On Moonlight Bay (1951) Review

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(More customer reviews)By 1951 Doris Day had become one of the most valuable assets at Warner Brothers. She was their number one female box-office draw and as a follow-up to her hugely popular 1950 musical with Gordon MacRae, "Tea for Two" the pair were teamed up again (their 3rd teaming in fact) in the technicolor "On Moonlight Bay".
Loosely based on the "Penrod" tales by Booth Tarkington, "Bay" is a nostalgic, lovingly created look at small town Americana, a world that might not have existed quite as it is depicted but a place we'd like to believe really was.
Doris Day is a tomboy, more at home on the baseball field or fixing a car than in a dress. The arrival of the boy next door changes some of that, though not all. Her precocious brother Wesley is the devil incarnate. Mom and Dad spend a lot of time scratching their heads in bemused wonderment at their youngsters antics, and the family maid is erascible but likeable. It's all tied up with gorgeous technicolor photography and a lot of lovely music.
Some critics have carped that it's Warners version of "Meet Me in St. Louis" but "On Moonlight Bay" can stand on its own merits thanks to a great cast and some genuinely sweet and funny moments.
Doris is perfect as Marjorie, effectively balancing the tomboy and blossoming young lady elements of her character and singing in that gorgeous voice that is distinctly her own. Gordon MacRae is stalwart as the object of her affection and it's obvious that the two have a genuine feeling for one another. They remained good friends until his untimely passing. Their rendition of "Till We Meet Again" is outstanding.
It's easy to believe that the cast is really a family. Leon Ames and Rosemary DeCamp as the parents are warmly winning. In 1984 I had the pleasure of joining Miss DeCamp and her husband, a retired California Judge at an awards dinner and we talked about this film among others and she glowed as she discussed the on-set atmosphere and interactions of the cast.
Bill Gray (of "Father Knows best" fame) is delightful and funny as Wesley, and who could have played the family maid better than Mary Wickes. This was the 1st of 4 on-screen roles opposite Day who was a lifelong friend. In addition Wickes did a very funny guest shot on Day's CBS Television series in 1969.
"On Moonlight Bay" was such a huge success for Warners that two years later they reteamed most of the cast for an equally popular sequel, "By the Light of the Silvery Moon".
Take a sail on Moonlight Bay and you'll be surprised at how much you enjoy the trip.

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sical about a family that moves to a small Indiana town and their tomboy daughter who begins a romance with the neighbor across the street, who bears radically unconventional views on love and money.

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The Doris Day Collection, Vol. 2 (Romance on the High Seas / My Dream Is Yours / On Moonlight Bay / I'll See You in My Dreams / By the Light of the Silvery Moon / Lucky Me) (1948) Review

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(More customer reviews)Two years ago Warners released "The Doris Day Collection" which quickly became a best seller. It contained some choice Day films from the 50's and 60's and reacquainted a lot of people with the wide-ranging talents that Doris Day possesses. There was a reason she reigned as the top box-office female star in history, a title she holds to this day. Volume 2 contains 6 more reasons why Doris Day still has that unique ability to make audiences feel warm, content, happy, and very satisfied.
Included in this collection is Day's screen debut, 1948's "Romance on the High Seas". It's a gorgeous technicolor treat - a throwback to an era when movies were designed to entertain and it succeeds gloriously. Miss Day introduces the classic song, "It's Magic" and while not first-billed, steals the show from Jack Carson (the first of three successive teamings), Janis Paige, S.Z. Sakall and a great cast. It's a case of mistaken identity, but what is most memorable is the ease with which Miss Day seems to acquit herself on film. She's a natural - funny, real, and gorgeous. There's a bit of the late Betty Hutton in her performance but ultimately she proves herself to be one of a kind.
The rest of the titles each have their high points. "My Dream is Yours" has lots of grit in this variation of "A Star is Born" with Day's star rising and for good reason. My favorite song is her heartfelt rendition of "I'll String Along With You" - flawless. Other highlights include a sequence in which she and Carson team with Bugs Bunny.
"I'll See You in My Dreams" is the wonderful bio of lyricist Gus Kahn and contains a trunkload of classic tunes sung perfectly by Day, co-star Danny Thomas and Patrice Wymore in a knockout performance. It has much more grit than the typical biography and Miss Day is exceptionally good as Kahn's wife Grace. Michael Curtiz has directed the film in black and white which seems to make it more serious than many films of this mileau.
"On Moonlight Bay" (1951) and it's sequel 1953's "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" are like a couple of Currier and Ives pictures brought to life. Warm-hearted and filled with a score of great tunes, they lovingly capture an era that might have been or at least was in memory. Miss Day, co-star Gordon MacRae and "family" - Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp, Billy Gray and Mary Wickes, seem like a family. Loosely based on Tarkington's "Penrod" tales, it had critics carping that it wasn't "Meet Me In St. Louis" and it isn't. On its own terms it is just as delightful filled with charm and genuine warmth, never forced and never trite.
The weakest link in the collection is probably "Lucky Me", the first technicolor musical and subject to critical pans at the time of its release.
Miss Day and a fine supporting cast including Bob Cummings, Nancy Walker, Phil Silvers, Eddie Foy Jr and Martha Hyer, give it their all. The songs may not be memorable but they are energetically rendered and there are enough chuckles sprinkled throughout to keep the film going.
One will come away from this 12 hour marathon of Doris Day films feeling extremely good, exhilirated in fact, and possibly wishing that Hollywood still made the kind of feel-good movie that Doris specialized in during her 7 years at Warners. Feeling that way in this day and age is something not to be scoffed at. If someone could bottle that indefinable quality that Doris Day possesses and share it with the world, we'd all benefit.


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Doris Day, America's sweetheart of the '40s, '50s and '60s, returns to DVD on April 10 with six more new to DVD titles as Warner Home Video releases The Doris Day Collection Volume 2, following the success of 2005's first collection. Volume 2 features six more new-to-DVD titles, focusing on Miss Day's golden years at Warner Bros., where her film career began. The collection contains her blockbuster screen debut Romance on the High Seas, as well as such audience favorites as My Dream is Yours, I'll See You in my Dreams, On Moonlight Bay, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and Lucky Me - films which contain a treasure chest of musical standards that include "It Had to be You," "Makin' Whoopee," "I'll String Along With You," "'Ain't we Got Fun" and dozens more.

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