On Moonlight Bay (B or 3/4 stars)
'On Moonlight Bay' (directed by Roy Del Ruth) takes place in 1917 & follows banker George Winfield (Leon Ames) & his family: wife Alice (Rosemary De Camp), 18 yr. old tomboy Marjorie (Doris Day), 11 yr. old Wesley (Billy Gray) & their dog Max as they move into a big new house in a small Indiana town. Except for George, the rest of the family is skeptical of this move, including their maid Stella. When incorrigible young Wesley makes friends with neighbor Jim Sherman, who shows off his father's gun, Marjorie tries to stop them but accidentally shoots the gun causing the barn door to fall on Jim's handsome older brother, William (crooner Gordon MacRae). This is how William, a senior at Indiana University, meets & starts courting Marjorie.
And with her feminine mother's help, she is transformed from tomboy to quite the beautiful young woman (learns to dance, act like a proper girl). On their initial dates, William voices his concern about the troubled world & thinks people are behaving too frivolously in recent times. When Marjorie's father is keen to know what William's intentions are to his daughter, William makes disparaging anti-capitalist remarks about bankers, married life, $$, & a furious George absolutely forbids him to see her. Secret marriages, alcoholism, plenty of music, & melodrama ensues.
This nostalgic period musical is just chock full of pleasantries. I liked listening to (most of) the plethora of standard songs such as "Till We Meet Again," "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," "Cuddle Up a Little Closer," & the title song. Director Roy Del Ruth keeping everything nice, sweet, folksy & wholesome - but not to a fault (similar in familial themes to Meet Me in St Louis, just not as good). This film is known as the one which established Doris Day as the girl next door; and I can certainly see why. Day is lovely, good-natured ... just like the film. Interestingly enough, while the film is clearly good-natured, I respect that it actually has a dark undercurrent (elements of alcoholism, wicked gossip & sexuality).
All that said, I think that my favorite aspect of this film is its look. The warm, fuzzy, color cinematography. The rural town in 1927. The quaint streets. The beauuutifully adorned interiors of the old Victorian houses. The costumes. I could go on. Watching 'On Moonlight Bay' is like looking at one of those wonderful old-fashioned Christmas cards (with snow landscapes, sleighs, kids playing). This film ends with the MacRae character marching off to WWI & Marjorie promising that she'll wait for him; and well, she does, as was proven in the inferior 1953 sequel By the Light of the Silvery Moon.
And with her feminine mother's help, she is transformed from tomboy to quite the beautiful young woman (learns to dance, act like a proper girl). On their initial dates, William voices his concern about the troubled world & thinks people are behaving too frivolously in recent times. When Marjorie's father is keen to know what William's intentions are to his daughter, William makes disparaging anti-capitalist remarks about bankers, married life, $$, & a furious George absolutely forbids him to see her. Secret marriages, alcoholism, plenty of music, & melodrama ensues.
This nostalgic period musical is just chock full of pleasantries. I liked listening to (most of) the plethora of standard songs such as "Till We Meet Again," "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," "Cuddle Up a Little Closer," & the title song. Director Roy Del Ruth keeping everything nice, sweet, folksy & wholesome - but not to a fault (similar in familial themes to Meet Me in St Louis, just not as good). This film is known as the one which established Doris Day as the girl next door; and I can certainly see why. Day is lovely, good-natured ... just like the film. Interestingly enough, while the film is clearly good-natured, I respect that it actually has a dark undercurrent (elements of alcoholism, wicked gossip & sexuality).
All that said, I think that my favorite aspect of this film is its look. The warm, fuzzy, color cinematography. The rural town in 1927. The quaint streets. The beauuutifully adorned interiors of the old Victorian houses. The costumes. I could go on. Watching 'On Moonlight Bay' is like looking at one of those wonderful old-fashioned Christmas cards (with snow landscapes, sleighs, kids playing). This film ends with the MacRae character marching off to WWI & Marjorie promising that she'll wait for him; and well, she does, as was proven in the inferior 1953 sequel By the Light of the Silvery Moon.