Our second last classic screen slap sees the marvellous Ginger Rogers in all her whip cracking glory. As many classic screen slaps were considered in the process of this series, seeing Rogers get embroiled in a cat fight proved too good not to be included.
This classic screen slap is also the last of our Golden Era slaps, joining the likes of Queen Bee, Storm Center and Hush, Hush…Sweet Charlotte (although, it could be argued that Charlotte was post Golden age.)
The film: George Stevens’ Vivacious Lady (1938)
The players: Ginger Rogers (the slapper and the slapped) and Frances Mercer (mainly the slapped, but she gets a few of her own in).
Social context: Francey (Ginger Rogers) met Peter (James Stewart) in Manhattan, fell instantly in love and married after a one-day courtship. Returning to Peter’s home, they decided to deflect his parents and his fiancée’s attention by hiding the quick marriage. While it is a warm, comedic farce, infidelity and lies surround this film and see its connection to Aisha’s episode in The Slap.
Velocity: Rogers delivers the best slaps, unsurprisingly. Her trickery fools Mercer into a stationary position, best suited for Rogers and her soon-to-be quickly timed slaps across Mercer’s face. A weak kick eventuates from Mercer which then sees Rogers prepping for an all-guns-blazing cat fight.
Hardness: While effective in their purpose to shock, offend and hurt, the slaps don’t manage to be powerful enough to stop either woman. Both achieve successful slaps that only momentarily disarm the other, before a much larger fight ensues.
Sound: Seeing a popular theme, the slaps are well-timed with the vocals of the women, particularly, the hysterical cries of Mercer. Rogers bawdy brawl also boasts well with her hushed silences, then followed by a walloping whack.
Be sure to check out all of our previous classic screen slaps here.
