My Lucky Star (1938)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

Don Ettlinger (story)
Harry Tugend (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 December 1938 (Finland)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

A modern girl having a modern good time - swank clothes, swell dates, sweet romance - that's Sonja now, so dainty, so desirable, so incredible!

Plot:

The son (Romero) of a department store owner enrolls the store's sports clerk (Henie) at a university...

Plot Keywords:

Department Store | Teacher | Department Store Owner | Clerk | Forbidden Love

Cast

Sonja Henie	...	Krista Nielsen
Richard Greene	...	Larry Taylor
Joan Davis	...	Mary Dwight
Cesar Romero	...	George Cabot Jr
Buddy Ebsen	...	Buddy
Arthur Treacher	...	Whipple
George Barbier	...	George Cabot Sr
Gypsy Rose Lee	...	Marcelle (as Louise Hovick)
Billy Gilbert	...	Nick
Patricia Wilder	...	Dorothy
Paul Hurst	...	Louie
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Waldo
Robert Kellard	...	Pennell
Paul Stanton	...	Dean Read
Arthur Jarrett	...	Bill (as Arthur Jarrett Jr.)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults (1997) (TV)

Swingy Late 30's Skate Musical

I bought this movie because I am a huge Richard Greene fan and I have always wanted to watch Sonja Henie.

I was not disappointed.

This movie is definitely worth seeing and/or buying. It has wonderful, catchy swingy tunes and a great cast. Sure, the story is cliché, but weren't most musicals like that back then? Well, it is actually a little bit more original than others, because Sonja wraps packages at a department store, and after meeting her, and to keep her away from his jealous wife (Gypsy Rose Lee a.k.a Louise Hovick), Caesar Romero, the son of the big department store Sonja works for, sends her to fictional Plymouth University as a "living mannequin" to promote their store's women's' sporting goods section. While there, Sonja befriends student Buddy Ebsen and his girlfriend Mary Dwight (Joan Davis), does some enjoyable skate routines (best one is COULD YOU PASS IN LOVE? first sung by Buddy and Joan, then skated by Sonja and a chorus of skating guys in bowler hats), gets tricked by a nasty Southern girl who is a bad ice skater (played nicely by Patricia Wilder) gets accused of being involved in a scandal (courtesy of Gypsy Rose), and falls in love with super-duper handsome senior Richard Greene. They and others sing a very lovely ballad on a hayride. (I don't know the name.) But it's very charming, and it was stuck in my head for a week after I watched it. The musical numbers are fun, though they come nowhere near MGM or early Busby Berkeley musical splendor. Sonja dos live up to her name as great ice skater, though. In the big production "Alice in Wonderland" finale, she shines, and the costumes and music and charming. The other big musical number, I'VE GOT A DATE WITH A DREAM, showcases a myriad of showgirls wearing beautiful furs and evening gowns, and other fashionable outfits, and a tenor who sings the song admirably. Later into the number, Buddy and Joan do a short, comedic rendition of the song.

In all, MY LUCKY STAR is a good way to pass the time and a good film to start with if you want to explore the works of Sonja Henie.