Romance on the High Seas **** (1948, Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Doris Day, Oscar Levant, S Z Sakall) – Classic Movie Review 6077

Director Michael Curtiz’s vivacious 1948 Warner Bros musical stars Doris Day, who sparkles in her first film as a cabaret singer called Georgia Garrett, who is hired to pose as a married woman named Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) on a sea voyage, while suspicious Elvira keeps an eye on her husband Michael (Don DeFore), who has hired detective Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) to spy on her. Virgil thinks Georgia is socialite Elvira, who is in fact staying at a hotel near her home to spy on her husband.

This Caribbean cruise comedy musical of misunderstandings sails along to the winning post on the strength of Day’s bouncy performance, the Jule Styne (music) and Sammy Cahn  (lyrics) songs, the musical scenes directed by Busby Berkeley, and Elwood Bredell’s Technicolor photography.

Funny men Carson, Oscar Levant, S Z Sakall, Eric Blore and Franklin Pangborn also help, and so does the bit of sharply amusing wit in the screenplay by clever men Julius J Epstein, Philip G Epstein and I A L Diamond (additional dialogue). It is based on the story Romance in High C by Sixto Pondal Rios and Carlos A Olivari.

The songs include ‘It’s Magic’ (sung by Doris Day), ‘It’s You or No One’ (sung by Doris Day), ‘The Tourist Trade’ (sung by Avon Long), ‘I’m in Love’ (sung by Doris Day), and ‘Put ’em in a Box, Tie ’em with a Ribbon’ (sung by Doris Day). The hit tune ‘It’s Magic’ was Oscar nominated as Best Original Song, and Ray Heindorf was also Oscar nominated for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. ‘It’s Magic’ was used as an alternative title for the film in the UK.

It was intended as a vehicle for Judy Garland on loan from MGM, who quit, then Betty Hutton, who became pregnant, but band singer Day landed this important career start when the musical’s composer Styne heard her sing ‘Embraceable You’ at one of his parties and recommended her to director Curtiz, who invited her for a screen test.

Also in the cast are Fortunio Bonanova, Leslie Brooks, William Bakewell, Johnny Berkes, Kenneth Britton, John Alvin, Douglas Kennedy, Mary Field, Tristram Coffin, Grady Sutton, Barbara Bates and Sandra Gould.

Doris Day (aka Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff, born on 3 April 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio) makes her film debut as Georgia Garrett in this 1948 movie. She is fourth billed but was so popular that Warner Bros signed her on a seven-year contract. She celebrated her 95th birthday on 3 April 2017.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6077

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