Cult Flops - It's a Pleasure

RKO, 1945

Starring Sonja Henie, Michael O'Shea, Marie McDonald, and Bill Johnson

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music and Lyrics by various

By 1945, Henie was making more off her live ice skating shows than her movies. After her last 20th Century Fox film, Wintertime, was a flop, they let her go. She was picked up by the newly-created International Pictures in 1944. Former Fox head off production William Goetz wanted to make movies with the same high budgets and stars as the studio he left. It's a Pleasure got the royal treatment, including Technicolor, an elaborate production, and two popular stage leading men to play off Henie. How well did he do with this story of a figure skater who marries a down-and-out hockey player? Let's begin at the hockey area, where figure skater Chris Linden (Henie) eagerly watches the star she has a crush on, Don Martin (O'Shea), and find out...

The Story: Don is kicked off the team after he punches a referee during a game. Chris introduces Don to Buzz Fletcher (Johnson), who runs an ice skating revue. He'll take Chris and her troupe, who were skating between hockey rounds, and him too. Don's athletic moves prove to be a big draw for audiences and for Chris, whom he marries. 

Chris adores Don, but she doesn't love his heavy drinking. Buzz's bored wife Gail (McDonald) also has a crush on Don and is furious when he doesn't return her interest. She gets him drunk right before his big solo. Angry and disappointed, Chris goes on a long tour with Buzz's show after he fires Don. It's Gail, however, who finally brings the two together in the end when she locates Don and gets him to the theater for Chris' latest show.

The Song and Dance: One of the reasons Henie left Fox was they wouldn't let her do a movie in color. I'm glad she got her wish here. This movie looks gorgeous, with its glittering, glamorous skating show costumes and dazzling backdrops for the show. Even the copy currently on Amazon is in surprisingly good shape for such a minor title. It almost literally glows. I also give RKO credit for giving Henie a slightly darker plot than the silly romantic comedies Fox dumped Henie in. This snow cone has a little spice in it, with Gail practically throwing herself at Don and Chris' skater friend Wilma (Iris Adrian) snarking about Don's behavior every step of the way. 

Favorite Number: We start out at the hockey game with the chorus, the instrumental "Nobody's Sweetheart." Ladies in green skate for the audience before Sonja arrives in gleaming white to show off her trademark dizzying spins. There isn't another number until midway through the film, when Chris has to go on for her drunk husband. Sonja comes out in brilliant magenta, her hair up in feathers, for a fully solo routine. 

"Summer Dance" at the show in the finale is one of her very rare off-ice numbers. She does a lovely duet with a male dancer, this time with her pink gown nearly floating against a backdrop of emerald trees and a silvery pond. The last number is "Romance," which switches the pond to winter. Henie now glides like a snow queen against a backdrop of white and silver, with the chorus floating around her in scarlet.

What I Don't Like: Other than those big numbers in the finale, this frappe isn't much fun. Neither O'Shea nor Johnson make much of an impression. They're so bland, you have no idea why Chris or Gail would cause so much trouble over them. Henie never was much of an actress; many of the heavier dramatics are way over her head and O'Shea's, rendering their relationship totally unbelievable. There's also the sequence at the skating pond with Chris and Don joking about how spousal abuse is good for a relationship that comes off as far more disturbing today. (Even in the movie, Buzz called them on it.) 

The movie also features a surprising lack of ice skating for one of Henie's films. No one else has a number besides her or the chorus, and the only song with lyrics is heard briefly in the end. Don supposedly became a big skater in Buzz's shows, but we only hear his death-defying routines described. He's never shown doing them. The only time we see him on ice is during the hockey sequence in the opening. 

The Big Finale: It's a Pleasure is no pleasure. It's too bad this slushy nonsense was Henie's only shot at a color movie. It's strictly for her most ardent fans, or fans of 40's and 50's Technicolor musicals.

Home Media: On DVD and streaming, the latter currently free on Amazon Prime with a subscription. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Second Fiddle

20th Century Fox, 1939

Starring Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, Edna May Oliver, and Rudy Vallee

Directed by Sidney Lanfield

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

By 1939, Henie's films were among the top box-office draws in the world, but she was hardly the only major story in Hollywood. From the moment it was optioned as a movie to the beginning of filming in 1938, most of the talk at the studios revolved around who would play the coveted role of Scarlet O'Hara in David O. Selznick's epic adaptation of the blockbuster novel Gone With the Wind. Almost every actress in Hollywood practically threw themselves at Selznick for a chance to audition. Given what a big deal this was at the time, it was likely inevitable that at least one musical would send up the chaos. How does the story of how a press agent falls for the Minnesota teacher he discovers look today? Let's begin with the search for an actress to play "The Girl of the North" and find out...

The Story: Consolidated Pictures has tried for months to find the right actress to portray that coveted role. Jimmy Sutton (Power) is sent to Bergen, Minnesota interview candidate 436, elementary school teacher Trudi Hovland (Henie). Trudi's shocked when they claim they want her. Turns out her boyfriend Willie Hogger (Lyle Talbot) sent in her photo and paperwork, thinking she'd be perfect. Jimmy convinces her and her Aunt Phoebe (Oliver) to give the audition a shot.

Trudi aces the audition. Public relations chief George "Whit" Whitney (Alan Dinehart) thinks she's perfect. Now he wants Jimmy to work on the reputation of his newest star, singer Roger Maxwell (Vallee). Jimmy cooks up a fake romance between Roger and Trudi, to the annoyance of Roger's actual girlfriend Jean (Mary Healy). Thanks to all the love letters Jimmy sends that are supposed to be from Roger and the hit song he writes, Trudi thinks Roger really is in love with her. Jimmy, however, is the one who is really in love, and he's the one who needs to bring her back when she returns home after she discovers the deception.

The Song and Dance: Some decent writing and an amusing and then-topical story puts this one far and above Happy Landing. Oliver steals the show as Phoebe's tough aunt, who hits it off with Jimmy as much as her niece does and gets some of the best lines. They have by far the film's funniest scene when they get drunk on champagne together and toss every glass in the hotel room into the fire. Dineheart also has a few good moments as Jimmy's even tougher boss. Some of the Hollywood satire still lands, especially in the first half when they're desperately searching for that elusive "Girl of the North." 

Favorite Number: Oddly, our first number features not Henie, but Vallee, who croons about "An Old-Fashioned Tune" on a giant song sheet while singers in historical costumes sing on the notes under him. We first meet Henie teaching her pupils, including the Brian Sisters, "The Song of the Metronome." She and the kids get an adorable instrumental number on ice as she teaches them how to skate and Jimmy tries to join her. "Back to Back" is a goofy chorus routine sung by Healy as she encourages everyone to dance with their backs to each other. Healy also gets the more typical ballad "I'm Sorry for Myself."

"When Winter Comes" is prompted by Trudi when she admits that she misses snowy Minnesota. Russell sings about the delights of snow and ice, leading Trudi to imagine his pool as an ice rink and her gliding with a handsome partner (Stewart Reburn). "I Poured My Heart Into a Song" is the number Jimmy wrote and said was from Russell, and indeed Vallee does get to perform the charming ballad. Trudi gets one last instrumental solo, skating and spinning on the ice on her own in Minnesota as Jimmy arrives to bring her back.

Trivia: "I Poured My Heart Into a Song" was Oscar-nominated, but lost to "Over the Rainbow." 

What I Don't Like: Power and Henie don't have much more chemistry here than they did in Thin Ice two years earlier. He does better and has more fun with Oliver than with her. As cute as the story is, it's also cliches of the highest order. It gets so bogged down in Trudi's romance, you really don't really get to see them filming "Girl of the North," or much of any filming at all. And while Berlin's songs are lovely, "Poured My Heart Into a Song" aside, they're far from his best.

The Big Finale - The score and cute Hollywood satire makes this one of Henie's better films. Worth checking out if you love Henie, Berlin, or musicals set in Tinseltown.

Home Media: Surprisingly, not currently on legitimate DVD in the US. I ran into a copy on YouTube with Spanish subtitles. 

YouTube

Happy Landing (1938)

20th Century Fox, 1938

Starring Sonja Henie, Caesar Romero, Don Ameche, and Ethel Merman

Directed by Roy Del Ruth

Music by Samuel Pokrass; Lyrics by Jack Yellen

With winter gripping the northern hemisphere, we're returning to champion figure skater Sonja Henie and her extravaganzas on ice. This was her third starring vehicle and her second appearance with Don Ameche after One In a Million. It's also a bit topical, given this is the height of the big band era and the public fascination with the men who led the bands and often wrote the songs. How does the story of how one especially glamorous bandleader gets tangled up with a Norwegian lass look today? Let's begin as bandleader Duke Sargent (Romero) is dodging the complaints and blackmail of his most recent paramour, Flo Kelly (Merman), and find out...

The Story: Sargent and his manager Jimmy Hall (Ameche) fly from New York to Paris to get inspiration for Duke's latest songs. They make an unscheduled stop in Norway, where they stay with local lass Trudi Ericksen (Henie) and her family. Sargent dances twice with her and flirts wildly, thinking nothing of it. Trudi thinks it means they're engaged and ends up following them to New York when they leave. Sargent flirts with every woman he meets and means nothing by it. 

Jimmy takes her skating in Central Park when it turns out Duke is in Florida with Flo, but is so impressed with her skating ability, he convinces a ice show to take her on. Duke comes running back the moment he hears she's now a big skating star. Flo jealously puts a story in the newspaper that claims both men are after her. Now Jimmy and Duke aren't speaking to each other and Trudi is upset with Jimmy. She says she wants to marry Duke, but there's only one man she's really in love with.

The Song and Dance: The ladies. Henie retains the charm that makes you understand why both men fall for her, with her round cupid face and adorable Norwegian accent. Merman's having almost as much fun keeping Duke in line, especially when she's mad at him over Trudi. There's some lovely skating numbers here, too, and terrific costumes and gowns on and off the ice. Norway is almost comically recreated, with fanciful peasant costumes and sweet little wood houses.

Favorite Number: The first real number is an instrumental chorus number in Norway as Duke and Trudi joins in a town festival. We then get Henie's first huge skating routine, as Trudi and the townspeople dance to "A Gypsy Told Me," with Henie sliding in on a sled in a white fur-trimmed outfit and crown that makes her look like a Norwegian princess from a fairy tale. "Gypsy Told Me" turns up again, performed by Leah Ray with Duke's band as he tosses out a load of malarkey about getting the idea for the song from Rome. (He really got it from Trudy.) 

Flo is so thrilled when she manages to snare a European aristocrat, she sings about being "Hot and Happy." Flo also gets "You are the Words to the Music In My Heart" and "You Appeal to Me" later on. Duke also claims he discovered two "Natives" doing "War Dance for Indians." They're really the Condos Brothers doing an elaborate and bizarre tap routine on two drums, dressed in feathers, war paint, and fringe. El Brendel joins Henie at Central Park to explain why his orchestra prefers oompah music to swing in the goofy "Yonny and His Oompah." "Hot and Heavy" returns in instrumental form for the big finale, as Trudi glides to the music in a glittering top half of a tux, surrounded by men in tuxes and flourishing capes.

What I Don't Like: The guys are the problem. Duke is such a jerk and a user, you wonder what either woman sees in him. No wonder Trudi drops him like a stone once she realizes what he's really like. Jimmy's only slightly less of an idiot. And yeah, the story is not only nothing to write home about, real Norwegians may take offense nowadays at how backwards their country is portrayed early-on. There's the Condos Brothers' native dance, too. They look less like natives and more like white hoofers in bad makeup and ridiculous costumes. The music's not terrific, either, with only "A Gypsy Told Me" being even mildly memorable.

The Big Finale: Too abrasive to be one of Henie's better vehicles. This one is mainly for her fans, 30's musical lovers, and figure skating nuts.

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives.

DVD

Cult Flops - Iceland

20th Century Fox, 1942

Starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Jack Oakie, and Felix Bressart

Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

After the success of Sun Valley Serenade in 1941, 20th Century Fox ordered more of the same with Henie, Payne, Humberstone, and Glenn Miller. They got three out of four. Miller had joined the army by this point and was replaced by Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra. Like Sun Valley Serenade, this one also plays on real-life events during World War II, in this case the occupation of Iceland by American Marines earlier in 1941. How does this tie into the story of a local girl who thinks a Marine wants to marry her? Let's begin with the Marines landing and their eager reception by the locals and find out...

The Story: Captain James Murfin (Payne) thinks he's just flirting with pretty Katina Jonsdottir (Henie) when the Marines land in Iceland. She, however, takes it as a proposal. She's been telling her family that she has a man in Switzerland, and let's them assume Murfin's him. Murfin, however,  has no desire to marry anyone, but he has no idea how to let sweet Katina off the hook without offending her and her family...and then, after he sees her skate in a local show, he's not sure he wants to.

The Song and Dance: Obviously, with a story that slim, song and dance are the operative words here. Some of Henie's most spectacular numbers were created for this movie, including the only hula ice skating routine I've ever seen. The music's good, too, and while Kaye's not Glenn Miller, he and his band still put them over with relish. Love the spectacular costumes and backdrops, including some nifty native costumes for the Icelandic locals. The supporting cast does the best here, especially Sterling Holloway as Katina's wishy-washy suitor Sverdrup and Felix Bressart as her resolutely old-fashioned father. 

Favorite Number: Our first number comes after the arrival of the Marines, with many of them settling in to listen to Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra at a local club. Their singer Joan Merrill praises how "You Can't Say No to a Soldier." A male quartet insists "Let's Bring New Glory to Old Glory." The standard here is the charming ballad "They'll Never Be Another You." Merrill starts it, but Payne picks it up as he dances with Katina in the club.

Henie gets two huge ice skating routines, one towards the middle of the film at a local carnival, and one near the end. The first one manages to incorporate everything from a Chinese ballet to a Hawaiian hula, complete with Henie tip-toeing on dusty "ice" sand and wearing a skating costume that looks like a hula skirt as she does the hand movements. The second, "I Like a Military Tune," salutes the Armed Services with Henie spinning around men in uniform and dancing to music from all of the Services theme songs in a spectacular beaded uniform of her own.

What I Don't Like: No wonder this ended up being Henie's first flop. The whole film is annoying as heck. Frankly, neither Katina nor James are especially pleasant, and her jumping on him and his trying to back out of his lies is dragged on for way too long. Her family is even more ridiculous, with her sister (Osa Massen) whining about not being able to marry her suitor because Katina won't get married, and her parents jumping on every guy who even looks Katina's way. You start to wish the two would just be honest and admit all the trouble they caused way before the drawn-out ending. They could have been kinder to real-life Icelanders, too. Some Iceland residents protested the plot about an American man stealing away one of their women. 

The Big Finale: Nice big band music aside, this is only for the most ardent fans of Henie, figure skating, or the musicals of the World War II era. 

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives. 

DVD

My Lucky Star

20th Century Fox, 1938

Starring Sonja Henie, Richard Greene, Joan Davis, and Cesar Romero

Directed by Roy Del Ruth

Music by Harry Revel; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

We go back to school with Sonja Henie and return to her vehicles with this hit from late 1938. Henie's settings to this point were mostly in her native Norway or typical resorts. Fox at least tries to vary things slightly by first tossing her into a department store, then higher education. How do the two settings fit into one story about a clerk who becomes the belle of a northern college? Let's start at the department store with George Cabot Sr. (George Barbier) as he wonders where his son George Jr. (Romero) is and find out...

The Story: George Junior is a playboy who gets married every other week. His current wife Marcelle (Gypsy Rose Lee) is suing him for divorce. Hoping to make his father's department store more profitable, he suggests they send women out to college campuses as living models and encourage the co-eds to buy their clothes. He suggests sports clerk Krista Nielsen (Henie), who helped him home when he was drunk. They send her to Plymouth College to model winter sportswear.

The girls think she's being stuck-up at first, with her constant changes of clothes, but she wins over handsome student Larry Taylor (Greene). He convinces her to stay when the boys make fun of her clothes horse tendencies at the tryouts for their Winter Carnival, and her amazing performance there does the rest. She doesn't want to leave when George Junior wants her to move to Florida to model swimwear, but ends up being suspended after she's implicated in Marcelle and George Jr.'s divorce. Larry goes with her to convince Marcelle to give up her suit...and then to find a way to make everyone happy, including George Sr. 

The Song and Dance: The college and department store settings at least makes this one stand out slightly, along with a nice supporting cast. Fox borrowed Buddy Ebsen from MGM to play off sarcastic Joan Davis. She's a teacher who wishes the school's sleigh driver would pay less attention to his pregnant horse and more to her. I'm actually glad they don't play Gypsy Rose Lee's role as the villain. She doesn't mean Krista any harm. She just wants her husband to pay attention to her. They really get creative with the ice ballets here, too, especially the nifty Alice In Wonderland Ballet in the finale. Bringing in Roy Del Ruth from Warners, where he did many of their best musicals, helped too. He gives the film a fair pace and a nicely playful tone. 

Favorite Number: The first song in the movie doesn't come until nearly 15 minutes in, but it's our introduction to the Plymouth University students, their "Marching Along." "This May Be the Night," everyone declares as they're driven in Buddy's sleigh to the big skating rally. The boys make fun of Krista's constant clothes changing, dressing in drag to show how "Classy Clothes Chris" looks rather silly to them. Krista's offended, until Larry convinces her to ignore them and give a great performance. She does, wowing them all over with her simple polished solo. The University chorus kicks in again when she leaves with the "Plymouth Farewell Song," performed in the background as Krista's forced to leave the college.

The big one is the Winter Carnival in the finale, held at the remodeled department store. Arthur Jarrett performs the hit "I've Got a Date With a Dream" with the ladies of the chorus and Ebsen and Davis. Henie picks it up with the male chorus on the ice. Ebsen and Davis do some clowning in fancy dress to "Could You Pass In Love?" which is also picked up by Henie and the chorus. "The Alice In Wonderland Ballet" lets Henie in fairy-tale ruffles and bonnet cavort with skaters dressed something like the characters from the famous book. 

What I Don't Like: The setting may be novel, but the story's just plain silly. It's supposed to be college, but you never once see anyone in a classroom or even studying. George Junior's model idea is so ridiculous and unrealistic, no wonder the student body made fun of Krista. Larry has a point that the kids are more likely to be struggling to pay their tuition than buying her fancy clothes. Greene has a charming English accent, but he's mostly dull alongside the adorable Henie, and Ebsen and Gypsy Rose Lee could have more to do. 

The Big Finale: Worth checking out for the skating sequences alone if you're a fan of Henie, ice shows, or Alice In Wonderland adaptations. 

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives. 

DVD

Wintertime

20th Century Fox, 1943

Starring Sonja Henie, Jack Oakie, Cornel Wilde, and Caesar Romero

Directed by John Brahm

Music by Nacio Herb Brown; Lyrics by Leo Robin

By 1943, Henie's ice shows were making more money than her movies. This would be her last hit and her final film at Fox. Glenn Miller wasn't around to provide musical support by this point, either. His band entered the Army in 1942 and were replaced by Woody Herman and His Orchestra. Fox tried to prop her and her ice ballets up with support from Jack Oakie and two up-and-comers, Carole Landis and Cornel Wilde. How well did they succeed? Let's begin at a failing winter resort in Canada that's just losing their furniture and find out...

The Story: The resort's owner Skip Hutton (Oakie) manages to avoid losing his furniture by telling the creditors that wealthy Norwegian businessman Ostgaard (SZ Sakall) and his figure skating champion niece Nora (Henie) will be staying at the resort. He and his partner Freddy Austin (Wilde) convince them they're staying at a posh hotel, but the truth is, they're barely afloat. They get Ostgaard to foot the bills for the remodeling and to highlight Nora's abilities on the ice. 

Turns out Ostagaard doesn't have any money, either. His assets are frozen after Germany invades Norway. Nora decides she can make the money starring in a Broadway ice show, but she has to become an American citizen first. She agrees to marry musician Brad Barton (Romero) in order to gain her entrance visa and make Freddy, who has been spending time with photographer Marion Daly (Helene Reynolds), jealous.

The Song and Dance: Henie by this point had mostly lost her rather charming Norwegian accent, but she otherwise comes off fairly well as the rich man's niece who'll do anything to help her new friends, even marry a man she doesn't really love. It's the supporting cast who really shine here. Landis and Romero get the best lines and have the funniest gags as the musician who thinks he loves Nora, and the lady who really loves him. Sakall has his own fun playing her eccentric uncle, who's signed a few too many bills for this run-down joint. Speaking of, you'd never know it was run down. For a black-and-white production, 20th Century Fox really went all-out with gorgeous costumes for the band and Henie's skating numbers, huge furs, and the lavish resort.

Favorite Number: We open with the ironic "I Like It Here," performed by Landis, Romero, and Woody Herman and His Orchestra...because they don't. The heat is off, and they're all freezing and unpaid. Things pick up with Herman and "Later Tonight" under Henie and Romero's big dance routine. Herman also performs the title song, both with his band and as the film's huge finale. Henie skates in feathers with the chorus as birds. Henie does an earlier Mountie-themed skating number with the chorus, "We Always Get Our Girl," that's lavish and hilarious. She appropriately gets a flower-themed number to "Waltz of the Flowers" from The Nutcracker about mid-way through. 

What I Don't Like: I think it's becoming obvious that the plot of Henie's movies are not their strong suit. Wilde is about as interesting as - and cold as - the ice Sonja glides on. He has absolutely no chemistry with Henie whatsoever. The songs aren't terribly memorable, either, especially compared to the music from several of her previous films. The fact that they had Herman play "Chattanooga Choo Choo" in the background at one point serves to show just how weak the songs are. And I wonder why Fox didn't shoot it in Technicolor, like they originally planned? 

The Big Finale: Once again, best for fans of Henie or figure skating. 

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives. 

DVD

Thin Ice (1937)

20th Century Fox, 1937

Starring Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, Raymond Walburn, and Arthur Treacher

Directed by Sidney Lanfield 

Music and Lyrics by various

With cold weather gripping much of the world, we're going to spend most of this month covering musicals that revolve around ice skating or skiing. The queen of winter sports musicals is undoubtedly Sonja Henie. This was her second vehicle after the major hit One In a Million. 20th Century Fox was so impressed, they greatly increased the budget and gave her none other than Tyrone Power, their most popular up-and-coming heartthrob, as her leading man. How does this ice-bound romantic comedy about a prince who falls for a skating instructor look nowadays? Let's begin in Switzerland, at a ski resort about to begin the winter season, and find out...

The Story: Lili Heiser (Henie) is a skating instructor at the resort, but she's about to lose her job due to the lack of snow. The fussy manager Krantz (Melville Cooper) keeps insisting he can't use her if there's no snow. All that turns around quickly when Nottingham (Treacher), the secretary of Prince Rudolph (Power), orders expensive rooms for a political conference. The Prince, however, will not be staying in them. He takes rooms at a local inn, hoping to avoid the conference and have a quiet place for skiing. 

He encounters Lili while on the slopes, and they hit it off. Lili, however, has no idea that the man she met on the Alps is actually royalty. When her would-be sweetheart Alex (George Givot) drives her home in the prince's car, thanks to his chauffeur cousin, everyone in town thinks she's the Prince's newest conquest. Her conniving uncle (Walburn) takes advantage of this to get Lili a big contract and show at the resort, but Lili has no idea her "Rudy" is really royalty. She's not happy when she does figure it out, but Rudy convinces her to play along, at least until he can reveal his true identity for once and for all. 

The Song and Dance: Henie's skating routines and a funny supporting cast are the big draws here. Henie never did become a great actress, but she does have plenty of charm and a sweet presence that somewhat makes up for it. Walburn and Cooper have the best moments as the conniving uncle and the snooty manager who take every possible advantage of Lili's notoriety. Even Power seems to be having a slightly good time, especially with his disguise at the end!

Favorite Number: Joan Davis, as the leader of the all-female orchestra at the resort, gets two funny slapstick numbers that lead into the skating routines. "I'm Olga from the Volga" is her idea of Russian royalty, while "My Swiss Hilly Billy" has her attempting a pantomimed mountain climb and mostly ending up on the floor. The singer with her band performs "My Secret Love Affair" for an empty ballroom when there's no snow. 

Of course, the big ones are Henie's two skating numbers, and they don't disappoint. "The Russian Ice Ballet" uses themes from Borodin's "Polovetsian Dances," complete with Sonia wearing a glittery black dress that makes her look like a Russian princess and men in balloon pants gliding around her. "The Blue Danube Waltz" is daintier and more extensive. It begins with skaters in tuxes and long floaty gowns. Sonja's lovely spins are particularly in evidence here, swirling in her long floral gown before changing to something shorter. 

What I Don't Like: The plot's skimpy, even by the standards of Henie's films. I can't believe Lili didn't pick up on who Rudy was or her uncle's scheming long before the last ten minutes of the movie. The songs and Davis' comedy routines are really shoehorned into what's otherwise a snow-bound romantic comedy. Despite Henie and Power dating briefly during filming, they really don't have much chemistry, either. 

The Big Finale: Cute enough if you're a fan of Henie, Power, or figure skating for the two big numbers alone. 

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives.

DVD

One In a Million (1936)

20th Century Fox, 1936

Starring Sonja Henie, Adolph Menjou, Jean Hersholt, and Don Ameche

Directed by Sidney Lanfield

Music by Sidney D. Mitchell; Lyrics by Lew Pollack

We're doing this one in honor of the Winter Olympic games beginning in Beijing tomorrow. Sonja Henie was one of the first major stars of the Winter Olympics, winning three gold medals for figure skating from 1927 to 1936. 20th Century Fox signed her shortly after the Winter Olympics ended for a series of musicals surrounding her skating talents. How does the first one of these look today? Let's start on the road in Switzerland with producer Thaddeus Spencer (Menjou) and his all-girl orchestra and find out...

The Story: Thaddeus, his wife Billie (Arline Judge), the orchestra, The Ritz Brothers (themselves), and his harmonica-playing discovery (Borrah Minnevich) find themselves stranded in the Swiss Alps when the hotel they had a gig at burns down. They end up at a small inn run by former skating champ Henrich Muller (Hersholt) and his daughter Greta (Henie). Thaddeus is so taken by Greta's beautiful skating ability, he immediately creates a revue in St. Moritz around it. 

Also arriving at the inn are reporter Bob Harris (Don Ameche) and photographer Danny Simpson (Ned Sparks). Bob's also taken with Greta, but it's not her skating that interests him. After he learns her father lost his medals from the 1908 Winter Olympics when he accepted money as a gift, he rushes to St. Moritz and reminds Greta that appearing in the Olympics provides far greater glory. She leaves with him. Thaddeus and his group follows them, just in time to perform for the Olympics crowds. Greta does win the gold medal, but her one performance as a professional may come back to haunt her...

The Song and Dance:  Henie makes an appealing debut. She's no actor, but she does have charm, especially when dealing with Bob's advances. Ameche is also pretty cute as the ambitious reporter who takes a shine to Greta and has a nice singing voice, too. Some great lines from Sparks as Bob's dour co-worker, Menjou as the producer whose great ideas often freeze in his face, and Judge as his wife who is more than happy to point out his failures. Special kudos for Fox's use of actual footage from the 1936 Winter Olympics for added authenticity. 

Favorite Number: We hear the title song at least three times. Judge and the all-girl orchestra do a nice performance of it in the opening sequence, as we get various shots showing how frozen they are as they perform. Borrah Minovich and His Harmonica Rascals reprise it at the Olympics, along with their supremely goofy rendition of "Limehouse Blues." Henie finally skates to it in a fantasy sequence when Menjou sees her on the ice behind the inn and imagines a big-time show built around her talents. 

Everyone's saying "We're Back In Circulation Again" on the sleigh ride to St. Moritz. Ameche performs the appealing ballad "Who's Afraid of Love?" with singer Leah Ray at the Inn. Henie's second big number in St. Moritz, "The Lady In White," is enough to convince spectators and Ameche that she has what it takes to be a real champ. The Ritz Brothers imitate Boris Karloff (as Frankenstein), Charles Laughton (as Captain Bligh), and Peter Lorre, then the "Horror Boys of Hollywood," before the Olympics start. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, it's pretty obvious this was Henie's first movie. Feels like Fox grabbed whomever was laying around the lot and tossed them into a slight comedy set around the Olympics. The Ritz Brothers were really big at Fox in the mid-late 30's, but their noisy, slapstick-oriented schtick doesn't fly as well today. Their two numbers are pretty much padding, and they otherwise don't have much to do. Likewise, Borrah Minnovich doesn't do much besides not talk and play his harmonica. Second, it's not as expensive and elaborate as some of her other vehicles. Her skating ballets are fancy as it gets. 

The Big Finale: Charming enough for fans of Henie and figure skating, but she'd do better movies later in the 30's and early 40's. 

Home Media: DVD only via the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives.

DVD

Sun Valley Serenade

20th Century Fox, 1941

Starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Lynn Bari, and Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

Our last review of 2021 takes us to Sun Valley, Idaho to hit the slopes with a genuine champ. Sonja Henie began skating at age 10 and won her first major championship at 14. By 1936, she won three Olympic gold medals and six consecutive European championships. Later that year, 20th Century Fox signed her on to what became a series of profitable musicals. By 1941, she was one of Hollywood's top stars. Fox paired her with another top favorite at the time, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, for this smash souffle about a refugee who falls for a pianist at the famous resort. We start out in New York, where Phil Corey (Miller) and His Orchestra have a gig, and find out how palatable this confection is today...

The Story: Publicity manager Jerome "Nifty" Allen (Milton Berle) convinces Corey and his pianist Ted Scott (Payne) that sponsoring a refugee from Europe would be terrific press for the band. They're a lot less crazy about the idea when the "tyke" turns out to be Karen Benson (Henie), a young woman from Norway who lost her home when the Nazis invaded. Karen falls hard for Ted almost immediately, but he's already dating the band's singer Vivian Dawn (Bari). She's so smitten with him, she convinces Berle to take her to their Christmas gig in Sun Valley and pursues him on skis and at the Lodge. Ted's annoyed at first, but when they end up stranded together at a small ski cabin, he finds himself changing his mind about the charming Scandinavian. 

The Song and Dance: Berle has some funny moments, especially when Karen convinces him to take her to Sun Valley and while on skis, and he also gets a few amusing bits playing off Joan Davis as a woman collecting for charity. Payne is neither a skater nor a skier, but he works well enough with Henie and Bari and even gets to show off his piano skills with Miller. Some of the skiing sequences are amazing, with a lot of fast-paced chases and intricate moves. Sonja's stand-in for these sequences was another later Olympic gold medalist Gretchen Fraser, and she shows why she won that gold with her great run under Payne's legs. Glenn Miller and his band really heat up some of their best numbers, including the smash "Chattanooga Choo Choo."

I can see why this went over well with European audiences and many real-life refugees. The angle of Karen being a refugee is fairly original and interesting, and it does make sense for her to come into the US that way at this time. Karen is also refreshingly straightforward about her rather sad story and the death of her father. 

Favorite Number: We kick off with two of Miller's biggest hits, "Moonlight Serenade" and "In the Mood." The first full-scale number is "It Happened In Sun Valley," as Berle, Henie, and the Orchestra throw snowballs at each other and have a great time on their way to the lodge. "The Kiss Polka" has chorus dancers in Scandinavian costume doing kisses in time to adorable polka moves. It's so cute, Henie and Payne get in on it towards the end, to the annoyance of a jealous Bari. Later in the ski lodge, the two have another, slower dance to Payne's solo "I Know Why (and So Do You)." 

The movie is best known for it's major hit song and two big numbers. "Chattanooga Choo Choo" starts off with the Modenaires singing the initial vocals, but it really takes off when Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers emerge from that streamlined wooden choo-choo and show off their signature fancy tap moves. It ends with a gorgeously-shot skating number, with Henie whirling in a snow-white tutu on dyed black ice and the chorus waltzing around her. The headaches they went through to make that ice black was worth it. The wet ink under her skates makes her look like she's gliding across a pond on midnight, like she can skate across water. 

Trivia: There were to have been three more songs. "At Last" can be heard performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra after "In the Mood" and is used as underscoring in the skating finale, but the vocals didn't appear until Orchestra Wives. "The World Is Waiting to Waltz Again" for Payne and "I'm Lena the Ballerina" for Davis were recorded but not filmed. 

That skating number on black ice took three days to shoot. Humberstone wanted to reshoot the end after Henie fell and got covered in black dye, but studio head Darryl F. Zanuck said no. 

"Chattanooga Choo Choo" was nominated for an Oscar. The movie also got nominations for Black and White Cinematography and musical scoring.

Bari was dubbed by Pat Friday (and would be later in Orchestra Wives).  

What I Don't Like: Hoo boy. The story is straight piffle, and a little dull beyond the skiing and musical numbers. Neither leading lady come off especially well. Karen's utter determination to break up a man's relationship is more creepy than cute, and Bari is shrill and obnoxious. Bit surprised they don't make more use of Davis beyond her short gags with Berle, too. I kind of wish Henie sprang for the third skating number they planned, but didn't use. For one of her vehicles, the movie seems strangely lacking in trips to the ice beyond a short routine with her trying to show off for Ted and the big finale. I'm not entirely sure where the cinematography nomination came from, either, considering a big chunk of the film consists of actors pretending to ski in front of glaring rear projection. 

The Big Finale: Worth seeing for the terrific numbers alone if you're a fan of figure skating, Henie, Miller and his band, or big band music. 

Home Media: Not sure why this has never been released on disc in the US. It is easily found on streaming, including Google Play, Vudu, and Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime

Google Play

Vudu