On Moonlight Bay

source: On Moonlight Bay

On Moonlight Bay is directed by Roy Del Ruth and stars Doris Day & Gordon MacRae. It's based loosely on the Penrod stories written by Booth Tarkington. 1917 and Marjorie Winfield (Day) is a tomboy who moves with her family into a new house in small town Indiana. Here she begins a romance with the boy next door, William Sherman (MacRae) and starts to learn there's more to life than merely playing sports. However, with Marjorie's father less than enamoured with William's ideals in life, the course of true love will struggle to run smooth. A pleasing enough period musical propelled by the effervescent Day and some catchy musical tunes. Songs performed include "Till We Meet Again," "Cuddle Up A Little Closer," "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and the title song. Very much playing up to Day's girl next door persona that would be her career staple, it's the sort of harmless fun that helps to while away the time on a dank afternoon. Tho the ending is never in doubt, it's fun getting there and there's value for money in the acting performances. Yes MacRae is a little too animated at times (isn't he always?) but it fits the material and his play off with Day is an entertaining and winning formula (the principals here would return two years later for a sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon). Stand out turn in the support slots comes from Mary Wickes as Stella. It's no Meet Me In St. Louis but it's fun enough if viewed as a second cousin to Garland's movie. 6/10

Released in 1951, On Moonlight Bay could be dismissed as homespun hokum and homilies. But its gentle humor and its ability to capture an era (in film if not in reality) makes it worthwhile viewing. Drawn from the writings of Booth Tarkington and set in Indiana during WWI, the film depicts all-American middle America with a simplicity that only hindsight and Hollywood (and Disney) can achieve. But the songs of that era were innocent and vapid (consider I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles). Thank goodness the film is graced with a talented cast that can rise above it all. At this point in their careers, Doris Day and Gordon McCrae were making a name for themselves. Their greatest film successes would follow in a few years. Here we get McCrae jauntily singing light-hearted ditties, not belting out Broadway songs like he would later in Oklahoma and Carousel. He does very well--a perfect complement to Day's lilting vocals. The humor fits the story perfectly. It feels like it came from someone's diary. Lastly, I found the acting of Billy Gray (who plays younger brother Wesley) to be remarkable for his age. His portrayal is mostly comic, but he brings nuance and complexity in his expressions. For a dose of nostalgia and some hummable melodies, I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys kind-hearted entertainment.

"On Moonlight Bay" is another home run comedy musical for Warner Brothers with stars Doris Day and Gordon MacRae. In just three years, Day had proved herself a box office draw with her singing and acting. This film opens with Doris as tomboy Marjorie Winfield getting into a baseball game with boys in her new neighborhood. In her first time at bat, she clobbers a triple, and then steals home on the pitcher. Doris Day always had a certain tomboyish-character about her. I think it was part of her screen persona that gave an image of a healthy, robust, energetic and attractive female. I don't know if Doris was the actual batter and slider in this film, or if she had a stand-in stunt person. My guess is that Doris did the duty. Later in the film, she fires three straight pitches that knock the bottles off a carnival stand. She also co-starred in another film with baseball – "The Winning Team" the next year. It was a fictionalized biography of the great Grover Cleveland Alexander, one of the best pitchers in baseball history. Ronald Reagan played Alexander in that film. In this film, Marjorie soon comes of age and moves into young womanhood when she meets the boy next door, William Sherman, played by MacRae. The film has a wonderful cast all around. Leon Ames is perfect as the father, George Winfield. Longtime comic supporting actress Mary Wickes is Stella, the Winfield's cook and house keeper. Billy Gray is great in the role of Wesley, and the rest of the cast fill out nicely. I suspect that Warner's was banking on the success of this film because its ending is an open-end for a sequel – which did come two years later in "By the Light of the Silvery Moon." Day and MacRae are unbeatable as a singing team – the perfect range of voices that complement one another beautifully. We are treated to some great old tunes. Young brother Wesley is the cause of many of the funny situations. And the script has nice funny lines peppered throughout. One of my favorite is when Marjorie is taking dance lessons on the sly while William is away finishing college. Prof. Barson, the dance instructor (played by Sig Arno) wants to teach her the Viennese Waltz, but Marjorie says that she wants to learn the Turkey Trot, so that she can do all the modern dances with William. Prof. Barson says, "Such dances they play now. The Grizzly Bear! The Bunny Hug! The Kangaroo Dip! Am I a dance teacher or an animal trainer?" For all of her talent, Doris Day quit making movies after just two decades as a star. She was 44 when here second husband, Martin Melcher died in 1968. She quit Hollywood, but soon found that her husband- manager had lost most of her fortune through bad investments. She won a lawsuit that restored $22 million from one person who had defrauded Melcher. But, she honored a contract Melcher had made for a TV show. She did the Doris Day show for five years. During her two decades in Hollywood, Day starred with some of the biggest male stars of the 1950s and 1960s. She received one Academy Award nomination, for "Pillow Talk" in 1959. But she was in films that garnered many nominations and that won a few Oscars for other actors, directors, songwriters and technicians. And, Day could act – well beyond her major fields of music and comedy. She was excellent in two thrillers, "The Man Who Knew Too Much" with James Stewart in 1956; and "Midnight Lace," in 1960 with Rex Harrison. Doris was up for Golden Globe awards a dozen times. She won three as the world film favorite female actress – in 1958, 1960 and 1963. This film, and any musical comedy with Doris Day in it, is a sure bet for an evening of family fun and entertainment.

This movie was a real surprise--a genuinely funny script with good performances, unfortunately marred by mediocre songs, but definitely worth seeing. Billy Gray as young Wesley is especially funny as a bad boy who gets away with murder through dumb luck & playing his cards right. He was the Ferris Buehler of the '50's!

Without checking out reviews of the time it's pure speculation whether this blatant rip-off of Meet Me In St Louis went undetected. It's possible that critics and/or viewers weren't so analytical back then but against that is the fact that less than a decade had passed before the Musical Queen of the Warner lot went up against the ex (just) Musical Queen of MGM. There are clues a plenty; both were based on well-loved reminiscences masquerading as short stories - by Sally Benson and Booth Tarkington respectively; both featured charming (but with a touch of the 'cutes') American families; both were set in the Mid-West, Missouri and Indiana respectively; both featured Leon Ames as Banker patriarch; in both stories the girl of the family falls for the Boy Next Door (who, this time around has relocated to the Boy Across The Street); both families boasted an outspoken maid in the respective shapes of Marjorie Main and Mary Wickes plus a youngest member (Margaret O'Brien, Billy Gray) whose tall stories result in misunderstandings that lead to physical assault. Both even have snowmen for God's sake. In most cases the actors stand up well to their counterparts though Rosemary de Camp in the Mary Astor mother role would perhaps not have been as effective as Astor at playing 'bad' as Astor did in The Maltese Falcon. Mary Wickes has far more warmth and appeal than Marjorie Main, Gordon McCrae could sing better than Tom Drake and Gray had a slight edge on O'Brien. What the latter lacks is Minnelli's eye for color and decor and a score by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, relying heavily on tried-and-true numbers from the period (1917 against the 1903 of St Louis). Seen today it's highly watchable and competently done but overall I feel that Meet Me In St Louis would come off best in say another fifty years from now.

On Moonlight Bay is a musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, it is about the Winfield family in the early part of the 20th century. Banker George Winfield and his family move into a new big house in a small town in Indiana. 18 year old tomboy Marjorie (Doris Day) falls for William (Gordon MacRae) the young man next door, with the help of her mother she is transformed into a beautiful young woman. Her father does not approve of William with his radical world view that some young students like him have such as disliking bankers and not believing in marriage. Things change when William signs up to fight in the Great War. The film is a nostalgic look at small time America and a comedic take on inter generational differences. However despite the chemistry between the cast, parts of the story just seemed to grate as well as having similarities to Meet Me in St Louis.

I did see this film many years ago but bought it recently as I'm collecting the work of my favourite singer, Gordon MacRae. I'm also a huge fan of Doris Day but none of their five films for Warner Bros have ever had a vocal CD issued. I know originally it was because Doris recorded for Columbia and MacRae for Capitol Records. Maybe someone will eventually because these wonderful duets can only be heard by watching the movies. Even after 60 years, I really enjoyed watching On Moonlight Bay again, having seen it many years ago. OK, it's dated, but as the story takes place in 1917, it's not really important. You have to swallow belief a bit from the start because playing teenagers, Doris is about eight years too old and Gordon ten and there are a couple of things that are not acceptable these days like Gordon's fur coat and giving a multi-function knife to a little boy for a present. Still, they kind of get away with it as they both ooze charm and have those wonderful voices. Great supporting actors, Ellen Corby as the school teacher, Mary Wickes as the maid, Leon Ames and Rosemary DeCamp as the parents, but its little Billy Gray who steals the picture as Doris' little brother. A great family film, in glorious colour, that I'm sure many people would still enjoy watching on a cold Sunday afternoon.

I'm not a huge fan of film-musicals and it didn't get better when I saw the "classic" THE WIZARD OF OZ. So my hopes weren't too high for this one too. But I have to admit that I rather enjoyed my first encounter with Doris Day and the rest of the cast of this film. It's not a great or complex story: two people(Day and MacRae) fall in love and have to face the regular difficulties, and that's about it. But there are some colorful characters in there(especially the maid Stella)and the songs are OK too. Not bad after all then. 6/10

This is a collection of warm, human and often humorous Booth Tarkington stories, strung together, of a perceived or recalled pre-WWI America. It had all happened half a century before this mid-20th Century production. It was, perhaps, the last clarion call of the sweet, sentimental ballad of the turn of the last Century as Rock and Roll was starting to impact as the popular music of the West. The production values of this film are strictly 1950s studio. It was shot on tri-exposure Technicolor with the lighting a bit flat but, all in all, a loving tribute to the era complete with many of the top song hits of the time, some that are still celebrated today, in the 21st Century.