One in a Million

"One in a Million" is a cheery, lighthearted mix of comedy, romance, songs and ice skating dances, directed by Sidney Lanfield ("Sing, Baby, Sing"). It is an admirable vehicle and showcase for the Norwegian Olympic skating champion Sonja Henie in her American debut. The film derives some aspects from Sonja's career. Sonja plays an amateur Swiss skater who is discovered by an American theatrical troupe leader (Adolphe Menjou) and almost spoils her by putting in a professional show until a charismatic reporter (Don Ameche) rescues her and convinces her into making the right decision, leading to her spectacular performance at Madison Square Garden.

"One in a Million" is not one of the better Fox musicals, but there are enjoyably fine moments, including some very funny comic acts by the Ritz Brothers, especially toward the end, and one memorable musical number "Who's Afraid Of Love", sung by Ameche.

Good stuff.

It's the stuff of Hollywood legend how shrewd a businesswoman Sonia Henie was. She had just won her third gold medal for figure skating in the 1936 Olympics and was an international superstar, not to mention a national heroine in her native Norway. Darryl F. Zanuck beat off competition from the other studios for her and she made him pay dear because she was well aware of her star status. Very much like that other international sensation from Scandinavia, Jenny Lind in the previous century.

Zanuck hedged his bets a bit on her. One In A Million did not quite have the budget that Sonia's succeeding vehicles did. You can tell by looking at it. What he didn't cheapen was her skating routines because that purportedly is what the movie-going public was paying to see. He also gave her good support with a cast that included Don Ameche, Jean Hersholt, Ned Sparks, Arline Judge, the Ritz Brothers, Montagu Love, and Adolphe Menjou.

Sonia's life was destined to change dramatically in One In A Million. Adolphe Menjou, a Barnum style promoter is stranded in a small Swiss town after a mysterious fire burns down the town's leading hotel. That owner's bad luck is good luck for Jean Hersholt who owns a small inn and suddenly finds himself booked with Menjou's troupe. A pair of reporters, Don Ameche and Ned Sparks, also arrive smelling a story about that hotel fire. Their appetites for a story are whetted with the presence of a mysterious stranger also at the hotel, Montagu Love.

Hersholt is a former Olympic champion who is training his daughter for the 1936 Olympics. He was disqualified like Jim Thorpe for being a professional and he's worried about his daughter's amateur status. That's not of concern to Adolphe Menjou who sees a meal ticket as a professional. Ameche gets sidetracked from his hotel fire story to follow Henie's progress when he finds out who she is.

Arline Judge gets some of the best sharp shooter lines in this film as Menjou's wife, constantly deflating her ego ridden husband.

As was known to the world Sonia Henie won her third gold medal and this film was raced into production to capitalize on the event. The only mention of the German location is the presence of someone in a Nazi uniform in the crowd behind Ameche and Sparks. Also the Ritz Brothers get into an argument with some folks in the stand and one of them tells the other two very obviously Jewish looking siblings that 'we're not in Brooklyn'.

With the success of this film, especially in the European market, Sonia got bigger budgets for her succeeding films at 20th Century Fox. She was a bona fide movie star like no other the figure skating world ever produced. I do recall Carol Heiss the champion from the 1960 Olympics trying, but failing in a film career. Somehow I can't envision any of today's figure skaters doing what Henie did.

I could be wrong though.

SONJA HENIE made a few very dazzling skating films but this is not one of them. The only saving grace for watching this is to see DON AMECHE as her singing co-star who does nicely with an uninspired song number and gives his usual charming and natural performance.

Unfortunately, surrounding Henie with a talented supporting cast did not work in this case. THE RITZ BROS. routines wear thin pretty fast and carry on for much too lengthy a time. The Harmonica Gang is a clever act but, again, too much footage devoted to their antics which, I believe, were shown to better advantage later on by The Ed Sullivan Show TV appearances.

The thin story is loosely based on Henie's own beginning as an Olympic Champion but is strictly formulaic in the telling. Henie's skating routines are hardly the best she ever offered on film. Indeed, one has to sit through long stretches of film dominated by the supporting actors in order to see even a glimpse of her on ice.

Adolphe Menjou must have thought the microphones weren't carrying his voice properly. He shouts all of his lines in what has to be one of his poorest performances in a comedy role. Arline Judge has some snappy one-liners to throw at him, but most of them are so mild that they fall flat. Fortunately, Jean Hersholt gives a nice, low-key performance as Sonja's caring dad.

Sorry to be so negative, but I did look forward to seeing Sonja in her American debut on film. She was later given much better material in her subsequent films--especially in SUN VALLEY SERENADE and WINTERTIME.

Her camera style had not yet been developed. The make-up artist has given her an unflattering hairdo (the plastered down curls in typical '30s style) and the cameraman did not capture the Henie personality as was done in all of her later films. Zanuck obviously decided to keep her lines to a minimum and throw most of the story and routines to the supporting cast. It doesn't work.

Strictly thumbs down on this one. Thankfully, there were better films in her future.

Twentieth Century Fox's "One in a Million" provides some light entertainment as well as the skating of Sonja Henie. The film has historic interest in that part of it takes place at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, though politics are never mentioned. Henie actually won the Olympics in 1928, 1932, and 1936. This film was released in December 1936 and apparently was done before the 1936 Winter Olympics took place.

It's a slight story - Menjou and his troupe of performers arrive to work at a Swiss hotel, but find it has been burned down. They seek shelter at a nearby inn, run by Greta (Henie) and her father (Jean Hersholt). Reporter Don Ameche arrives to get the dope on the burnt hotel, apparently destroyed by an anarchist. Instead, he becomes interested in Greta and her Olympic quest and also her father's story. He was stripped of his Olympic medal in 1908 because he supposedly had worked as a professional, though he really hadn't. Menjou winds up endangering Greta's Olympic status in his zeal of signing her for his show.

There is lots of music in "One in a Million" but most of it, including the title song, isn't all that great. "Who's Afraid of Love?" is pretty, particularly when sung by Ameche, who had a lovely, light tenor voice that matched his charming film persona. Though Ameche continued to star in 20th Century Fox films and had a marvelous career, after Tyrone Power arrived, the roles that would have been intended for him went to Power, including Power's breakout role in "Lloyds of London." Menjou is a little over the top, and the Ritz Brothers I'm sure entertained the kiddie crowd with their slapstick. Arline Judge, as Menjou's wife, gives one of the best performances with her dry delivery. She had the best lines, too, so I suppose that helped. Hersholt as usual is sympathetic and wonderful.

Pretty, petite Henie was a natural for film. A vibrant presence on the ice, her skating, of course, was much less athletic than one sees today. As far as speed, spins, and showmanship, she could compete today. Some of her moves are no longer done - the pirouettes, which were really lovely, and that trademark dancing on "point" like a ballerina. The jump landings are interesting - rather than getting out of the jump quickly, the style in those days was to let the front leg continue to turn the skater into several circles, and jumps were landed with the head and body pointed downward. Some turns were done with a bent back leg, which looks really strange when viewed now. But Henie in her day elevated the sport of skating and should be appreciated for what she brought to it.

"One in a Million" is interesting for being Henie's debut. If you fast forward through the Ritz Brothers, you'll find it a lot more palatable.

Sometimes, you look back at something that was popular in Hollywood in the old days and you find it hard to understand it. A great example is the career of Sonja Henie. Henie was an Olympic champion figure skater who was signed to a multi-film contract by Twentieth Century-Fox...and she starred in about a dozen pictures even though she was Norwegian and didn't seem at all the movie star type. Another inexplicable Hollywood decision was to put the Ritz Brothers in films, as they were about as appealing as syphilis.

"One in a Million" is one of Henie's films....and unfortunately she was given the god-awful Ritz Brothers as supporting actors. While this might sound like hyperbole, I consider them the absolute worst comedy team in movie history...and only marginally less annoying than a case of ringworm! Most of their schtick consisted of being annoying, brash and singing humorous (???) ditties. Fortunately, the team never was that popular and they only made a few more movies than Henie.

Tad Spencer (Adolph Menjou) is a theatrical manager traveling through Europe with a bunch of talented folks...as well as the Ritz Brothers. When they stay at a small hotel in Switzerland, Tad discovers a very talented lady practicing for the upcoming Olympics. Soon, a lonely newspaper man (Don Ameche) arrives and discovers her as well...and the two work together to make Greta (Henie) a star.



Today, you wonder how folks could enjoy and even love Henie and her films. It was simply a product of the times...much like the Esther Williams movies of the 1940s and 50s....hard to understand now but which really clicked with audiences. And, while Henie's films were odd, they also were likable...and Henie's non-threatening smile and 'nice girl' looks endeared her to folks. Overall, I found the film a mildly enjoyable films...even with the Ritz Brothers doing their best to make me want to stop watching the picture!