Main Cast: Sonja Henie, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Felix Bressart, Osa Massen
Release Year: 1942
Country: US
Run Time: 79 minutes
Plot
When the US marines land in Iceland during WW2, camp lothario John Payne wastes no time scoping out the local female population. He makes a casual pass at skating champ Sonja Henie, only to discover that she has taken his attentions as a marriage proposal! Unable to weasel out of his situation thanks to the rigidity of Icelandic customs, Payne conspires with his buddy Jack Oakie to discourage Henie from making any further wedding plans. By the film's 70-minute mark, of course, our hero is madly in love with our heroine and wants to skate down the aisle with her. Curiously, given the fact that there is plenty of natural ice in Iceland, most of Sonja Henie's musical numbers take place in a lavish Reykjavik nightclub. The tuneful Harry Warren-Mack Gordon musical score includes the popular "There Will Never Be Another You". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A typically thin Sonja Henie outing, Iceland is not the best of the skating star's vehicles, but it will serve her fans very well. Clearly, in a Henie movie, the skating is the main attraction, and here Iceland is tops. While modern skaters perform feats that are more dazzling, Heni's skill as a skater is every bit as impressive as today's best. What makes Henie a pleasure to watch, however, isn't just her skill; it's her charm and personality when she's on the ice. Curiously, that same charm and personality don't translate as easily to her dramatic and comedic scenes; she's fine, but when she speaks, she simply loses some of her unique, winning quality. Iceland therefore keeps the skating front and center at every opportunity, and supplements that with the 'swinging, swaying" music of then-popular band leader Sammy Kaye. The tunes are good, the playing is diverting; but when the script takes over, the film falls into dullness. John Payne is on hand for romantic complications, fine but not as engaging as one might wish. Jack Oakie provides comic relief, and Felix Bressart and Sterling Holloway turn in fine character bits. Throw in some beautiful costumes and the result is an uneven but ultimately pleasant film. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Fox reteamed their two leads and director from the previous year's musical Sun Valley Serenade and set the story in the then contemporary American Marine landing and occupation of Iceland in 1941. Payne had previously played a Marine in Fox's To the Shores of Tripoli also directed by Humberstone.
Some Icelanders protested against the film for its depiction of Marines winning away the local women.[2][3]
Notes
^ p.91 Reid, John Howard These Films Won No Hollywood Awards2005 Lulu
