1h 19min | Musical, Romance | 21 September 1942
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
Stars: Sonja Henie, John Payne, Jack Oakie.
James Gonzalez ... skating ensembles (as James Gonzales)
Hermes Pan ... choreographer (uncredited)
Kenny Williams ... assistant dance director (uncredited)
bootleg, mediocre copy; should buy an official release.
SH plays a woman who lies very readily, often to get out of an inconvenient situation, which is often caused by her lies. But she seems sweet nonetheless.
She has 3 skating segments and some folk dancing:
- 19 min: SH "casual" skating with others not choreographed, lasting < 1 min
- 25 min: folk dancing to nudge the boy to propose to the girl, with JP & SH as the boy & girl
- 29 min: a show with multiple skating segments and lots of skaters
- China Sea, big ensemble precedes SH, they watch on sideline while she skates solo
- Panama, no ensemble, new costume, ice dance only with a partner (Eugene Turner), beautifully coordinated ballroom-style with big use of rink; impressive how well they join hands after each separation
- Hawaiian medley, new costume, starting with SH solo, lovely hula hands while skating, then big ensemble with her
- 68 min: ensemble couples skate to the folkdance song at sister's wedding
- 75 min: SH & ensemble in military-style costumes, she skates to US marching music, joined by ensemble who do some drill routines, then she solos again. (This feels like the 4th segment of the earlier production.)
We also get 4 numbers of big band fronted by a singer (Joan Merrill), which could easily have been filmed with the cast elsewhere (with one exception). Unless I'm forgetting something, JP did not sing.
I cannot imagine how this plot would be adapted for today's morality. This all hinges on the tradition that the older daughter must wed before the younger, and the improprieties of not being alone in a locked room with a man not your husband.
This has enough skating, and enough charm from the 3 top-billed, that I like it.
Fox, dir. Humberstone; 7-
