REMEMBER . . . WHEN THE ONLY SPECIAL EFFECT WAS TALENT . . .

Fred and Ginger and their marvelous "special effects" . . . and appearing this month in high quality DVD . . . the most exciting news in American art right now: a series of black and white movies that are over 60 years old, the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films of the 1930s. The Fred-and-Ginger escapist masterpieces reach from "Flying Down to Rio" (1933) to "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" (1939)---all black and white, and all brilliant. Astaire may be the greatest of all American dancers; Astaire and Rogers are certainly the greatest dance team. Astaire was a peerlessly great dancer in part because he was a great musician: His piano solos in "Roberta" and "Follow the Fleet" are highlights of the series. The Astaire-Rogers films of the '30s also include (hypnotically catchy ) songs by Vincent Youmans and the Cole Porter mega-hit "Night and Day." Irving Berlin wrote three of these scores, Jerome Kern two, George Gershwin one. How to explain all this talent in one short series of films? Easy. It was a miracle. Ginger Rogers once said, "I did everything Fred did, but backward and in heels." However, her technique is nowhere near Astaire's. When the going gets tough, she steps aside and lets him do his stuff. Yet none of Astaire's other dancing partners holds a candle to Ginger. Her seductive, wise-cracking cool and lyrically elegant way of moving make up for her technical limitations. She might be the most underrated actress in American film. The Fred-and-Ginger dances are controlled thermonuclear explosions of romantic passion. The censors would have banned them if they'd been sharp enough to see what was happening. (THE ABOVE IS MADE UP OF EXCERPTS FROM AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY DAVID GELERNTER)