Thin Ice

Even in her lesser films, Sonja Henie was always watchable and there was a good deal to like about her weaker outings. The bright spots were often her, the ice skating sequences and the music, while the weak link was often typically the story.

'Thin Ice' is a nice, pleasant film, if not a great one. Its chief let-down is the very threadbare and sometimes ridiculous story, that even feels too thin for the very short length and more an excuse for stringing along the skating sequences, the comedy and the songs.

The ice skating sequences (often a highlight in Henie's films) are beautifully choreographed, adeptly danced and lovely to look at, but there have been more imaginative and memorable ones in a Sonja Henie film. Likewise, the songs are pleasant and fit well, but there are no instant classics here.

However, 'Thin Ice' looks great, the comedy from Joan Davies still stands up as very funny, it's all competently directed and the dance direction for the "Prince Igor Suite" is pretty exemplary.

While stretched ever so slightly in the acting department, Henie is pert and charming with a smile that makes anyone go weak at the knees, and the camera clearly loves her. Her ice skating is also out of this world, and the envy perhaps of even professional ice skaters now. Tyrone Power is a handsome and charismatic partner, their chemistry endearing to watch, while Joan Davies steals scenes in a deliciously riotous performance.

On the whole, a nice if not great film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

SONJA HENIE was always lucky that Zanuck (at Fox) had the good sense to surround her with capable talent so that the film wouldn't depend on her ability to skate, smile dazzlingly (like a dimpled darling), and say as little as possible so her Norwegian accent wouldn't be too hard for Americans to take.

Here, he surrounds her with JOAN DAVIS, MELVILLE COOPER, ARTHUR TREACHER, ALAN HALE and SIG RUMAN who keep the tale spinning even though it's the usual boy-meets-girl one that's full of the usual misunderstandings.

And for added insurance, Zanuck gave in to Sonja's demands that TYRONE POWER be her male co-star. She and Power were quite an item at the time, although it was rumored that Power was just using her to get one step up on the ladder of success. She was reportedly devastated when he went off in another direction and married Annabella.

Sonja does some pleasing routines on ice and Joan Davis is a daffy orchestra leader who occasionally sings a wacky song number--so, it's all pretty much the kind of thing audiences wanted from a Sonja Henie movie. But the best was still to come: SUN VALLEY SERENADE in 1941.

It's funny, but after doing well over 4000 reviews on IMDb, I had yet to see a single Sonja Henie film. Although I am a huge fan of Hollywood's Golden Age, I can't stand the odd notion of integrating skating or swimming (such as in the Esther Williams films) into enormous and ultimately silly song and dance spectaculars. While this Henie film was not done by famed choreographer and director Busby Berkeley, it was filled with gobs of song and skating numbers that frankly bored me and looked a lot like the work of Berkeley.

Fortunately, this film was on tape, so I was able to speed through these numbers when they became too tedious. What was left was actually pretty good thanks to some decent writing and a surprisingly nice performance by Henie. She and Tyrone Power did a good job when it came to the story and I really wish Twentieth-Century Fox would have just eliminated or extremely shortened the musical numbers because the romance was very sweet. Apparently folks in the 30s loved these cornball numbers, but they seriously impede the story. If you can look past this, this is a nice little time passer--good enough that I actually might just see another Henie film.

After the success that Sonia Henie's American film debut, One In a Million, had at the box office, no doubt Darryl F. Zanuck felt better about investing more money in her next film, Thin Ice. The resulting production is obvious for any viewer, the money spigots were left on for Thin Ice.

It's hard to imagine today the world wide popularity of Sonia Henie who the year before had come off her third gold medal in the Olympics before turning professional with the 20th Century Fox movie contract. The public wanted to see her skate and Zanuck gave them what they wanted. Her many routines are nicely staged and the ice dancing got an Academy Award nomination for Dance Direction. Yes, back in the age of musicals they actually had that as an Oscar category.

Zanuck even gave her his lot's most popular leading man in Tyrone Power. This was the first of two films Power did with Henie and while I think that Second Fiddle was a better film, this one isn't bad for what it is, a vehicle to show off Sonia Henie.

Sonia plays a skating instructor at an Alpine resort which is going to host a European conference. Power plays the playboy prince of a small duchy whose romantic escapades get him headlines. Henie gets herself involved with him, but she doesn't know who it is. In the meantime the two of them become tabloid fodder. I think you have a good idea where this plot is leading.

Still Thin Ice is not bad as entertainment. And for comic relief we have Joan Davis conducting the all girl orchestra at the hotel and giving us some comic numbers. She's not bad at all. And Zanuck had such scene stealing character actors as Arthur Treacher, Alan Hale, Raymond Walburn, Sig Ruman, Melville Cooper, and Maurice Cass for support.

None but the best for his Olympic size investment.

Certainly the giggly prepubescent females who flocked to the movies in the 1930s just loved this silly comedy starring the Queen of the Ice, Sonja Henie and up and coming matinée idol Tyrone Power. "Thin Ice" skates on a pretty thin script but has some standout ice numbers by Henie. While some of her skating positions and landings look awkward compared to today's skaters, she was a consummate performer and a dazzling skater - fast, with amazing spins and great dance moves. She is responsible for the ice show in this country, the creation of skating costumes rather than dresses, for combining ice skating and dance, for making skating popular, and for of all things - white skates, which flew off the shelves when audiences first saw her skate in them!

The threadbare plot consists of a pact between countries, a prince disguised as a vacationer at a European ski resort, and lots of misunderstandings. Power sports two Groucho Marx-type disguises in the course of the film. Though Zanuck did not want to waste his new leading man in such a weak comedy concocted for Sonja's skating, Henie, who was having an affair with Power, insisted on him as her costar. When Zanuck said no, she told him, not too politely, to teach Shirley Temple her skating routines and left the studio. She got her way finally, as she would throughout her entire life.

Probably 22 when "Thin Ice" was filmed, Tyrone Power was flawlessly pretty. It would be a couple of years before his looks matured to the point where he would be so spectacularly handsome that this viewer's jaw would drop at the mere sight of him. But I can imagine his effect in 1936-1937 on teens. I saw a photo on ebay recently of Power and Henie, sitting side by side, holding hands and talking to the director between takes of this movie. (According to screenwriter Milton Sperling, they couldn't get the two of them onto the set from Henie's dressing room, and when they finally did, "Power looked like he was going to collapse.") If I'd been Sonja, I'd have had my clutches in him as well. She was as smart as she was talented. As an added plus, there are two ridiculous numbers by Joan Davis, who was always worth watching. For those who remember "I Married Joan," it's a delight to see her as the leader of a female orchestra in this.

Take "Thin Ice" for the entertainment value that it has and enjoy it.