THE 1934 FLICK THE GAY DIVORCEE DESERVES an award among car enthusiasts: Not only does it feature three of the era’s classic automobiles, but one of them was actually owned by one of the movie’s stars. Here are tidbits about this movie, its cast and their mobility, together with previous SimanaitisSays “cars of the stars” references.
The Flick. Wikipedia describes “The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers…. the second (after Flying Down to Rio) of ten pairings of Astaire and Rogers on film and their first one as a duo in leading roles.”
A post-Code movie, Wikipedia recounts, “James Wingate, Director of Studio Relations for RKO, warned: ‘Considering the delicate nature of the subject upon which this script is based… great care should be taken in the scenes dealing with Mimi’s lingerie, and… no intimate article should be used.’ Wingate also insisted that no actor or actress appear in only pajamas.”
Its Plot. Guy Holden (Fred Astaire) is a famous American dancer touring Europe with his scatterbrained English lawyer Egbert Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton). Guy encounters (and is enraptured by) Mimi Glossop (Ginger Rogers), who shuns him twice, the second time resulting in a car race through the English countryside. This is where three of the flick’s neat cars appear.
Mimi is unhappily married, and her much-wed Aunt Hortense (once fiancéed to lawyer Egbert) connives her into a divorce. This is when the fourth car appears, belonging to Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes), a professional co-respondent in flagrante delicto cases.
Don’t fret, Hays advocates. It all ends Code-friendly, sorta.
A Duesy, an MG, and a Bugatti—All in One Scene. That car race, the English countryside actually shot in Clear Lake, California, has Mimi in a 1929 Duesenberg Model J, the car actually owned by Rogers.
This isn’t the first star-owned Duesenberg featured here at SimanaitisSays. See “Clark Gable, Car Enthusiast Extraordinaire.”And, confirming his enthusiasm in R&T, see also Clark’s Jaguar XK-120 report.
The MG. Fred’s mount chasing Ginger’s Duesy is a 1932 MG J2 Midget. (One source calls it a 1931, but the model wasn’t introduced until August 1932). The MG Owners’ Club writes, “From the outset the car represented everything that was right in basic sports car design incorporating such things as a large rear mounted slab type petrol tank with a huge fast fill1 petrol cap, fold flat windscreen with optional aero screens, centre lock wire wheels, remote control gear change, and a spring spoked flat steering wheel.”
The club continues, “Whereas its forerunner the J1 was offered with 4 seater open or closed bodywork, the J2 was strictly a 2 seater and set the fashion in MG sports cars for many years to come.”
By the way, Fred Astaire and MGs have been featured before here at SimanaitisSays. See “Fred Astaire and Cavalier’s MG TD.”
Hollywood Magic. In The Gay Divorcee, Fred contrives to block Ginger’s Duesy with a “ROAD CLOSED” sign and offers her company with a basket of refreshments. (How this stuff fits with Astaire in the snug 2-seater is Hollywood magic.)
By the way, Fred has appeared in R&T in its September 1959 “Grand Prix a la Hollywood,” a review of the movie On The Beach. This apocalyptic sci-fi drama has Fred driving a Ferrari 750 Monza in a crash-filled final Australian Grand Prix.
A Bugatti Appears. While Fred and Ginger are exchanging sorta pleasantries in The Gay Divorcee, along comes a Bugatti, recognizable by its oval badging. An A.I. source posits that it’s a Type 40, but I’m going with Internet Movie Cars Database’s identification of the car as a Type 38 A.
Indeed, its rear view suggests it may well be the (American) Murphy-bodied car described in March 1956 R&T. The magazine described it as “A unique blend of Molsheim and Pasadena.” To which I might add “And Hollywood,” in light of its multiple appearances in Christopher Strong, 1933, and Remember Last Night?, 1935, as well as in The Gay Divorcee.
An Austin Seven’s Walk-In, er… Drive-In. The little 1927 Austin Seven Swallow roadster is seen only briefly as Signor Tonetti arrives at the hotel for his professional co-respondent assignation. The car sure looks like the 1929 Beetleback Roadster by Swallow offered by RM Sotheby’s.
Image from rmsothebys.com..
Coachbuilder Swallow evolved eventually into Jaguar. Sotheby’s describes its example as “a lot of fun to drive—tiny, nimble, and lightweight.” It would seem a perfect drive for Signor Tonetti (who dutifully keeps his wife au courant of his professional activities).
All told, a fun flick with unexpected pleasures for car enthusiasts. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025
