No, No, Nanette

Tea for Two (David Butler, 1950) - I like Doris Day, but her cheery singing and cartoonish sensibility can't save this average musical, which is hamstrung by excessive comic relief, an unsuitable setting (the onset of the Great Depression - what an amusing scenario) and characters it's very difficult to root for. The set-up is this: Day dreams of being a Broadway star, and will get her big break if she can win a bet with uncle S.Z. Sakall to say "no" to every question she's asked for 36 hours. Not only do the writers fail to mine this promising premise to convincing dramatic ends, but they hardly wring any laughs out of it either. It's left instead for Billy "Oh no, not Billy De Wolfe" De Wolfe to provide the comic relief, which is not a situation I would like to revisit any time soon.

The lack of thought that went into the script is epitomised by the staggeringly artless way a gaggle of fun late-'20s songs are crowbarred into the narrative. Still, the film is lit by that good score, much of it performed by frequent co-stars Day and Gordon McRae, and some impressive hoofing from Gene Nelson - with his staircase dance the obvious high spot. Terence Davies' favourite character actress, Eve Arden, snipes agreeably in support. Tea for Two is based on the stage musical No, No, Nanette (filmed in 1930 and 1940), which is the show-within-a-film here.

No No Nanette, each stage and screen version, of it is one of those items that's going to have an eternal life on stage. This version of it, retitled with the best known number in the show is one of the best tellings of the story of a girl who has to keep saying no to all questions.

Tea for Two will be sung as long as people have voices. Doris Day and Gordon MacRae sing a nice version of it here, but the primo version of this song is done by Bing Crosby and Connee Boswell for Decca Records.

The whole ensemble performs quite nicely and settles into the roles that we've come to know and love them. Eve Arden as the wisecracking best friend, S.Z.Sakall as the confused old world uncle, Billy DeWolfe as the fussbudget conman producer just settle comfortably into their parts.

If on Jeopardy the answer is the most frequent leading man for Doris Day, phrase the question Gordon MacRae. They did four films together and sang beautifully in all of them. Of course in this one Vincent Youmans gave them a great score, but Warner Brothers had a song catalog themselves and Gordon MacRae sings I Only Have Eyes for You and does it well. In fact in a lot of Doris Day's films, the Brothers Warner dusted off some of their old song hits.

Gene Nelson appeared in a few Warner Brothers musicals. A very talented dancer, he should have come along when musicals were at their height. He'd be better known today.

You can't go wrong with Tea for Two, the song or the film.

Not one of Doris Day's or Gordon MacRae's best, individually or together. 'On Moonlight Bay' and 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon' (both among the best films for both stars) are better collaborations of theirs.

There is however a lot to like about 'Tea for Two', regardless of whether all those involved have done better in their careers. 'Tea for Two' could have been better certainly. One is aware that it has been well established that musicals are not really seen for their stories (whether it matters or not is wholly dependent on how well everything else is executed), but this story is so-so fluff at best and ridiculously daft at worst, the story being one of the most preposterous for any film musical made around this time.

Some of 'Tea for Two' feels under-directed, though not as much as the still enjoyable 'Lullaby of Broadway' (with the same director involved), more in the non-song and dance numbers than in the musical scenes themselves. This is particularly in the SZ Sakall book-ending sequences, despite Sakall's best efforts those sequences seemed under-rehearsed and added very little. Virginia Gibson's character was underwritten and in a way incomplete, there was a sense that the film wanted to do more with her but couldn't.

On the other hand, 'Tea for Two' looks great. Technicolor nearly always works wonderfully on film and particularly used to full advantage in musicals. It is a very lavishly produced film with a truly enchanting atmosphere. While not among the most memorable song scores, the songs are still incredibly pleasant and often very beautiful and puts one in a good mood, suiting the voices of Day and MacRae wonderfully. The title song, "I Only Have Eyes For You", "I Want to be Happy", "I Know that You Know" and Oh Me! Oh My!" are particularly good.

They are aided by some great choreography as well. The big standout is Gene Nelson's jaw-dropping banister sequence, which has to be seen to be believed. The script is witty and full of warm-hearted charm, a lot of the best lines coming from Eve Arden.

Day is luminous, looks very natural on screen and sings sublimely as always. MacRae would go on to better things but is charming, has a robust but beautiful baritone voice and his chemistry with Day is irresistible. Nelson once again proves himself to be quite the extraordinary dancer. Sakall plays the same character he usually does, but does it well so that doesn't matter so much, while Arden steals scenes with her terrific comic timing and witty lines. Even Billy DeWolfe, a take it or leave it performer whose shtick too often elsewhere doesn't hold up particularly well, is tolerable.

In conclusion, not perfect but a tea-licious tea-light (pardon the very cheesy pun, really struggled to come up with a review summary) that pours well. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Doris Day was involved in many musicals at Warners from 1948 onwards, and 'Tea for Two' is a typical example. Set in the stock market crash of 1929, this variation on 'putting on a show' has Day as both an heiress and a stage-struck singer and dancer, supported by her friends Jimmy the composer (Gordon MacRae, later to appear to good effect in 'Oklahoma' and 'Carousel'), and Tommy the hoofer (Gene Nelson, the cut-price Fred Astaire who ended up directing Elvis' minor musicals).

The score is nice but not that memorable - 'Tea for Two', 'No, No, Nanette', 'I Want To Be Happy', 'Do, Do, Do' - while the story, loosely based on the play No, No, Nanette concerns rivalries, lost investments, and a comic uncle (SZ Sakall, who played the same part in countless films throughout the 1940s and 1950s). Billy de Wolfe and Patrice Wymore round out the cast as a heel of a producer and his sniping leading lady.

As a film, 'Tea for Two' passes the time and boasts some great costumes and colour, even if most of the film doesn't have a 1929 feel. And the bookending sequences, with Sakall telling a tale to a roomful of children, doesn't quite sit with the rest of the material. But it isn't bad.

Since I was a child old movies made my day when they were on the television....Long before video tape machines. Nothing, in my mind, can replace any old movie. Black & white or Technicolour, they are done with class and taste. Now, anything goes. That is a shame. Enjoy this movie. Especially, the actor who plays Doris' uncle. Can' remember his name just now.

Pillow Talk is another Doris Day film I would suggest. Her acting is so wonderful to watch. I have yet to see her act the same way in any movie I have had the pleasure to see. She is one of a kind. Her smile, her singing: Amazing!