No, No, Nanette

This very early Doris Day effort is a re-working of the stage show, "No, No, Nanette!". In order to get her chance to appear in a musical, Nanette has to promise to say 'no', for a prescribed period of time, to everything that is asked of her.

Set notionally in 1929, the period of the original show, but barely even attempting historical accuracy, the film is really only a vehicle for Doris, Warners' new star. So little regard is had to period feel that Doris performs one number in a New Look dress. Soft-focus close-ups and jerky dialogue trundle the action from one musical set piece to the next.

The opening number in the rehearsal room is well-presented, with an attractive New York cityscape beyond the window and a nice 'infinite regression' effect in the wall mirrors. Doris sings and dances appealingly throughout, especially in "Crazy Rhythm" (in which Gene Nelson has a terrific athletic dance solo).

Gordon MacRae as Tommy gives us his usual thoroughly dependable (if uninspiring) male lead, and Patrice Wymore does her customary 'beautiful bad girl' as Bea Darcy. Pauline the wise-cracking secretary is played by Eve Arden (27 years later, the principal of Rydell High in "Grease"). The 'Charleston' sequence is a knockout, and Gene Nelson's bannister dance in "Oh Me, Oh My!" is astonishingly good. The character of Mabel Wylie (Virginia Gibson) is introduced, but then not persevered with, suggesting that some plot sections were later edited out.

Verdict - A pleasant Doris vehicle with songs cleverly embedded in a so-so plot.

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.

Doris and Gordon have delightful musical chemistry but this cobbled together backstage comedy (that has nothing to do with "No No Nanette") is kind of a dud. Both stars fare much better in the charming "On Moonlight Bay."

Despite a few spirited dance numbers, and the energetic (if light on charisma) Gene Nelson, it feels like all the A-List musical talent was locked up over at MGM.

The reliable Eve Arden is given some C-list wisecracks, SK Sakall tries his best with his trademark adorable apoplexy, but much of the comedy unfortunately falls into the less than capable hands of Billy DeWolfe.

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.

DORIS DAY and GORDON MacRAE are a pleasant team again in TEA FOR TWO, this time given some nifty song and dance routines and a supporting cast of old pros--Gene Nelson, Eve Arden, S.Z. Sakall, Patrice Wymore, and Billy deWolfe. The fluffy plot has Day promising Sakall that she'll say "no" to any question posed over the week-end, but is only an excuse for some wonderful old-time songs and some talented dancing by Day and Gene Nelson.

Day proves what a fine vocalist she is--and Gordon MacRae proves he's no slouch with his pleasant baritone voice. Gene Nelson does some fancy footwork and there are comic highlights with Eve Arden tossing off one-liners with her usual skill and Billy deWolfe reminding us what a wonderful comedian he could be with the right material.

Pleasant, above average entertainment, well worthwhile if you like these kind of fluffy musicals.