Once Upon a Honeymoon

American burlesque dancer Ginger Rogers jumps at the opportunity to marry a wealthy Austrian baron (Walter Slezak). Little does she know her new husband is a Nazi. Enter radio news correspondent Cary Grant, who falls for Ginger while trying to do a story on her husband. He follows the pair all over Europe. When she's forced to face just who her husband is and what is really going on in the world, Ginger decides to flee with Cary.

A wartime romantic comedy directed by Leo McCarey with two of my favorite stars, Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Sounds amazing. Unfortunately it isn't without flaws. But first, some of the good. Cary is charming as ever and has great chemistry with Ginger. Love the measuring scene. For her part, she's pretty and fun. I'm not sure why she was using that terrible accent early on. Her husband knew she was an American so I don't understand who she was supposed to be fooling. I guess she was supposed to be putting on airs, like some kind of society lady or something. It's pretty weird and never addressed. Walter Slezak makes for a fine villain, as he usually did. Albert Bassermann is great in a brief role.

The scenes with Cary and Ginger are what works most in the film, particularly in the first hour. On the downside, when the film awkwardly switches to drama it undoes whatever momentum it has built up. I'm not offended, like other reviewers are, over the use of Nazis and anti-Semitism in a (mostly) light comedy. It was all within context and treated appropriately. However, I do think the movie becomes less interesting and certainly less fun in the second hour as it becomes darker. The fact that it goes on so long is what does it the most harm, though. As it is, it's a flawed film but still worth a peek for fans of Grant and Rogers.