Romance à Rio

"You sigh the song begins, You speak and I hear violins---It's Magic."

Doris sure captured us all under her spell in her first role as Miss Georgia Garrett in Romance on the High Seas. Georgia is a singer hired by socialite, Mrs. Kent (Janis Paige). Mrs. Kent has suspicions that her husband is cheating on her when he backs out of a trip. She hires Georgia to go in her place on a cruise to South America. Mrs. Kent then is free to spy on her husband. Mr. Kent (Don DeFore) meanwhile has hired a private detective, Peter Virgil (Jack Carson), to trail his wife on her cruise. Talk about lack of trust! The highlight of the film, for me, is when Georgia, posing as Mrs. Kent, and Peter go ashore. They are seated and Georgia begins to sing "It's Magic." It is just beautiful! Soon, Peter and Georgia begin to fall for each other. As this is his client's "wife", Peter knows that this is a no-no. But, have they fallen too far under the spell? **A great cast-Doris Day, Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, and of course SZ Sakall **Terrific songs-"Put 'Em in a Box", "It's Magic", "It's You Or No One", "I'm in Love", "The Tourist Trade", and "Run, Run, Run" **Great dialogue This movie has it all! A must see! Be captivated-it truly is MAGIC!

This one's a hoot!

This film's male cast is a very good one, and they receive most of the cargo of really funny lines: Don De Fore, Cuddles Sakall, Oscar Levant, and Canada's own Jack Carson. Oscar's misanthropic lines are usually acerbic enough, and self-referential enough, to sound as though he wrote them himself.

I was a little wary since this video is part of the Warner Brothers "Doris Day Collection". But Doris is really quite winning. According to an anonymous and unsung IMDb contributor, Judy Garland was the first choice for Doris's part. That would have been a poor fit; the role certainly calls for someone lighter. The second choice, Betty Hutton, would have been a good one as well, but Lady Day (sorry) won me over. She sings a number of delightful songs -- she just happens to find a jazz combo on shipboard to accompany her -- and there is nothing here as risible as "Que Sera Sera", the sugary kidnapping tune from "The Man Who Knew Too Much". "It's Magic" is the showstopper.

The cruise ship makes several stops as it's travelling south: Cuba, Trinidad, Rio. A song in the Hollywood version of the local style generally erupts spontaneously. Busby Berkeley called the shots on these, and his influence is, shall we say, detectable. Jack Carson sings a calypso number in an unsteady Trini accent, but it's not too bad considering he was attempting it 50 years ago, mahn.

Try booking a passage with this ship of fools the next time you're in need of a vacation.

Make no mistake, this is Doris Day's movie, first one or not. And that's no small accomplishment. She is up against not just two, but three veteran scene-stealers in Oscar Levant, "Cuddles" Szakall and Jack Carson. Yet the sheer naturalness of her winning personality is enough to launch one of Hollywood's most successful screen careers.

On the whole, it's an entertaining film, especially the first third where Day's high spirits are allowed to shine. Once the shipboard romance takes over, things slow down and the mood shifts. Whatever his other many talents, the versatile Jack Carson is a character actor, not a leading man. Too bad he gets romantically serious and we lose his light comedic talents. And, of course, there's the professional wit, the very unHollywood-looking Oscar Levant, always livening things up with a mordant quip.

What a gorgeous movie to look at. The Technicolor is outstanding. Note how well the colors are coordinated, especially the scenes in Rio. This is a neglected phase of movie-making, and here the art director and set designer both deserve industry awards. The plot's fairly clever, having to do with a marital mix-up that keeps the audience interested without straining. Nonetheless, it's Day's movie, showing what an engaging screen personality she is-- too bad she became mockingly identified as America's "professional virgin". Here, her rendition of "It's Magic" is just that. Magic!

It's hard to believe 'Romance on the High Seas' is Doris Day's first flick. She's awesome in a role originally intended for Betty Hutton--and everyone has a great time poking fun at manners and morals in this breezy sea breeze of a farce.

When Day and Jack Carson aren't coming up with one-liners, she takes time to sing some nifty tunes--among them, 'Put 'Em in A Box', 'It's You Or No One' and, of course, 'It's Magic'. Her rendering of the latter song in a Cuban nightclub is one of the highlights of the film--and her career. Never has she expressed the simple emotions of the lyric more beautifully with a honey of a voice that is always directly on pitch, warming the heart with great phrasing and tone. And her comedic skills are already in evidence here.

Especially enjoyable is her first night on board the cruise ship when she and Carson mistakenly dress up. "Nobody dresses on first night shipboard," Carson tells her. Posing as a society lady, she asks in cultivated tones, "Really? Don't they get chilly?" She turns and peers into the dining room. "This I gotta see!" she says in her own voice. She uses the cultivated tones to disguise herself as society lady (Janis Paige) whose identity she has taken.

The slim plot revolves entirely around the mistaken identity theme and it's all played for laughs with lots of punch lines. Doris has an amusing scene with the fabulous Eric Blore as a doctor who comes to check on her "illness" and ends up feeling weak when she checks his pulse.

Janis Paige, Don de Fore, S.Z. Sakall, Oscar Levant and the usual Warner Bros. stock players are all adept at this sort of thing. Highly amusing comedy with some great songs--easy to take and always good for a few laughs. Doris Day at the peak of her form.

One of the delights of "Romance on the High Seas" is the remarkable debut of Doris Day. Having replaced an indisposed Betty Hutton, Day stepped into this role with all the zest and zip that she brought to her total career.

It's rather amazing to me how accomplished Day was in her initial screen effort: her comedic work, singing, and general enactment was like that of a seasoned professional. All the infectious Day sparkle and spirit was there from the beginning, after only a brief period as a band singer.

Ably assisted by the multi-faceted Jack Carson, pretty other-woman Janis Paige, vulnerable foils Don DeFore and Oscar Levant, and top character actor S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall, this Warner Bros. musical bounces along merrily. Fetching songs, a witty script, nice settings in Rio and Cuba, and a stylish specialty number by Avon Long keep things moving along right to the kaleidoscopic finale staged by Busby Berkeley.

"Romance on the High Seas" is a pleasurable way to spend an evening. As Doris's song goes, "It's Magic."