Romance on the High Seas (1948)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

I.A.L. Diamond (additional dialogue)
Julius J. Epstein (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 July 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Romance and Laughter...under a Rio moon!

Plot:

Socialite Elvira Kent suspects her husband of fooling around with other women. When he announces he can't join her on their scheduled ocean voyage...

Plot Keywords:

Cruise | Jealousy | Private Detective | Mistaken Identity | Drunk

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Jack Carson	...	Peter Virgil, Private Detective
Janis Paige	...	Mrs. Elvira Kent
Don DeFore	...	Mr. Michael Kent
Doris Day	...	Miss Georgia Garrett
Oscar Levant	...	Oscar Farrar
S.Z. Sakall	...	Uncle Lazlo Lazlo
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Plinio
Eric Blore	...	Ship's doctor
Franklin Pangborn	...	Rio hotel clerk
Leslie Brooks	...	Miss Medwick
William Bakewell	...	Dudley (travel agent)
John Berkes	...	The Drunk (as Johnny Berkes)
Avon Long	...	Specialty player
Page Cavanaugh	...	Himself
Sir Lancelot	...	Specialty player

Also Known As:

It's Magic (UK)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12521) | Australia:G | Finland:S

Company:

Michael Curtiz Productions

Trivia:

The movie trailer includes a brief duet by Doris Day and Janis Paige, wearing matching up-swept hairdos.

Quotes:

Oscar Farrar: I guess I'll just have to bury myself in my work.
[plays piano]
Georgia Garrett: Is that your Brooklyn Rhapsody?
Oscar Farrar: Who said anything about Brooklyn? It's now called the Caribbean Rhapsody. I'm very adaptable.
Georgia Garrett: Have you finished it yet?
Oscar Farrar: I don't want to finish it. People will like it. They'll make a big fuss over me, I'll have no time for myself, I'll be the toast of the town, and then what happens to that sweet boy you and I both love?
Georgia Garrett: Aren't you being modest? I have confidence in you, Oscar.
Oscar Farrar: Everybody has confidence in me. That's my trouble. In high school I was voted the boy most likely to succeed. In college they said I had a brilliant future.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remake of Romance musical (1947)

Soundtrack:

It's You or No One

When It's Day Time, the Sun Always Shines

Make no mistake, this is Doris Day's movie, first one or not. And that's no small accomplishment. She is up against not just two, but three veteran scene-stealers in Oscar Levant, "Cuddles" Szakall and Jack Carson. Yet the sheer naturalness of her winning personality is enough to launch one of Hollywood's most successful screen careers.

On the whole, it's an entertaining film, especially the first third where Day's high spirits are allowed to shine. Once the shipboard romance takes over, things slow down and the mood shifts. Whatever his other many talents, the versatile Jack Carson is a character actor, not a leading man. Too bad he gets romantically serious and we lose his light comedic talents. And, of course, there's the professional wit, the very unHollywood-looking Oscar Levant, always livening things up with a mordant quip.

What a gorgeous movie to look at. The Technicolor is outstanding. Note how well the colors are coordinated, especially the scenes in Rio. This is a neglected phase of movie-making, and here the art director and set designer both deserve industry awards. The plot's fairly clever, having to do with a marital mix-up that keeps the audience interested without straining. Nonetheless, it's Day's movie, showing what an engaging screen personality she is-- too bad she became mockingly identified as America's "professional virgin". Here, her rendition of "It's Magic" is just that. Magic!