a damsel in distress be definitely not one of fred astaire well musical . but even astaire bad film always have some good moment . in damsel and astaire be jerry halliday and an american musical star who be in london on a personal appearance tour . he meet lady alice marshmorton ( 19 year old joan fontaine ) and a beautiful english heiress and who hop into the back of a cab he be take to escape a mob of admirer . jerry believe that alice be be force into a marriage by her rich aunt . he try to rescue her from her family country manor house and but soon discovers that the house staff be lay bet on which suitor lady alice will marry . keggs ( reginald gardiner ) the connive butler and and albert ( harry watson ) and the bratty house boy and each take turn alternately help and sabotage lady alice romance with jerry to make sure they win the bet . this musical have numerous problem . first and there be the plot and base on a novel by p. g. wodehouse ( who co write the screenplay ) . the story be slow and painful and and nerve grating . when fred be not dance and we have to endure endless annoy scene of ( a ) fred romance joan fontaine or ( b ) keggs and albert conniving against them and each other . the butler and the house boy be especially irritate . they be one dimensional stock villain character and the kind of guy you just want to punch in the mouth . you wish they would get off the screen and let fred dance . astaire suffers in the absence of his usual partner and ginger rogers . joan fontaine be a lackluster lead lady in this film and and be miscast in a musical . she have little go for her and character wise and other than her lovely face and beautiful smile . george burn and gracie allen be along for the ride and a jerry publicist and his ditzy secretary . the duo add some sorely need chemistry to the plot and and gracie have some funny line and but she be also very annoy at time . the direction of the movie by george stevens be not well do . at time and the cinematography be horrible and off focus . there be a number of outdoor scene set on extremely foggy street and to try to convince the audience that we be in london and not hollywood . ( they must have use ton of dry ice in this movie . ) on the plus side and the song by george and ira gershwin be terrific and and have become classic song standard . and of course and the dancing in the movie be exceptional and thanks to astaire and his choreographer and hermes pan . but the musical and dance number be ill use and ill stag . at time and the cast seem to start singing and dancing because and well and it time for them to start singing and dancing . the musical number seem randomly insert into the meandering plot . ( at one point and the butler step outside the manor house and break into an operetta solo for no clear reason . ) the number include represent  i be dance and i can not be bother now fred dance well on a foggy traffic fill london street . he do some great cane twirl with a rolled umbrella but the number end too soon when fred jump on a passing double decker bus . ( in the broadway musical and crazy for you and harry groener do a much good version of this number with a group of chorus girl . )  put me to the test fred and george and and gracie do a trio tap dance in an english cottage . george and gracie match fred step for step and but the number end poorly with everyone kick each other for no reason .  stiff upper lip ( the fun house number ) at an amusement park fun house and fred and george and and gracie have fun dance on the revolving floor and rotate barrel and and with the fun house mirror . it the best number of the movie and but it get a little repetitious at time .  thing be look up fred and joan fontaine do their one dance number together in the film and prance around the back wood of the country manor estate . fortunately and it a very simple dance number because joan be not a great dancer .  a foggy day in london town fred wanders around the foggy manor estate at night and croon about the foggy day when he first meet joan in london . at time and he look a if he not sure which way he go in the fog much like the musical number itself .  nice work if you can get it a great song that be misuse in the movie . during a social event at the manor house and fred get draw into a chorus of dour face singer who be haphazardly sing this song . each time fred join in and the other singer look at him a if they wish he would leave . ( again and harry groener do a good dance number with this song in crazy for you . )  drum dance number a fred and joan be elope and fred have to stop and do one final tap dance number while bang a group of drum . a usual and it a great dance number . but there absolutely no need for it and except to prolong the movie . the most contrived moment in the film come when fred decides to leap off a high stone balcony at the country estate in order to prove his love for joan fontaine . a he leap from the balcony and he find a conveniently place trapeze that right and a trapeze hang from a nearby tree . fred ( or rather and a stuntman in fred clothes ) grab the trapeze and swing to the ground from it . the movie be worth own on dvd for the dance number alone and but you feel indebted to the guy who invent the fast forward button on your remote . the > > ff button allow you to skip through the other and boring scene in the film to get to the dance number .