Amore sotto zero

When her contract with 20th Century Fox was finished Sonja Henie went to the newly formed International Pictures for It's A Pleasure. The new company which would shortly merge with Universal Studios was the brain child of J. Arthur Rank and It's A Pleasure was given the same kind of lavish production that characterized Sonja's work with Darryl F. Zanuck at Fox.

Her leading man was Michael O'Shea and I will say this, he never embarrassed himself on the ice as James Stewart, Joan Crawford, and Lew Ayres did in Ice Follies of 1939. In fact while we do have some film of him as a hockey player, there is no footage of him or even a double working in the ice show later on and I suspect for good reason.

Which brings me to the plot, Sonja is a member of an ice show troupe that entertains at half times during hockey matches. O'Shea is a hard drinking, quick tempered hockey player who lights Sonja's fire and a few others as well. When he slugs a referee during a hockey brawl, he's banned from what I presume was the National Hockey League permanently.

But Sonja sells the idea to promoter Bill Johnson to use O'Shea as an attraction for the ice show. I really have to wonder whether someone like Gordie Howe or Andy Bathgate would ever have lent themselves to something like this. A good skater in hockey does not a figure skater make which underlies the essential silliness of the plot.

Johnson's wife Marie McDonald is also interested in O'Shea for her own reasons and therein lies the personal story.

Of course the whole thing is just an excuse to film some of Sonja Henie's elaborate routines on ice. As for Sonja, she was not a great actress by any stretch, but she did project a certain wholesomeness on screen which was the secret of her appeal. I would have to say that she was the greatest female athlete that made the best success transitioning to show business in history.

Although his role as the wronged husband is not really substantial and in fact he's something of a fool here, It's A Pleasure offers moviegoers one of the few filmed performances of Broadway star Bill Johnson. He had a far more substantial stage career and in fact reached his biggest success as a Tony Award nominee for the Rodgers&Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream which was his last role. He died way too young shortly after that musical closed on Broadway. Too bad he wasn't given a song here.

It's A Pleasure is also noted as the film debut of David Janssen who was all of 15 when he made his appearance as the referee of a boys hockey match. Those ears make him recognizable.

It's A Pleasure is an average film that will appeal primarily to figure skating and Sonja Henie fans.

I was channel-surfing one evening and came across this movie on Showtime's Family Showcase channel and my first thoughts were, "Wow! They sure did a good job of recreating the 40's in this picture." Then, I put the cable movie info on the screen to discover this film was MADE in 1945, which really amazed me because the color quality is so modern-looking and the clarity of the picture is unlike any other movie I've ever seen that was produced in that era, just amazing. Obviously, it's been digitally restored to some extent but it must have been shot right the first time for this kind of quality. As for the movie itself, the actors and actresses were excellent and the storyline very entertaining, keeping me watching to the end (I came into the film maybe 20 minutes late or so). Old classic movies aren't really something I've ever been a major fan of with the exception of the classics like Gone With The Wind, Wizard of Oz, etc. but I really enjoyed this film. Again, the quality of the picture makes watching this film seem like modern-day filmmakers were transported back to 1945 and shot it with their present-day cameras & production. Highly recommended from both entertainment value and technical expertise for the period.

Even in her lesser films, Sonja Henie was always watchable and there was a good deal to like about even 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.

The story was one of the weak links in 'It's a Pleasure', it is very flimsy and becomes tedious when Henie is not on the ice. Worse, and the actual worst thing about 'It's a Pleasure', is the script, which is little more than a limp mess of clichés and dialogue that will make anybody groan with embarrassment. The direction is very stodgy when focused on the story and not when Henie is on the ice.

Henie dazzles in the ice skating sequences, which are incredible and the highlight of the film, but when off the ice she does display limitations as an actress here with material that is noticeably not as lightweight as her previous films. Michael O'Shea has a very annoying and selfish character who never properly grows or changes, and he fails to bring any charisma or likability to him, dully lacklustre doesn't cut it. The chemistry between him and Henie is barely there, and it's for that reason as well as the character himself as to why Henie's character's decision making towards him was hard to swallow.

On the other hand, 'It's a Pleasure' is beautifully filmed in rich Technicolor and sumptuously designed costumes and sets wise. The music is outstanding with a healthy dose of Johann Strauss, Henie's ice skating routines are dazzlingly choreographed and superlatively danced and it was interesting seeing a taster of what playing hockey back then was like.

Marie McDonald is also a lively presence and gives by far the best performance on the acting front.

All in all, a mixed bag, a pleasure on the ice, not a pleasure off it. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Watching this 1945 made movie in 2002 gave me "warm fuzzys" all over. This was when Hollywood was careful not to offend folks with abusive words and over the top plots. `It's a Pleasure' was a pleasure to watch. It is funny, entertaining, a little suspenseful and had some drama. The scenery and costumes were beautiful. This "Miss Susie Sunshine" of a movie creates a wonderful fantasy world that I think we need more of these days. The coloring and quality of this movie made it hard to believe it was made in 1945. `It's a Pleasure' is a nice, romantic, pleasurable escape.

Watching this was a rare treat to see since it was the only time I got to see ice skating star Sonja Henie in Technicolor as opposed to black and white. She's still impressive as an ice dancer this late in her career and also was compellingly good in her one number without skates. The story has her married to a hockey star who's been banned from the sport because of some unruly behavior. So she gets him in the show as another skater but things get complicated when the boss's wife has designs on him. Since this was made during the Production Code, nothing explicit happens or is even implied. And I'm guessing this was very much meant to be a family picture, anyway, as evidenced by the added formula of some kids near the end. In summary, It's a Pleasure was quite enjoyable as fluff so that's a recommendation.