Ice-Capades
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Joseph Santley
Dorothy Lewis
James Ellison
Jerry Colonna
Barbara Jo Allen
Alan Mowbray
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When New York City newsreel cameraman Bob Clemens cannot get a plane to Lake Placid, he spends the night in a bar and misses his assignment to photograph Swiss ice skating star Karen Vadja. Bob's pal Colonna tries to help Bob come up with an excuse, but when Bob sees a woman skating on a Central Park pond, he decides to photograph her from a distance and state that the footage is of Vadja. Bob's hangover prevents him from doing the actual photography, and it is not until he is in a movie theater that he discovers that Colonna shot the woman in closeup. Also in the audience are Broadway impresario Larry Herman, his assistant Dave, and two Immigration Department officials, Jackson and Reed. While Larry, believing that the beautiful woman is Vadja, decides to star her in an Ice-capades show, Jackson and Reed recognize her as Marie Bergen, an illegal Swedish immigrant. Curious about why Marie is being billed as Vadja, Jackson and Reed question Bob at the newsreel office. Meanwhile, Marie auditions for Larry's show, and when she returns home, finds Jackson and Reed searching for her. Vera Vague, Marie's landlady, covers up for her while she escapes. As Marie is settling into a new apartment, Larry hosts a reception for Vadja, whom he meets for the first time. Larry is shocked to discover that Vadja is not the skater in the newsreels, and threatens to sue the newsreel company for misrepresentation. Bob's boss, Pete Ellis, is about to fire Bob and Colonna when Bob suggests that they find the skater and have her star in Larry's show. Larry agrees to the idea, and so the two friends begin their search. While Bob waits by the Central Park pond in case Marie appears, Colonna goes to Vera's house for a date, and when he sees a photograph of Vera and Marie, he realizes that they are friends. Colonna gets Marie's address and gives it to Bob, but Marie, believing that Bob is an immigration official, eludes him. The next day, the show is rehearsing when Bob tells Larry that he has not yet been able to locate Marie. Larry is about to cancel the show when Bob finds that Marie is one of the chorus girls and brings her to Larry's office. Marie is grateful for the opportunity, but, fearing the publicity, refuses to star in the show, and Larry cancels it. Larry sues the newsreel company, while Jackson and Reed reveal to Bob that Marie is about to be deported. Realizing that Marie can stay in the United States if she is married to a citizen, Pete tries to convince Bob to marry her, but Bob, a confirmed bachelor, refuses to go through with it. Bob finally admits to Pete that he cares for Marie and cannot marry her under such circumstances, so Pete tells Marie that Bob photographed her without her knowledge and will now go to jail unless she appears in the show. Her love for Bob overcoming her fear, Marie agrees, and soon opening night arrives. Jackson and Reed go backstage to arrest Marie, and when Bob finds out about Pete tricking Marie into appearing in the show, he punches Pete and tells Jackson and Reed that he will marry Marie. Larry promises to throw them a big wedding, and Marie then appears with the other Ice-capades stars in the big finale, "Legend of the Falls."
Director
Joseph Santley
Cast
Dorothy Lewis
James Ellison
Jerry Colonna
Barbara Jo Allen
Alan Mowbray
Phil Silvers
Gus Schilling
Tim Ryan
Harry Clark
Belita
Lois Dworshak
Megan Taylor
Vera Hruba
Red Mccarthy
Phil Taylor
Jackson And Lynam
The Benoits
Dench And Stewart
Al Surette
Renie Riano
Carol Adams
Crew
George Blair
George R. Brown
Olive Cooper
Stanley Davis
Isabel Dawn
Boyce De Gaw
Duke Ellington
Cy Feuer
Marvin Fisher
Robert Harari
Milt Josefsberg
Harry Losee
John Victor Mackay
Jack Marta
Sol Meyer
Robert North
Howard O'neill
Adele Palmer
Murray Seldeen
Mel Shavelson
Dmitri Shostakovich
Jule Styne
Jack Townley
Al Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Score
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Icecapades of 1941 and Ice-capades of 1942. In the onscreen credits, Barbara Jo Allen is listed as "Barbara Jo Allen (Vera Vague)." Vera Vague was Allen's radio character name. The film marked the screen debut of Vera Hruba, a Czechoslovakian ice skater whose surname is misspelled "Rhuba" in the onscreen credits. When the film was re-released in 1949 as Music in the Moonlight, Hruba was billed as "Vera Ralston," the name she assumed in 1946. In 1952, she married Herbert J. Yates, the chief executive of Republic. Hollywood Reporter news items noted that Milt Gross was to work on the picture's screenplay with credited writer Jack Townley, but the extent of Gross's contribution to the released film has not been confirmed. According to Hollywood Reporter news items, Belita (1923-2005), one of the stars of the Ice-Capades touring company, was to star in the picture. Belita was replaced by fellow skater Dorothy Lewis, however, due to an "inability to get together with Republic executives regarding billing and script." On June 12, 1941, Belita agreed to appear in the picture, but by then, filming of most of the skating sequences had been completed and she was featured only in a specialty number. The film marked her motion picture debut. Hollywood Reporter production charts include the Heasley Twins in the cast, but their participation in the finished picture has not been confirmed. Music director Cy Feuer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture). In 1942, Republic released another film featuring the Ice Capades company entitled Ice Capades Revue (see below).
