Page "Top Hat" Paragraph 44

The second is " No Strings ( I'm Fancy Free )".

On retiring to his hotel suite, Horton advises him to get married.

Astaire declares his preference for bachelorhood and the song – this number was the brainchild of scriptwriter Dwight Taylor and is found in his earliest drafts – emerges naturally and in mid-sentence.

Astaire sings it through twice and during the last phrase leaps into a ballet jump, accompanied by leg beats, and launches into a short solo dance that builds in intensity and volume progressing from tap shuffles sur place, via traveling patterns, to rapid-fire heel jabs finishing with a carefree tour of the suite during which he beats on the furniture with his hands.

On his return to the center of the room, where he noisily concentrates his tap barrage, the camera cranes down to discover Rogers in bed, awake and irritated.

As she makes her way upstairs, Horton fields telephone complaints from hotel management.

Astaire incorporates this into his routine, first startling him with a tap burst then escorting him ostentatiously to the telephone.

As Horton leaves to investigate, Astaire continues to hammer his way around the suite, during which he feigns horror at seeing his image in a mirror – a reference to his belief that the camera was never kind to his face.

The routine ends as Astaire, now dancing with a statue, is interrupted by Rogers ' entrance, a scene which, as in The Gay Divorcee and Roberta, typifies the way in which Astaire inadvertently incurs the hostility of Rogers, only to find her attractive and wear down her resistance.