The Continental (song) The Continental (song) "The Continental" is a song written by Con Conrad with lyrics by Herb Magidson, and was introduced by Ginger Rogers in the 1934 film, "The Gay Divorcee". "The Continental" was the first song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Major record hits at the time of introduction included Jolly Coburn and Leo Reisman. In 1952 Harry James released a recording on the album "Hollywood's Best" (Columbia B-319 and CL-6224) with Rosemary Clooney on vocals. A later version by Maureen McGovern reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart in 1976. Steve Howe recorded it
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers by Dorothy Fields, which Astaire sang to Rogers. John Mueller has cited "Swing Time" for possessing "the greatest dancing in the history of the universe.". The dance sequences for "Swing Time" (e.g. "Never Gonna Dance") are considered by Arlene Croce to be the high point of their art. This scene took 47 takes to perfect, during which the dancers had to ascend stairs, spinning, until they perfected it. By the end of the shoot, Rogers' feet were bleeding. They were voted the third biggest money making stars of the year in the annual Quigley poll. 1937 featured only one movie