Themes: Workplace Romance, Musician's Life, Dancer's Life
Main Cast: Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, Lynn Bari
Release Year: 1941
Country: US
Run Time: 86 minutes
Plot
Skating star Sonja Henie and the Glenn Miller Orchestra share the spotlight in Sun Valley Serenade. Henie plays a Norwegian refugee adopted by band pianist John Payne, who mistakenly thought that the full-grown Miss Henie was a 10-year-old little girl. Payne's girlfriend, Lynn Bari, is a soloist with the Miller band, and also a violently jealous sort. When Bari quits Miller out of pique, Henie stages an elaborate ice show as a substitute. This impromptu spectacular thrills the audience at the Sun Valley resort hotel where most of the action takes place. Joan Davis and Milton Berle provide comic relief to the music and romance (you haven't lived until you've seen Berle on skis), while The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge perform a lively chorus of "Chattanooga Choo Choo." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
In a perfect world, every good movie would have a really good screenplay, but there are films like Sun Valley Serenade that are totally winning in spite of the fact that their script is really nothing more than serviceable. This kind of situation occurs more often with musicals than with films from other genres, because the songs, dances and spectacle play such a big part in our enjoyment of them. While Serenade's script is professional and on sports a number of amusing lines and situations, it's mostly a situation of getting from A to B to C -- and of finding a way to set up the musical and ice skating numbers on the way. Oh, and of showing off the gorgeous scenery of Sun Valley and of displaying the glories of skiing and skating that can be had there. It really shouldn't work as well as it does, but with Sonja Henie on hand to dazzle with her glacial terpsichore (including a marvelous black ice routine) and Benny Goodman and his boys around to swing through "Chattanooga Choo Choo," "In the Mood" and "Moonlight Serenade," the entertainment factor is just too high to resist. Throw in a lovely young Dorothy Dandridge for some too-brief vocalizing, some really nifty dancing from the Nicholas Brothers, and comedy bits from Milton Berle and Joan Davis, and Serenade emerges a real winner. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Ted Scott (Payne) is a band pianist whose publicity manager decides that, for good press, the band should adopt a foreign refugee. The band goes to Ellis Island to meet the girl and soon discovers that the refugee isn't a 10-year-old child, but a young woman, Karen Benson (Henie). The surprise comes right before the band is to travel to Sun Valley, Idaho for a Christmas gig. While on the ski slopes Ted soon falls for Karen's inventive schemes to win the heart of her new sponsor, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend, Vivian Dawn (Bari), a soloist with the band. Vivian promptly quits the band out of jealousy, and Karen stages an elaborate ice show as a substitute.
Of particular note is the "Chattanooga Choo Choo" song and dance scene by Dorothy Dandridge and The Nicholas Brothers. This scene begins in the practice studio with the Glenn Miller Orchestra practicing "Chattanooga Choo Choo". The scene includes two choruses of the song sung by Tex Beneke in a musical exchange with the The Modernaires. In a scene transition that incorporates no introduction or integration with the practice studio or other actors, Dandridge and The Nicholas Brothers begin singing and dancing in a railway station set.
Future Olympic gold medalist Gretchen Fraser was the skiing stand-in for Sonja Henie. Fraser was a member of the Olympic team in 1940(cancelled) and 1948.
The film is shown every weekend at the Opera House in the Sun Valley village, and 24 hours a day on a dedicated television channel available to all rooms at the Sun Valley Lodge.[1]
The movie was filmed in March 1941, in the fifth year of the resort.
