Flyweight, Technicolor Glossy, & Charming: The Movie That Launched Doris Day Film Career
Added 8/12/2008
By the late 1940s, Warner Brothers was no longer a major producer of lavish musicals--but in 1947 they decided to return to the field with ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS, a lightweight tale of luxury liner romance and comic confusion. Lacking a major musical star, the studio sought to borrow Judy Garland from MGM--but MGM, notoriously possessive of its musical leading lady, refused. Warner then went to Paramount and did indeed secure the services of Betty Hutton--but Hutton became pregnant and would be visibly so by the time cameras began to roll. With deadlines looming, it seemed ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS was dead in the water.
Enter Doris Day. An attractive blonde from Cincinnati, Day had begun her career with the aspiration to become a dancer, only to find her teenage hopes dashed when a car in which she was traveling was struck by a train. Told she would never dance again, she spent her recovery singing along with the radio and ultimately emerged as a noted "girl singer" on the big band scene, recording one of World War II's most beloved hits, "Sentimental Journey." But the life of a girl singer with the band was not an easy one, and Day was close to hanging it up when she was invited to a Los Angeles party and favored the crowd with a song or two. Director Michael Curtiz was among those present and although Day was not greatly enthusiastic he quickly coaxed her into a screen test.
Out of such unlikely circumstances are great stars sometimes born. In her autobiography Day writes that she wasn't wild about the film-making process, that she greatly disliked the heavy make-up and hair gel required to create the glossy image then in vogue, and that she was horrified and embarrassed when she saw herself on screen. All things considered, she didn't expect much that was positive to come out of the experience. ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS made her into an overnight sensation, the viable musical star Warner Brothers sought, complete with fan mail and hit records.
As already noted, the film that launched her career was indeed flyweight. Michael and Elvira Kent (Don DeFore and Janis Paige) are a married couple who are habitually jealous and suspicious of each other--and when Janis decides to take an ocean voyage her husband hires private detective Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) to tag along and spy upon her. But unbeknownst to Michael, Elvira has sent lounge singer Georgia Garrett (Doris Day) on the cruise while she remains in New York to spy on Michael. Needless to say, romantic and comic complications ensue, with the film's most amusing moments fueled by such memorable character actors as S.Z. Sakall, Oscar Levant, Eric Blore, Franklin Pangborn, and Sir Lancelot.
No one would accuse Curtiz of having a knack for musicals, and although Busby Berkley handled the musical numbers he was significantly past his prime. Nonetheless, the film moves at fast clip, the musical numbers are engaging, the performances are expert, and the whole thing looks as lush as late 1940s Technicolor can make it--and there is Doris Day, fourth billed but clearly the star, blonde and beautiful and singing "It's Magic." It was magic indeed, and although ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS isn't in the forefront of the musical genre it is nonetheless a truly charming, completely unpretentious movie that both fans of the genre, the stars, and most particularly of Doris Day will truly enjoy. MGM had Garland; Paramount had Hutton; 20th Century Fox had Betty Grable. But now Warner's had Doris Day, and although she was a slightly unwilling star, her film career would outlast the film careers of all of them.
The DVD offers an excellent print of the film that plays to its Technicolor brightness and the sound elements are quite good as well. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the way of bonuses: a Warner cartoon staring Tweety and Sylvester is fun, of course, and a sing-along short gives us the likes of Ethel Waters, but with the exception of the original theatrical trailer there's nothing to pertaining to the film itself.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Fun and romantic
Added 7/2/2008
This is a film in true Doris Day spirit. A lot of misunderstandings, good humor, romance and a happy ending. Just like we want it for a day of escape from the ordinary life.
The story is about a couple that are suspecting each other for playing around. He hires a detective to spy on his wife, she hires a nightclub singer to go on the cruise that she and her husband should have gone on so that she can stay in a hotel nearby to spy on her husband. This is the beginning for a lot of misunderstandings and a lot of laughters.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Good clean fun!
Added 4/5/2008
I was prepared to hate this movie. One of Day's biographers had written that it was her worst film, but being a diehard fan I thought I'd give it a try. I was surprised at how much I liked it. The plot was silly (but so were most plots in 1940 comedies!) but the songs were lovely. Some of the movie was VERY funny. The scene where the two boyfriends get drunk without drinking a drop is a classic! I also enjoyed the wise-cracking tomboy-type Doris that opened the movie. Shades of the Calamity Jane figure she was to do many years later!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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breezy film with beautiful music and song--and there's even Doris Day before she was a virgin !!!
Added 2/18/2008
Romance On The High Seas has great musical numbers, a plot to keep your attention--and we see the film debut of Doris Day. The plot moves along at a good pace; and the acting is rather good although I've still seen better.
The action begins when Mrs. Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) suspects her husband Michael Kent (Don DeFore) of cheating on her since he can never celebrate their anniversary together on a vacation. He's always working, Michael tells Elvira. Worse yet, Michael Kent himself suspects that Elvira is cheating on him, too. Things come to a head when Elvira and Uncle Lazlo (S.Z. Sakall) get a small time singer Georgia Garret (Doris Day) to take Elvira's place on the cruise ship and impersonate her. That way, Elvira can actually stay in New York herself to keep an eye on her husband. Michael, also the suspicious type, hires private eye Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) to go on that same cruise and find out if Elvira (who is now Georgia Garrett masquerading as Elvira) is cheating.
Easy plot, right? It took me three tries to understand it. Ouch! The upshot is that Peter Virgil and Georgia Garrett, masquerading as Elvira Kent, are the two people who go on the cruise. Michael and Elvira Kent both remain in New York using their own separate methods to spy on each other.
However, my effort to understand the plot was worth it. The movie has great musical numbers and you can tell why this film made Doris Day a star--she sings beautifully and she looks good, too.
Things heat up when Georgia (still masquerading as Elvira Kent) meets Peter Virgil on the ship--and they fall in love. Of course, Peter thinks she's the real Elvira Kent and it makes for some tough going for Georgia and Peter. Things intensify even more when Peter informs Michael Kent more and more that "his wife" is cheating.
Of course, the plot can go anywhere from here. What will Michael Kent finally do if he thinks Elvira is cheating on him? Of course, the real Elvira never left New York, so she isn't cheating on him. Will the real Elvira find her husband Michael cheating on her in New York when he thinks she's away? What happens to Georgia through all of this? And what about Georgia's guy friend who wants to be her beau, Oscar Farrar (Oscar Levant)? How will he figure into all this? No spoilers here, folks--you'll just have to watch the movie to find out!
The choreography is very good in the musical numbers staged at the ports of call for the cruise ship; and the cinematography works to frame Doris Day so well within the picture as she sings to perfection.
The DVD comes with the theatrical trailer, a cartoon, and a cute piece about singing a song or two--from other movies.
Overall, Romance On The High Seas is a rather entertaining film with comedy, great musical numbers and a relatively stable plot for a film with so much music in it. The acting could have been a tad better but the rest is so good I can almost completely ignore this. I highly recommend this film for fans of Doris Day, classic movie musicals.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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From the People Who Brought You "Casablanca"!
Added 11/15/2007
"Casablanca" has "As Time Goes By," and "Romance on the High Seas" has "It's Magic!"
And it truly is! This Michael Curtiz comedy, starring a young starry-eyed Doris Day playing opposite a delightfully funny Jack Carson has everything that used to make you want to go to the movies: Excellent music, excellent comedy, and excellent dancing (Busby Berkeley numbers, yet!). The story, which is perfectly ridiculous and ridiculously perfect, is too complicated to go into here, and totally irrelevant. It is merely the framework for ninety-nine minutes of sheer entertainment.
Catch the scene at the bar in Trinidad between Jack Carson and Oscar Levant and an anonymous pie-eyed patron! High Farce at its best. And guess what? The movie has extra features that are actually worth seeing: i.e., a Loony Tunes "I Taw a Putty Tat!" cartoon with Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird, and a specially-made trailer with Doris Day and Janis Paige that actually makes you want to watch the film again.
This DVD brings back memories of a gentler time when going to the movies was fun!
5 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Absolutely Loved It!
Added 9/16/2008
I am a big Doris Day fan and I love nearly every movie I've ever seen her in, but this is absolutely one of my favorite. She and Jack Garson proved to be a wining team with a wonderful supporting cast! A must see for the music, the story line, but especially the laugh lines!
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Charming Musical!
Added 2/20/2008
I just saw this movie for the first time and it is absolutely delightful! This was Doris Day's second movie (She had just finished "Romance On the High Seas")and second film with Jack Carson. She is Martha Gibson, a talented singer, who is trying to provide for her little boy, Freddie (he is really cute and a great actor!) after her husband died in the war. Talent agent Doug Blake (Jack Carson)discovers her in New York and take her to California with him where she is going to replace the arrogant singer Gary on "The Hour of Enchantment." Well, things don't go as planned, and Martha ends up falling in love with Gary (well, she thinks she is). Gary ends up getting drunk before his show, get fired and goes away, she ends up taking his place and becoming famous. When Doug proposes she tells him of her feelings for Gary and he plans a party for the two of them to get together. While she is with Gary she realizes how prideful and selfish he really is and her true feelings for Doug. This is a great movie that I would recommend!
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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fine Doris Day vehicle with Doris shining brighter than the sun
Added 2/13/2008
My Dream Is Yours was designed to be a vehicle for up and coming star Doris Day--and it worked! This fine musical has numerous very well done song and dance numbers and the plot moves along at a good pace. The convincing acting impressed me, too.
The action starts when a snooty crooner named Gary Mitchell (Lee Bowman) refuses to resign a radio contract even though his agent Doug Blake (Jack Carson) worked mighty hard to get that contract for him. Gary even walks out on his agent--and the radio show when the old contract is up, thinking he can do better elsewhere. This leaves Doug is a huge jam as his employer Thomas Hutchins (Adolphe Menjou) and the radio show sponsor Felix Hofer (S.Z. Sakall) have no star for their radio show.
Doug and all are desperate; and Doug goes to New York City to find a new, fresh faced star for the radio show to replace Gary Mitchell. Hutchins and Hofer are so distraught they can only think of trying to get Gary back; but Doug is on a mission and he finds a young singer, Martha Gibson (Doris Day), to come to Hollywood with him.
Look for Eve Arden as Doug's friend Vivian Martin who inevitably gets stuck paying the tab as Doug tries everything to get Martha noticed and hopefully then on the radio show sponsored by Hofer. In addition, Doris Day as Martha Gibson sings a number of songs so beautifully it's obvious why she was a rising star!
What does happen to Martha? Will Doug get her on the show to replace Gary--Hofer doesn't even want to talk with Doug. Hutchins is also very skeptical; and Doug and Martha go everywhere else looking for work as a result. What happens when Doug discovers that Martha is a war widow with a young son to support? Martha also develops feelings for Gary--will she and Gary marry? This could cause complications because Doug develops feelings for Martha. No spoilers here, folks--just watch the movie and find out!
The choreography is excellent in the scenes in the radio station and at The Cocoanut Grove; the cinematography shines in these scenes and the shots of Los Angeles and Hollywood are all very nicely done. The Technicolor works very well.
The DVD comes with a few extras; we get a cute one reel short entitled So You Want To Be An Actor; and there's the theatrical trailer as well.
In short, My Dream Is Yours provides us with quite a few very fine musical numbers--including that amusing dance sequence with Doris Day, Jack Carson and Bugs Bunny! The acting is great and the story holds your interest. I highly recommend this film for fans of classic movie musicals.
10 out of 11 people found this helpful.
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