NICE WORK IF A.I. CAN GET IT

I HAD AN ADVENTURE WITH A.I. after enjoying (for the second time) A Damsel in Distress, a 1937 flick starring Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Joan Fontaine. Based on the 1919 novel by P. G. Wodehouse, it has music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin.

Gad! Talk about gathering a bunch of stars! Wikipedia notes that it was the first Fred Astaire RKO film not to feature Ginger Rogers. A 19-year-old Joan Fontaine was cast in the female lead (though her Wikipedia bio fails to cite this first starring role).

Win Some; Lose Some. Wikipedia notes, “The film was Astaire’s first to fail to return a profit, costing $1,035,000 to produce and losing $65,000.” However, “The sequence in the funhouse garnered choreographer Hermes Pan the 1937 Academy Award for Best Dance Direction.” And, “The film was nominated for the American Film Institute‘s 2006 list AFI’s Greatest Movie Musicals.” 

Plot Summary. A YouTube posted by Drive In Movie History gives an excellent plot summary of the flick.

An Infatuation Begun Almost Three Years Ago. Indeed, the following screen capture, thanks to Turner Classic Movies, has been on my iPhone since May 15, 2023, 7:20 p.m. Pacific. 

Who’s the tall foxy gal?

Step 1: Check Out Wikipedia: The movie’s Cast list includes 10 principals, from Fred Astaire’s Jerry Halliday, Burns and Allen playing themselves, and Joan Fontaine as Lady Alyce, to Jan Duggan as Miss Ruggles. The Gershwin standards are listed in its Music portion, among them “A Foggy Day (in London Town)” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” About the latter, Wikipedia notes, “The film’s second Gershwin standard is introduced by Astaire and chorus, followed by an Astaire tap solo, executed while confined by and playing a set of drums. It was shot in one continuous take.”

Interesting, but, alas, no description of the chorus makeup.

Step 2: IMDb: My research continued into IMDb, which includes entertaining posters labeled “Una Magnifica Avventura,” “Demoiselle en détresse,” “Een MEISJE IN NOOD” [Dutch: “A Girl in Need”], and “en flicka i KNAPA”  [Swedish: “A Girl in a Pinch”].

IMDb also includes extensive Full Cast & Crew. Among possibles are Pearl Amatore  Madrigal Singer (sans pic) (uncredited), Mary Dean Singer (sans pic) (uncredited), Betty Rome Singer (sans pic) (uncredited), and Mary Stewart Dancer/Singer (pictured) (uncredited). 

O.K.: Mary Stewart, it ain’t. But the others need photo ids. So back to Google. 

And Google AI Overview. Being the hep researcher I am, why not simply employ artificial intelligence? 

My first query and response (which I neglected saving) were worthless: AI Overview fiddled for a few nanoseconds and pronounced the gal was Joan Fontaine. Evidently I needed a more precisely worded query.

The next response sounded promising.

Hmm.  Jan Duggan portrayed Miss Ruggles. I wasn’t happy with this A.I. prediction because she really isn’t that tall. Plus, AI Overview places Duggan correctly in the middle of the trio; the tall gal is to her left (i.e., my/our right).

My next query was perhaps too aggressive. AI Overview backed away in that characteristically “come, let-us-reason-together” mode.

Indeed, my A.I. pal did offer neat stuff about The Stafford Sisters: I knew of Jo Stafford and her husband Paul Weston’s wonderful satire as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. The Stafford Sisters dubbing activity was new to me.

However, AI Overview acknowledged its earlier error by committing another hallucination: Jan Duggan’s role in the flick wasn’t Miss Trull but Miss Ruggles. 

Another reworded query on my part generated confirmation of The Stafford Sisters involvement. One of these days, I should research them a bit more. 

And another confirmed the Stafford Sisters, plus citing the mystery woman as Pearl Amatore (identified in the IMBd research as a possible.) 

Finally: How tall is Pearl Amatore?

Whew. By the way, I believe Pearl Amatore makes another non-trio appearance late in the flick at the piano. 

Screen grabs from late in A Damsel in Distress. 

Gee, Pearl’s a dish. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026