Starring Belita, James Ellison, Walter Catlett, and Lucien Littlefield
Directed by Frank Woodruff
Music and Lyrics by various
Lower-budget studios seemed to have more luck finding their own European ice queens. Monogram started out as three B-studios in the late 20's and early 30's, Sono Art-World Wide, Allied, and Rayart. These merged in 1933 to form one of the busiest "minor" studios in Hollywood. They became part of Republic for a while in 1935, but broke off again in 1937. By 1944, they were one of the top "B" studios in Hollywood, mostly specializing in action and comedy series and moody but inexpensive film noir. Belita was a British figure skater who came over to appear in their 1941 Ice Capades musical. By 1944, they were ready to build her up as a major musical star and their answer to Henie. How well does her multi-faceted showcase come off today? Let's begin at a hot springs resort in California and find out...
The Story: Jerry Gibson (Ellison) needs a new dancer for the resort's theater after one of them left to get married. Stuffy manager Mr. Snodgrass (Littlefield) and the resort's robust cowboy-loving owner Timber Applegate (Catlett) find her in Belita (Belita), a refugee waitress who literally stumbles into their office. After learning she was once a champion skater and dancer in Holland, they sign her up as the new partner for dancer Manuelo (Maurice St. Clair).
She goes over so well there, two producers of an ice show in Chicago spot her and want her to appear in their show. She's not willing to go at first, as she's fallen for Jerry, but he pushes her into going. Her skating routines are such a hit, she's even able to bring over the two chefs from the resort kitchen to fill in as a comic ice skating pair. Snodgrass is angry at Jerry for letting her go and fires him. He looks for work at other resorts, but ends up getting drafted. Belita just wants him back...but it takes intervention from Timber to bring the two together again.
The Song and Dance: This is surprisingly good for a B-level ice skating musical. Belita does have charm, and even pulls off the dramatic moments later in the film well enough. She's also a wonderful skater - check out her big Liberty number in the end, with its impressive jumps and spins. She's so good, it's the one time a figure skating film ended on a solo perfomer, no chorus routines or pageantry, and it really works. European comic ice skating duo Frick and Frack have some decent moments in their numbers towards the end. Catlett and Littlefield also come off fairly well as the western-loving resort owner and snobbish hotel manager. The music's also pretty decent for a B film. "Silver Shadows and Golden Dreams" got nominated for an Oscar.
Favorite Number: Oddly, the movie doesn't open with Belita at all, but a series of bathing beauties doing a Busby Berkeley-esque water ballet in the hotel swimming pool. They're actually not bad, a foreshadowing of what Berkeley and others would do with Esther Williams' swimming vehicles starting later in 1944.
Our first instrumental dance number comes via Henry Busse and His Orchestra. Belita and Manuelo perform a lively rhumba in their street clothes. It goes over so well, it gets her the job. That leads to "Salamente una Vez," the ballroom routine where Belita makes her debut. She and Manuelo do even better here, especially with her swirling floral skirts and his death defying lifts and swinging her around in the end. Once she makes it into the big show, her first number is "The Snow Queen Ballet." She and the dancers perform their leaps and pirouettes in brief ruffly costumes that admittedly say "snow" less than "off-rack at a strip joint costume closet."
The skating routines are surprisingly lavish for a Poverty Row film. The lovely "Silver Shadows and Golden Dreams" is a pair routine for her and a male skater. It's elegant and flowing as the song itself. "Days of the Beau Brummel" is the Currier and Ives 1890's skating routine, with everyone in period dress and Frick and Frack wowing the crowds as an elderly man and a skating instructor. The duo return for an instrumental Swiss-themed number with the chorus, this time playing drunks. The title song is the men-in-tuxes chorus routine, with Belita not only skating with them, but tap-dancing on ice skates, too. As mentioned, the film ends with her genuinely stirring "Victory" solo routine in front of a massive cardboard Statue of Liberty.
What I Don't Like: First of all, Ellison may be handsome, but he lacks Belvita's charm and can often come off as a jerk rather than a well-meaning promoter. The two have absolutely no chemistry, making her search for him feel more like an afterthought. Yeah, the melodramatic plot isn't always the best, either. They're not helped by dialogue that's stiffer than the ice Belita skates on. There's also times when this being a Poverty Row quickie comes to the fore, like that finale with the cardboard Lady Liberty and just Belita skating. Her skating is great, but the set's slightly chintzy.
The Big Finale: This wound up being a major surprise. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did! Highly recommended for figure skating fans, fans of Belita or Catlett, or those looking for a somewhat lower-key skating fest.
Home Media: DVD only via the Warner Archives.
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