Amour en croisière

If you are a fan of Jane Powell, this is a must-watch. She shows off all of her talents from her lovely soprano voice, gorgeous looks, charm and acting ability. George Brent is very solid as her honorable captain father. The writers play up a common theme in Powell's early pictures at MGM, showing her as a teenager who chases after or pursues/flirts with older men. It is almost as if they made her grow up quicker. She got married the next year at the age of 20. Depending on when they filmed this movie, she was either 18 or 19. Powell was very talented in the way she could show innocence but also the steely resolve of somebody who was the breadwinner for her Oregon family which came from humble roots. I think a 6.5 would be a fair rating for this movie if one appreciates the talents of Powell, who was really a sensational talent who didn't really get a chance to show everything she may have been capable of on screen due to limited role choices.

Jane Powell steps into a role that a decade earlier Deanna Durbin was playing over at Univeral Pictures and making great money at it. Little wholesome Miss Fixit who solves everyone's problems before the film is over and the audience gets a cadenza or two.

Luxury Liner has Jane an opera aspiring daughter of passenger liner captain George Brent. There's an opera festival in Rio and Jane just has to go and the captain says no. What to do, simply stow away, especially with the great tenor Lauritz Melchior on board.

In fact besides Jane and Melchior we also have the Pied Pipers late of the Tommy Dorsey orchestra and the ship's orchestra is that of Xavier Cugat which is perfect for a cruise south of the border. As you can see the musical guests run quite a gamut of musical taste.

Luxury Liner is a nice easy to take musical and quite frankly I miss the days when young teen stars had a great singing range like Deanna Durbin, Jane Powell, Susanna Foster, Gloria Jean. We haven't heard arias from teen mouths in decades.

This movie is pap, but it's pleasant enough pap and offers some wonderful musical moments. The plot is a sit-com all about a girl (Jane Powell) who stows away on the luxury ocean liner her daddy (George Brent, in his second outing in a film with this title!) just happens to captain. Havoc ensues, of course -- the details are beside the point. The real point is that Xavier Cugat is on board with his orchestra -- and lots of surprise musical guests. Audiences in the 40s knew quite well what to expect from this sort of thing -- The Xavier Cugat/Jose Iturbi Musical -- lots of "Latin-style" fun, eye-dazzling Technicolor, and tunes galore. This one is no worse than any of them, and for a few reasons may actually be a bit better. Here's the really great thing about this pic: One of the musical "surprises" on the ship turns out to be operatic tenor Lauritz Melchior! Melchior's voice was one of the finest of his era, and his Wagnerian outing here ("Winter Storms," from Die Walküre) gives a hint of just what a pleasure he was in his prime. His performs duets with Powell from the Viennese repertoire, but she's no match for his power and finesse. Also, Marina Koshetz sings a FAAAAAABulous rendition of Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin."

All in all, worth the time it takes to watch.

Polly Bradford (Jane Powell) is getting left behind as her father Jeremy Bradford (George Brent) captains his ship to Rio. She leaves school and sneaks onboard. He puts her to work in the galley. She befriends heartbroken passenger Laura Dene (Frances Gifford) and is obsessed with fellow passengers opera performers Olaf and Zita. Jane Powell is doing her flighty sassy teenager role. I can do without the opera. Otherwise, it's light fun and light romantic adventures. It's all very light like a Love Boat episode.

The story may be schmaltzy, but this movie is so charming and refreshing I find it impossible not to like. It looks lovely, with evergreen cinematography, beautiful costumes and lovingly-rendered ship. And the music is like a treasure trove, just utterly amazing to listen to, The Peanut Vendor and Wintersturme are particularly wonderful. The movie runs 98 minutes or so, and for me it is a 98 minutes well spent, the film does move briskly and is full of charm, exuberance and freshness. The direction is able, as is the script. And yes I loved the performances, Jane Powell is just a gem in this film. She looks utterly gorgeous with a darling, beautiful face and she sings wonderfully. Her duets with Lauritz Melchoir are lovely, he may have the stronger voice but she blends pretty well with him. George Brent is more than a pretty face as well, he is funny and he is cute, and Lauritz Melchoir as Olaf Eriksen(aka. My Sinatra) is a sheer delight. Hardly surprising as here he has a homely and warm presence with a huge ringing voice, no wonder he was considered one of the greatest Wagnerian tenors of the twentieth century because his Wintersturme was really powerful. Overall, a real treasure with wonderful music and performances. 10/10 Bethany Cox