Lovely to Look at (1937)
"Thin Ice" (original title)

Swiss hotel ski instructor (Henie) falls in love with a man (Power) who goes skiing every morning.

Director:

Sidney Lanfield

Writers:

Boris Ingster (screenplay), Milton Sperling (screenplay),

Stars:

Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, Arthur Treacher

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sonja Henie	...	Lili Heiser
Tyrone Power	...	Prince Rudolph
Arthur Treacher	...	Nottingham
Raymond Walburn	...	Uncle Dornik
Joan Davis	...	Orchestra Leader
Sig Ruman	...	Prime Minister (as Sig Rumann)
Alan Hale	...	Baron
Leah Ray	...	Singer
Melville Cooper	...	Krantz
Maurice Cass	...	Count
George Givot	...	Alex
Greta Meyer	...	Martha
Egon Brecher	...	Janitor
Torben Meyer	...	Chauffeur
George Davis	...	Waiter

Storyline

Lili is a skating instructor at a grand hotel in the Alps. An international conference is booked at the hotel. The conference is led by Prince Rudolph, whose plan is really to keep a pair of feuding countries at odds with each other. Feining illness, the Prince moves into a small inn so he can enjoy some skiing in private -- and delay the conference. One morning he meets Lili on the slopes and they hit it off; but she has no idea her "Rudy" is the Prince. That evening Lili is seen leaving the Prince's car, having been given a ride home by her beau, a cousin of the Prince's chauffeur. Tongues wag and Lili is thought to be romantically involved with the Prince. This gets her lots of attention and a starring role in her own ice skating revue. But when she finds out people think she is involved with the Prince she is horrified, while Rudy is amused and plays along.

---

Plot Keywords:

prince | conference | skiing | chauffeur | ice skating | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le Prince X

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original play opened in Budapest in 1922. An English translation of the play by Fanny Hatton and Frederic Hatton opened in New York on 23 October 1930 with the title "His Majesty's Car." It starred Miriam Hopkins and ran for 12 performances.

---

Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Steps Out (1941)

---

Soundtracks

"Over Night"
Music by Lew Pollack
Lyrics by Sidney D. Mitchell
Played and sung by an offscreen chorus during opening credits
Played and sung by a chorus in the last production number
Skated to by Sonja Henie

User Reviews

Sonia Skates While Ty Plays

After the success that Sonia Henie's American film debut, One In a Million, had at the box office, no doubt Darryl F. Zanuck felt better about investing more money in her next film, Thin Ice. The resulting production is obvious for any viewer, the money spigots were left on for Thin Ice.

It's hard to imagine today the world wide popularity of Sonia Henie who the year before had come off her third gold medal in the Olympics before turning professional with the 20th Century Fox movie contract. The public wanted to see her skate and Zanuck gave them what they wanted. Her many routines are nicely staged and the ice dancing got an Academy Award nomination for Dance Direction. Yes, back in the age of musicals they actually had that as an Oscar category.

Zanuck even gave her his lot's most popular leading man in Tyrone Power. This was the first of two films Power did with Henie and while I think that Second Fiddle was a better film, this one isn't bad for what it is, a vehicle to show off Sonia Henie.

Sonia plays a skating instructor at an Alpine resort which is going to host a European conference. Power plays the playboy prince of a small duchy whose romantic escapades get him headlines. Henie gets herself involved with him, but she doesn't know who it is. In the meantime the two of them become tabloid fodder. I think you have a good idea where this plot is leading.

Still Thin Ice is not bad as entertainment. And for comic relief we have Joan Davis conducting the all girl orchestra at the hotel and giving us some comic numbers. She's not bad at all. And Zanuck had such scene stealing character actors as Arthur Treacher, Alan Hale, Raymond Walburn, Sig Ruman, Melville Cooper, and Maurice Cass for support.

None but the best for his Olympic size investment.