Romance à Rio

One of the delights of "Romance on the High Seas" is the remarkable debut of Doris Day. Having replaced an indisposed Betty Hutton, Day stepped into this role with all the zest and zip that she brought to her total career.

It's rather amazing to me how accomplished Day was in her initial screen effort: her comedic work, singing, and general enactment was like that of a seasoned professional. All the infectious Day sparkle and spirit was there from the beginning, after only a brief period as a band singer.

Ably assisted by the multi-faceted Jack Carson, pretty other-woman Janis Paige, vulnerable foils Don DeFore and Oscar Levant, and top character actor S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall, this Warner Bros. musical bounces along merrily. Fetching songs, a witty script, nice settings in Rio and Cuba, and a stylish specialty number by Avon Long keep things moving along right to the kaleidoscopic finale staged by Busby Berkeley.

"Romance on the High Seas" is a pleasurable way to spend an evening. As Doris's song goes, "It's Magic."

In this Technicolor musical rom-com from Warner Brothers and director Michael Curtiz, married couple Michael (Don DeFore) and Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) have been together 3 years but they still don't trust one another. When Michael cancels their anniversary cruise to South America at the last minute due to business, Elvira doesn't believe him, so she concocts a dubious plan: she'll tell Michael that she's going on the cruise by herself, but will send nightclub singer Georgia Garrett (Doris day) in her place. That way Elvira can stay in New York and watch to see if Michael is cheating. However, Michael hires private investigator Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) to go on the cruise and watch to see if Elvira is cheating. Mistaken identities and blossoming romance produce havoc and laughter.

This mildly amusing confection was Doris Day's movie debut, and her persona is a bit different from her later "virginal" image. Here she's a distinctly blue collar dame, with attitude and some rough edges. She's still likable, and clicks with Carson. The color cinematography pops, and there are some nice set designs. The movie earned two Oscar nominations, for Best Score (Ray Heindorf) and Best Song ("It's Magic").

This one's a hoot!

This film's male cast is a very good one, and they receive most of the cargo of really funny lines: Don De Fore, Cuddles Sakall, Oscar Levant, and Canada's own Jack Carson. Oscar's misanthropic lines are usually acerbic enough, and self-referential enough, to sound as though he wrote them himself.

I was a little wary since this video is part of the Warner Brothers "Doris Day Collection". But Doris is really quite winning. According to an anonymous and unsung IMDb contributor, Judy Garland was the first choice for Doris's part. That would have been a poor fit; the role certainly calls for someone lighter. The second choice, Betty Hutton, would have been a good one as well, but Lady Day (sorry) won me over. She sings a number of delightful songs -- she just happens to find a jazz combo on shipboard to accompany her -- and there is nothing here as risible as "Que Sera Sera", the sugary kidnapping tune from "The Man Who Knew Too Much". "It's Magic" is the showstopper.

The cruise ship makes several stops as it's travelling south: Cuba, Trinidad, Rio. A song in the Hollywood version of the local style generally erupts spontaneously. Busby Berkeley called the shots on these, and his influence is, shall we say, detectable. Jack Carson sings a calypso number in an unsteady Trini accent, but it's not too bad considering he was attempting it 50 years ago, mahn.

Try booking a passage with this ship of fools the next time you're in need of a vacation.

Watching Romance on the High Seas I could have sworn that the Brothers Warner hijacked one of the plots of an RKO Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers film. It's got that kind of silliness in the plot, the usual case of mistaken identities and false suspicions that characterized the Astaire- Rogers films.

Don DeFore and Janis Paige are a couple each of who swears the other is cheating. When a mix-up from a travel agency in passport photos where Paige's is exchanged for Doris Day's she contacts Day and offers to pay Day's way on a South American cruise if she just travels in Paige's name. She wants to catch DeFore cheating.

Of course DeFore goes one better. He hires private detective Jack Carson to go on the trip and catch Paige cheating. Of course he latches on to Day.

If you are a fan of Astaire-Rogers films you know exactly where this one is going. Romance on the High Seas has all the ingredients of one of their films except the dance numbers.

It doesn't lack for a good musical score though. Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn came up with a good one where Day sings several songs, including the Academy Award nominated, It's Magic. It's Magic lost that year to Buttons and Bows. It's Magic happens to be a favorite one of mine of Doris Day hits.

Doris firmly establishes her image in this one. She's so radiant and sings so well, I can't believe she was a third choice for this film behind Judy Garland and Betty Hutton.

If you hear violins coming from some unknown source it will be the magic when you're watching Romance on the High Seas.

"You sigh the song begins, You speak and I hear violins---It's Magic."

Doris sure captured us all under her spell in her first role as Miss Georgia Garrett in Romance on the High Seas. Georgia is a singer hired by socialite, Mrs. Kent (Janis Paige). Mrs. Kent has suspicions that her husband is cheating on her when he backs out of a trip. She hires Georgia to go in her place on a cruise to South America. Mrs. Kent then is free to spy on her husband. Mr. Kent (Don DeFore) meanwhile has hired a private detective, Peter Virgil (Jack Carson), to trail his wife on her cruise. Talk about lack of trust! The highlight of the film, for me, is when Georgia, posing as Mrs. Kent, and Peter go ashore. They are seated and Georgia begins to sing "It's Magic." It is just beautiful! Soon, Peter and Georgia begin to fall for each other. As this is his client's "wife", Peter knows that this is a no-no. But, have they fallen too far under the spell? **A great cast-Doris Day, Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, and of course SZ Sakall **Terrific songs-"Put 'Em in a Box", "It's Magic", "It's You Or No One", "I'm in Love", "The Tourist Trade", and "Run, Run, Run" **Great dialogue This movie has it all! A must see! Be captivated-it truly is MAGIC!