Tu seras mon mari

You can have all the glamour and pastels of the MGM musical - for sheer fun, give me the Fox musicals, especially this one, Sun Valley Serenade, starring John Payne, Sonja Henie, Glenn Miller, Lynn Bari and Milton Berle.

For publicity, Nifty Allen (Berle), a band publicist, arranges for the band to adopt a refugee. When the refugee shows, she's a grown woman named Karen Benson (Henie) who immediately falls for her guardian, the bandleader, Ted (Payne).

She connives her way into the train that's taking the band to Sun Valley, where she quickly gets in between Ted and the band's singer, Vivian Dawn (Lynn Bari) whose claws come out in full force.

"Sun Valley Serenade" is filled with skiing, Glenn Miller music, and Henje's fabulous skating. By 1941, Henje was starring in her own ice show, and her skating in this film looks less dated technically than it does in earlier films. And there's no one today who can come close to her spin sequences.

I can't remember how it was done, but she skates on mirrored glass, and it looks great. This was an ideal role for Sonja - she gets to smile, skate and does not have to do anything too dramatic. Payne does well and sings pleasantly as her leading man.

One outstanding musical feature, "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," a Miller standard, is performed first by Tex Beneke and the Miller singers and then - brilliantly - by Dorothy Dandrige and the Nicholas Brothers. This alone makes the film worth watching.

Delightful.

What's not to like about the movie? The great soundtrack, featuring then-new now-classic Glen Miller orchestra sounds? The bubbly Sonja Henie in a completely agreeable innocuous script? The same Miss Henie gamely trying to sing a few bars here and there? John Payne (Miracle on 34th Street) crooning in alternation with the song stylings of Lynn Bari? The amazingly young Uncle Miltie Berle playing the second man? Dorothy Dandridge in her prime, singing "Chattanooga Choo Choo" with full orchestral accompaniment, and the Nicholas Brothers doing a dance to boot? The skiing, the skating, the soundstage snow shenanigans?

Answer: nada. One of the lesser known (possibly because of the short running time and limited number of songs, but probably just because it's black and white and incredibly quaint), but absolutely classic movie musicals.

Anyone who has ever paid a visit to the mountain-cradled village of Sun Valley, Idaho knows that one of the luxuries of staying in its well know resort, of the same name, is that you can view this charming "boy-meets-girl, and then another girl" romantic-musical-comedy, 24 hours a day! If you are very lucky, as I was during my most recent visit, you can do so from a room overlooking the very ice rink that Sonja Henie performed upon, in this snowbound, big-band era classic "Sun Valley Serenade".

When war refugee Karen Benson (Henie) arrives from Sweden to meet her sponsor Tom Scott, the piano player for a big band played by John Payne, it is clear that she has her romantic sites set on our non-assuming hero. Scott has met, fallen in love with and proposed to Vivian Dawn (Lynn Bari), a tempestuous big band diva, just days before Karen's arrival. The band gets a gig in Sun Valley, Karen tags along, and the fun begins.

Henie's unshakable effervescence and contagious smile allow you to forgive, and even admire, her calculated attempts to win Scott's attention. Henie charms you and Scott with her thick accent and graceful fetes on both the ice and slopes. Although never recognized as an actress by the industry's standards, Henie's comedic timing is so surprising, at times, you may laugh out loud.

John Payne, as Tom Scott, is your typical 40's leading-man-- down-to-earth, charming, handsome, talented and a trust-fund baby. While the band struggles for engagements and its public relations manager needs to re-sole his shoes, the Princeton grad does not seem to have a care in the world, other than which girl to marry. He manages to keep his head just below the radar of the discrete feminine barbs at all times, with a relative air of oblivious confusion.

Milton Berle, as the band's self-deprecating public relations manager (who cooked up the adoption scheme as a publicity stunt to get Walter Wenchell's attention), keeps this comedy light-hearted despite the feeling that there is a `catfight' slowing brewing. Glen Miller's line delivery, as bandleader Phil Corey, is forgivable once the band kicks into high gear with `Chattanooga Choo-Choo', among other dance and romance tunes of the day. And now we know that Jimmy Stewart must have studied this performance prior to doing his bio-pic "The Glenn Miller Story" (1953).

Watch for cameo appearances by the adorable 18-year-old Dorothy Dandridge, the show-stopping Nicholas Brothers, and Joan Davis as Berle's gad-fly.

If you are a fan of romantic-comedies, the big-band era, ice-skating, or just an old film buff there are special moments for all. Beware, however this heart-warming comedy is addictive and you may be humming "It Happened in Sun Valley" in your sleep before you know it.

Milton Berle (Nifty) manages the Glenn Miller (Phil) band that includes piano player John Payne (Ted). They land a long-term gig with famous singer Lynn Bari (Vivian) in Sun Valley. Guess what – there's romance between Payne and Bari. However, before they depart for Sun Valley, Payne has to collect a war refugee child that he has undertaken to look after. Enter Sonja Henie (Karen). And she's not a child. Everyone goes to Sun Valley but Payne can only choose one woman. Or does the woman choose him?

The story is lightweight nonsense but the music is excellent. Every musical number is a highlight with the showstopper being Glenn Miller's "Chatanooga Choo Choo" which also includes a sequence with Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers. Wow! The film also serves up Sonja Henie and her ice skating spins. For me, the skating sequences aren't as powerful as the musical numbers, but they are still being performed by a 3 time Olympic gold medallist!

The film is funny and entertaining and contains some legendary performers. Definitely one to watch.

John Payne plays the pianist/arranger for a big band led by Glenn Miller and managed by Milton Berle. They pick up singer Lynn Bari enabling them to get a big contract in Sun Valley, Idaho, at which point, a past publicity stunt comes back to bite them. They offered to sponsor a war refugee, thinking taking care of a baby would be publicity, and now the refugee arrives... in the form a of fully grown-up Sonja Henie. For Henie, it's love at first sight with Payne, and she vows to break up Payne's relationship with Bari. (And we're supposed to sympathize with her!) There's some good scenery of Sun Valley, at least the best they could do in black-and-white, and some absolutely horrid rear-projection. With Glenn Miller around, you know the music is going to be top-notch; the movie introduced the Oscar-nominated "Chattanooga Choo-Choo". That number also offers a scene for a young Dorothy Dandrige and the Nicholas Brothers.

Like is often true in Fox musicals, this one is a split decision The story I give just a 5/10. However, the music, at 10/10, drags the total rating to 7/10 IMHO.