TOP HAT

US
1935
1hr 41 mins
Dir: Mark Sandrich
Starring: Edward Everett Horton and Helen Broderick

A rich young woman mistakes her admirer for her best friend’s husband

This 1935 American Screwball musical comedy starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers proved to be the most successful picture of Fred and Ginger’s partnership together. Although the story is set in both London and Venice there is little location work outside of the Paramount Studios lot. None the less, in one London scene Fred Astaire is driving a hansom cab and the back-projection behind him features a couple of passing trams in close up. Although the images are heavily blurred they can still clearly be made out.

The London tram passing behind Fred Astaire as part of a back-projection sequence
And a split-second later the freeze frame shows the tram is working Route 35, Highgate (Archway Tavern) to Forest Hill. Incidentally, tram route 35 was one of three routes (31, 33, & 35) that linked North London with South London using the erstwhile Kingsway Subway. Only trams built of non-inflammable material were allowed through. They also had an additional route box on the front which read “Via Kingsway Subway”.