Editing Top Hat (section)

===Critical response===
Reviews for ''Top Hat'' were mainly positive. The ''Los Angeles Evening Herald Express'' praised the film, exclaiming "''Top Hat'' is the tops! With Fred Astaire dancing and singing Irving Berlin tunes! Well, one (in his right mind) couldn't ask for much more—unless, of course, it could be a couple of encores." ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the film's musical numbers, but criticized the storyline, describing it as "a little on the thin side," but also stating that "it is sprightly enough to plug those inevitable gaps between the shimmeringly gay dances."Top Hat" is worth standing in line for. From the appearance of the lobby yesterday afternoon, you probably will have to."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9800EFD91E39E33ABC4850DFBE66838E629EDE |title=Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Their New Song and Dance Show, 'Top Hat,' at the Music Hall. |author=Sennwald, Andre |date= August 30, 1935 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=April 21, 2010}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' also singled out the storyline as well as the cast, stating "the danger sign is in the story and cast. Substitute Alice Brady for Helen Broderick and it's the same lineup of players as was in ''[[The Gay Divorcée]]''. Besides which the situations in the two scripts parallel each other closely". Nevertheless, it concluded that ''Top Hat'' was a film "one can't miss".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117795802.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120919043924/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117795802.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 19, 2012 |title=Top Hat |author=Staff |date=January 1, 1935 |newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=April 21, 2010 }}</ref>

Writing for ''The Spectator'' in 1935, [[Graham Greene]] gave the film a generally positive review, describing the film as "a vehicle for Fred Astaire's genius", and noting that Astaire's performance eliminated any concern over the fact that "the music and lyrics are bad" or that Astaire "has to act with human beings [who cannot match] his freedom, lightness, and happiness".<ref>{{cite journal |last= Greene|first= Graham|author-link= Graham Greene|date= October 25, 1935|title= Joan of Arc/Turn of the Tide/Top Hat/She|journal= [[The Spectator]]}} (reprinted in: {{cite book|editor-last= Taylor|editor-first= John Russell|editor-link= John Russell Taylor|date= 1980|title= The Pleasure Dome|url= https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/30|pages= [https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/30 30–32]|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 0192812866}})</ref>

{{as of|2022}}, the review aggregator website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reported that the film had a [[List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes|100% "fresh" approval rating]] based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 8.70/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A glamorous and enthralling depression-era diversion, ''Top Hat'' is nearly flawless, with acrobatics by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that make the hardest physical stunts seem light as air."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/top_hat/|title=Top Hat|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=February 26, 2022}}</ref>