FRED ASTAIRE DANCES
If you love good dancing (and I do) there is nothing close to the artistry and exhilaration of Fred Astaire gliding with Ginger Rogers or tapping like a machine gun on speed. If you do not like dancing, do not watch these movies. Take out the dancing and not a one of them is worth seeing. Ah, but if you like the dancing, these are the best movies there are! Mr. Astaire insisted that every dance scene be done in one take, without cutting, which is somewhat akin to working without a net. The results absolutely glow.
Any talk of dance movies should start with Top Hat (1935) with Ginger and Fred. There are at least four great dance numbers, including the famous “feather dress” duet, and Fred’s intricate tap routine to “Putting on the Ritz”. 
Swing Time (1936) features Fred’s solo tap number in sync with his shadow in the background, and the wonderfully romantic duet with Ginger to “The Way You Look Tonight”. There are two other fine dance numbers to enjoy.
The answer to Shall We Dance? (1937) is, of course, “Please.” The finale with Fred and Ginger and a cast of thousands dancing to the title tune is great, as are two other numbers. But the highlight of this one to me is Fred and Ginger’s duet on skates to “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off”. How do they do that?
Ginger Rogers is not Fred’s partner in Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940). Rather we have Fred paired with Eleanor Powell in a great dancing film with six super numbers. Not to be missed is their duet involving sliding down ramps in perfect sync, 
and their closing tap duet to “Begin The Beguine.”
Fred and Ginger are reunited to great effect in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) featuring their duet to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”, a super tap duet, and Fred’s incredible dance with the empty shoes in the shoe shop.
Also worth a look are Fred’s solos in Blue Skies (1946), Ginger and Fred’s first duet in The Gay Divorcee (1934), Fred’s solo tap number with firecrackers in Holiday Inn (1942),  Fred’s solo tap number across the ceiling in Royal Wedding (1951), and Fred’s solo in, over across and upon the bar in The Sky’s The Limit (1943).
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. Many of these films are shown on TV frequently. All are suitable for children of all ages, subject only to attention spans.