Hollywood Welcomes Doris Day: Romance on the High Seas (1948)

             This is my entry for the 5th Annual Doris Day blogathon hosted by Love Letters to Old Hollywood!

I must preface my article with two confessions:

1. This is my very first blogathon (!!) and...

2. Before watching Romance on the High Seas, I had never seen a Doris Day movie. Really!

        

            I thought it fitting, since I had never seen one of her films, to start at the very beginning. So fasten your seatbelts Bette Davis-style: we're going back to 1948!

          The leading role in Romance on the High Seas was originally written as a star vehicle for Judy Garland, but when that fell through, it went to Betty Hutton. When Betty became pregnant, the director (Michael Curtiz) was persuaded to audition a relatively unknown band singer - can you guess who? Doris Day was already an established recording artist by the time she was cast in High Seas, but she had never acted on-screen, let alone in a starring role. However, Curtiz was impressed with her voice and thought Doris was perfect for the role. (Spoiler alert: she was.) Little did Warner Brothers know this film would launch one of the most successful and popular stars ever!

            The beginning of the movie is the wedding of Michael and Elvira Kent, who love each other but are each paranoid the other is flirting. This leads into a montage of planned anniversary trips... which are all canceled due to Michael's work. By the time Elvira goes to the travel agency to plan yet another vacation, she's sick and tired of them getting postponed. So Elvira resolves to go on this South American cruise no matter what - and while she is at the agency, she meets a singer named Georgia Garrett who enjoys planning elaborate trips but never has the money to take them.

            When Elvira arrives at Michael's office, she is greeted by his newly hired secretary. Michael tells her they'll have to postpone the trip again, as some business has come up that he has to take care of. In a bit of Wife vs. Secretary plot-line, Elvira assumes Michael wants to stay behind because of the pretty secretary and not his work. Being the 1940s rom-com that High Seas is, Elvira concocts a plan to trap her potentially cheating husband which involves both her cruise and the singer from the travel agency. She shows up at Georgia's nightclub act with her wealthy uncle Laszlo and invites Georgia back to her table after the show. 

          

                                   A Little About Janis Paige (and the Costumes!)                                               Elvira is played by Janis Paige, one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. Janis is 98 years old and a veteran of the stage, screen, and television! She sang at the Hollywood Canteen during World War Two until she was signed for a Warner Bros. contract, leading to her first film role in the 1944 Esther Williams film Bathing Beauty. The character of Elvira is an interesting one. You get the sense that all of her jealous fears are really just out of love for her husband, but she can also come across as rather calculating at times. Here's Janis-as-Elvira at right in her fabulous sparkly hat and veil. Speaking of costumes, they were designed by Milo Anderson, whose impressive credits include Olivia de Havilland's gowns in Robin Hood, Lauren Bacall's wardrobe in To Have and Have Not, as well as Doris Day's costumes again in Storm Warning (to name a very few.)

            But back to the story! Doris Day-as-Georgia sings a fun little song called "I'm in Love" as her nightclub performance, and we are also introduced to her rather possessive boyfriend, Oscar Ferrars, played by Oscar Levant. Her nightclub outfit is pretty too - there's a theme of blue shades for Georgia's outfits throughout the film.

            Once Elvira and Georgia have gotten re-introduced with a bit of "hey-don't-I-know-you?", Elvira reveals her plan. Simplified, the plan is such:

1. Georgia will take the South American cruise, booking tickets as and all the while pretending to be Elvira Kent.

2. Elvira, meanwhile, will stay back home and spy on her husband to uncover his theoretical affair.

            Of course, Georgia is thrilled to finally take a trip without even having to pay. There are two catches, however.

1. Michael is suspicious of Elvira, so he *quite literally* hires a private detective to spy on his wife while she's on her cruise. And apparently this is a routine thing jealous husbands do, according to the detective?

2. Of course, Elvira isn't actually on the cruise - Georgia is. Let the fun begin.

            Elvira sends Georgia off to the boat with a few warnings about keeping up Elvira's socialite reputation while onboard, and not being seen with any male passengers. Georgia sets off on her journey and goes down to dinner, where she meets a guy in a tuxedo, out of the norm only because there's an unspoken rule not to dress up on the first night. The telegram from Elvira saying as much arrives too late, but it's okay because Georgia's outfit is amazing. She and tuxedo-guy (played by Jack Carson) team up because they're the only fancily-dressed passengers. But PLOT TWIST: that's right, the guy in the tuxedo is none other than Peter Virgil, the private detective that Michael hired! And he thinks Georgia is Elvira!

            The restaurant being closed, Peter and Georgia go down to the lounge, where an orchestra is playing. Georgia sings "It's You or No One For Me". The song slots in this movie only really make sense when you remember the whole thing is a vehicle for Doris's singing voice. And here's an outfit collage, because I love it and her hairstyle.

            Over the course of the trip, Georgia and Peter spend lots of time together. Peter sends regular radiograms and telephone calls to Michael, telling him "Elvira" isn't cheating and isn't even doing anything suspicious. Besides slowly falling in love with the detective, that is. Back onshore, Elvira learns Michael hasn't been cheating either (using an actual telescope aimed at his office, as one does.)

            The cruise ships dock at a few different exotic ports, where there are two little novelty songs - one about the tourist trade, and one kind of awkward number in which Jack Carson attempts to sing in the style of the musicians from Trinidad. At a rather romantic candlelit dinner with Peter, Georgia sings the song "It's Magic" - the movie's main tune, and also a nominee for the Best Song Oscar!

            The situation gets complicated further when two things happen. Georgia realizes she is in love with Peter, and Georgia's boyfriend Oscar shows up on he ship. To hide from Oscar, Georgia pulls a tried-and-true strategy - pretend to be sick in bed! A doctor comes, played by Eric Blore, the comic-relief butler/waiter/valet in many of the Astaire-Rogers films. Despite Georgia's efforts, Oscar figures out who she really is, and visits her room. Scandal! Peter looks through the porthole and assumes this is the man "Elvira" is cheating with. He immediately telegrams Michael to tell him of the news. In the room, Georgia tells Oscar she's fallen in love with someone else.

My First Impression of Doris Day (a Side Note)

            As I mentioned at the beginning, this was the first time I had seen a Doris Day film, so I thought I would give my first impression of Doris. I thought she was wonderful in High Seas. She looked like she was having fun the whole time, which can be pretty rare in movies. I love the way she played Georgia, making her so much more casual and bubbly compared to the other actors, which I think says a lot about Doris's acting style and talent. Even with their semi-awkward placement in the script, Doris made the songs feel natural and just as if she was singing them for the first time. And all in her very first film! I'm definitely looking forward to watching more of Doris's films in the future. So there are my thoughts! This picture, by the way, is Doris in her High Seas dressing room on one of the first days of filming. I adore behind-the-scenes photographs!

            After Peter messages Michael to tell him this latest development, he runs into Georgia singing "It's Magic" to herself on the deck. She confesses her love, and Peter is in love with her too but can't really act on that, since he's supposed to be spying on her (and thinks she's married.) In this scene Georgia is wearing a light pink dress - and this has symbolism! Or at least it does for me. For the whole movie, Georgia wears different shades of blue - teal, bright turquoise, navy stripes, and so on. But in this romantic scene, when her character is showing her vulnerability and making a confession - she wears pink!

            A little side character I love is the radiogram guy - after Georgia tells Peter she loves him, he races back and against his will messages Michael with "there are now two men in the picture!" One being himself, of course. The radiogram operator, having read this and all previous messages, asks Peter to tell him how things turn out!

            The ship docks in Rio, and Oscar and Peter both tell Georgia to meet them - at the same restaurant. The men have a long conversation about their love interests - or should I say interest, because they're both talking about Georgia! While this is happening, some random man is stealing all of their drinks, so they think they're drunk but they really haven't had anything. It only makes sense on the screen, to be honest. Georgia, Peter, and Oscar go to their hotel. Georgia gets hired to sing at the hotel at a massive salary, but billed as "Elvira Kent, Lady of Society". Michael arrives in Rio as well to talk with the detective, and Elvira also arrives to straighten everything out. 

            Michael races up to his "wife's" room and finds who but Oscar in the bed. Michael apologizes and leaves, goes back up to the room, and finds Georgia there! The third time he leaves and returns, it's the real Elvira, at whom Michael is furious for her cheating ways until Oscar, Georgia, and Uncle Laszlo (remember him?) all come out of the closet! It's one of those crazy-ending-reveal scenes so typical of Old Hollywood films ("There isn't going to be any wedding!").

            The real ending comes when Elvira is supposed to sing, but she "gives" the opportunity to Georgia, who sings - what else? - "It's Magic". All is made up between everyone, Michael and Elvira are happy again, and Georgia and Peter get together. Hurrah!

            Personally, I was left wondering whatever became of poor Oscar, but maybe that was just me.

            Thank you so much for reading my summary and thoughts on Romance on the High Seas - a really delightful movie - and thank you to Love Letters to Old Hollywood for running this blogathon! I had so much fun doing research, watching the film, and learning about Doris!