the scenes where Madge would do so seemed comedic, they were also representative of the familiarity that she and her husband shared. However, in comparison to the older couple, Jerry and Dale displayed the inexperience they shared with each other. Many times throughout the film, when Jerry would try to interact with Dale, his attempt would end up with him being confused by her retaliation. A prime example of Jerry’s confusion would be after he was slapped by Dale both in America and in Europe. Since Dale Tremont’s character lacked in patience when communication would’ve been key to the young couple’s resolution, it resulted in discombobulation when Jerry Travers’ character was smacked. Overall, Horace and Madge, the older couple, may have seemed to display a failed relationship, however, communication displayed otherwise. The role of communication depicted how the older couple was in a more advance stage in their relationship, which is why the two seemed to have patience and calmness with each other even if they were annoyed with each other. Meanwhile, the role of communication showed how the younger couple wasn’t successful relationship but rather an earlier, inexperienced one, which is why the couple lacked patience and always left both the character and the viewers on their toes, because they didn’t know what to expect.
ReplyDeleteTop Hats ideal reflect those of flappers in the 1920s which were life was short so make the most of it. They redefined what it meant to be you and begin to shy away from societal norms and regulations. A lot of this is evidenced by Jerrys lack of respect when he is supposed to be quiet while he waits for Horace and when hes tap dancing in the hotel. In regards to love flappers were quick to fall in love and often made rash decisions whilst caught in the surge of feelings they were having. There are two steps to any permanent relationship. The first is the quick physical attraction the couple fall in love and feel entranced by each other promising eternal love and satisfaction as long as they are together. This is what Jerry and Dale go through before Jerry has gotten to know Dale at all he tells Horace that he is already in love with her. The two quickly hit it off and though they have quite a few hiccups along the way they manage to stay together in the end. However this will not last. The next step which is often the hardest step in the relationship is moving past the physical attractions and finding out who your husband or wife is. Often this can be scary and it’s the reason for many failed marriages today. Horace and Madge have not failed in their relationship rather they are one of the few who have succeeded. They know exactly what the other is like and accept them for it. Madge knows Horace's tricks and how he chases women in other cities however she knows he will always come back to her. Top Hat isn’t about failed love but about how love has succeeded in its many facets.
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