By Glenn Erickson
Wintertime
Brief Synopsis
A figure skating champion tries to save a failing resort hotel from bankruptcy.
Cast & Crew
Read More
John Brahm
Director
Sonja Henie
Nora
Jack Oakie
Skip Hutton
Cesar Romero
Brad Barton
Carole Landis
Flossie Fouchere
S. Z. Sakall
Hjalmar Ostgaard
Film Details
Also Known As
Quota Girl, Winter Time
Genre
Musical
Release Date
Sep
17,
1943
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Country
United States
Location
Sun Valley, Idaho, United States; Quebec, Canada
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,418ft
(9 reels)
Synopsis
Skip Hutton, the irrepressible co-owner of the Chateau Promenade in Canada, convinces his creditors to cease their foreclosure procedures for one night, when he will have Norwegian millionaire Hjalmar Ostgaard as his guest. Skip hopes that the presence of Ostgaard and his niece Nora, a world amateur skating champion, will stimulate business, despite the trepidations of his partner, Freddy Austin. Freddy is displeased that Skip has lied to Nora, who believes that they will be staying in the world-famous Chateau Frontenac, and so, upon picking her up at the train station, reveals the truth about her shabby accomodations. Nora kindly overlooks the deception as Ostgaard, sleepy from a cold, is put to bed, and joins Freddy for a cookout over the hotel fireplace. Nora and Ostgaard must remain in Canada to receive their quota numbers, with which they will emigrate to the United States, and while they wait, Nora schemes with Freddy, Skip and Brad Barton, the hotel band's wolfish singer, to trick Ostgaard into buying a fifty-percent interest in the chateau. With Ostgaard's money, Freddy is able to modernize the chateau and attract more business. Although Freddy and Nora begin to fall in love, Freddy is distracted by the appearance of Marian Daly, a photographer for an influential winter sports magazine. Marian makes no secret of her attraction to Freddy, who is forced to spend time with her in order to get a good review for the chateau. Nora becomes intensely jealous, and her problems increase when Ostgaard's money is frozen after Germany invades Norway. With no more money coming in, Ostgaard is afraid that the hotel will be taken from him, and Nora decides to help by accepting promoter Jay Rogers' offer to star her in an ice skating show in New York City. Due to the invasion of Norway, however, Nora's quota number is no longer valid and she cannot enter the United States unless she marries a U.S. citizen. Her relationship with Freddy having deteriorated, Nora plays up to Brad, who is unaware of her dire financial state. Thinking that he is marrying an heiress, Brad accepts Nora's suggestion that they elope, but Skip, determined to reunite Freddy and Nora, interferes with their plans. Thanks to Skip's machinations, Freddy and Nora reconcile and are soon married, after which Rogers presents Nora in her big show.
Director
John Brahm
Director
Cast
Sonja Henie
Nora
Jack Oakie
Skip Hutton
Cesar Romero
Brad Barton
Carole Landis
Flossie Fouchere
S. Z. Sakall
Hjalmar Ostgaard
Cornel Wilde
Freddy Austin
Woody Herman
Helene Reynolds
Marian Daly
Matt Briggs
Russell Carter
Don Douglas
Jay Rogers
Geary Steffen
Jimmy
Charles Trowbridge
Mr. Prentice
Nella Walker
Mrs. Prentice
Georges Renavent
Bodreau
Jean Del Val
Constable
Arthur Loft
Advertising man
Jean De Briac
Moving man
Henri De Soto
Headwaiter
Charles Irwin
Drunk
Dick Elliott
Husband
Buford Mccusker
Skating partner
Fred Essler
Consul
Eugene Borden
Workman
Muni Seroff
Workman
Michael Westfall
Boy
Gwen Kenyon
Girl
Gus Corrado
Clerk
Kay Linaker
Wife
Kate Harrington
Bridge player
Claire Whitney
Bridge player
Betty Roadman
Bridge player
Leila Mcintyre
Bridge player
Crew
James Basevi
Art Director
Jesse Bastian
Sound
Harry Brand
Director of Publicist
Otto Brower
2nd Unit Director
Nacio Herb Brown
Composer
Charles [g.] Clarke
Director of Photography
Fanchon
Music seq Supervisor by
James Gonzales
Fanchon's Assistant
Roger Heman
Sound
Charles Henderson
Composer
Charles Henderson
Music Director
Renè Hubert
Costumes
Jack Jevne
Screenwriter
Arthur Kober
Story
William Lebaron
Producer
Thomas Little
Set Decoration
Louis Loeffler
Film Editor
Joe Macdonald
Director of Photography
Glen Macwilliams
Music seq Photographer
Archie Mayo
Fill-In Director
E. Edwin Moran
Screenwriter
Emil Newman
Music Director
Guy Pearce
Makeup Artist
J. S. Pierpont
Composer
Maurice Ransford
Art Director
Leo Robin
Composer
Carlos Romero
Fanchon's Assistant
Walter M. Scott
Associate (Sets)
Fred Sersen
Special Photography Effects
Lynn Starling
Screenwriter
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Composer
James Van Trees
Fill-in Photographer
Kenny Williams
Music seq staged by
Joseph Wright
Music seq stage settings by
Saul Wurtzel
Assistant Director
Darryl F. Zanuck
Executive Producer
Film Details
Also Known As
Quota Girl, Winter Time
Genre
Musical
Release Date
Sep
17,
1943
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Country
United States
Location
Sun Valley, Idaho, United States; Quebec, Canada
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,418ft
(9 reels)
Articles
Wintertime -
Norwegian Olympic figure skater Sonja Henie was an instant success in films, starting at the top with a lucrative contract at Fox. Ice skating entertainment barely existed in the United States before Henie arrived, but she inspired so many large ice extravaganzas that as a live performer she found it difficult to compete in the crowded field. Henie aimed at an American movie career from the beginning, and all of her films made money. Her tenth starring musical comedy Wintertime (1943) was no challenge for the seasoned director John Brahm. Its lightweight story linked several skating scenes and backed them with the big band sound of Woody Herman and his orchestra. Scandinavian millionaire refugee Hjalmar Ostgaard (Hungarian refugee actor S.Z. Sakall) and his daughter Nora (Sonja Henie) arrive at the Canadian mountain resort Chateau Promenade, intending to wait for their Immigration Quota numbers to come through so they can enter the United States. When told that the resort is nearing bankruptcy, Nora conspires with its owners to trick her eccentric father into keeping it solvent by buying a share. Since Hjalmar is famous for purchasing hotels with bad service, the resort staff treat him terribly - cue slapstick scenes - so he'll buy. Unfortunately, when the Nazis invade Norway Ostgaard's funds are frozen, so it's up to Nora's marvelous skating talent to save the day with a show in New York. To that end she considers marrying American band singer Brad Barton (Cesar Romero) so she can legally enter the country. The B&W picture was made straight to formula, with seven songs and a standard cast of Fox stars. Broad comic Jack Oakie is the conniving resort owner, Cesar Romero and Carole Landis sing briefly with the band, and handsome Cornel Wilde provides a romance angle for Ms. Henie. Although she never really mastered film acting, Sonja's skating scenes routinely earned spontaneous applause from film audiences. Variety's critic noted that her stardom was 'incomparable,' even as he joked about the performing versatility of the five-foot one-inch dervish on skates: she could skate on black ice as well as white ice!
By Glenn Erickson
By Glenn Erickson
Wintertime -
Norwegian Olympic figure skater Sonja Henie was an instant success in films, starting at the top with a lucrative contract at Fox. Ice skating entertainment barely existed in the United States before Henie arrived, but she inspired so many large ice extravaganzas that as a live performer she found it difficult to compete in the crowded field. Henie aimed at an American movie career from the beginning, and all of her films made money. Her tenth starring musical comedy Wintertime (1943) was no challenge for the seasoned director John Brahm. Its lightweight story linked several skating scenes and backed them with the big band sound of Woody Herman and his orchestra. Scandinavian millionaire refugee Hjalmar Ostgaard (Hungarian refugee actor S.Z. Sakall) and his daughter Nora (Sonja Henie) arrive at the Canadian mountain resort Chateau Promenade, intending to wait for their Immigration Quota numbers to come through so they can enter the United States. When told that the resort is nearing bankruptcy, Nora conspires with its owners to trick her eccentric father into keeping it solvent by buying a share. Since Hjalmar is famous for purchasing hotels with bad service, the resort staff treat him terribly - cue slapstick scenes - so he'll buy. Unfortunately, when the Nazis invade Norway Ostgaard's funds are frozen, so it's up to Nora's marvelous skating talent to save the day with a show in New York. To that end she considers marrying American band singer Brad Barton (Cesar Romero) so she can legally enter the country. The B&W picture was made straight to formula, with seven songs and a standard cast of Fox stars. Broad comic Jack Oakie is the conniving resort owner, Cesar Romero and Carole Landis sing briefly with the band, and handsome Cornel Wilde provides a romance angle for Ms. Henie. Although she never really mastered film acting, Sonja's skating scenes routinely earned spontaneous applause from film audiences. Variety's critic noted that her stardom was 'incomparable,' even as he joked about the performing versatility of the five-foot one-inch dervish on skates: she could skate on black ice as well as white ice!
By Glenn Erickson
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Quota Girl. According to information in the Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection at the UCLA Arts-Special Collections Library, executive producer Darryl F. Zanuck suggested the film's premise, based on the experiences of his maid, a Swedish national who obtained a quota number and U.S. entry visa through a stay in Canada. The following writers are listed in the scripts collection or Hollywood Reporter news items as having contributed to the screenplay, but the extent of their contribution to the completed film has not been determined: Franz Spencer, Robert Carson, Francis Wallace, Frederick Jackson and Walter Bullock. Hollywood Reporter news items supply the following information about the production: The picture was originally to be shot in Technicolor, be directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and feature Phil Regan. Due to wartime construction limits, the studio contemplated filming the picture entirely on location in Quebec, Canada, but instead filmed only background shots near Quebec and in Sun Valley, Idaho. For the Sun Valley location, Johnny Johnson accompanied second unit director Otto Brower, but the exact nature of Johnson's contribution to the film has not been determined. Although Joe MacDonald and Glen MacWilliams are credited onscreen as the film's photographers, Hollywood Reporter news items and production charts credit Charles Clarke and note that James Van Trees replaced MacDonald when MacDonald fell ill. Bufford McCusker replaced Geary Steffen as Sonia Henie's skating partner after Steffen was drafted. During the last month of filming, Archie Mayo took over direction of the ice skating production numbers. Studio publicity includes Helena Benda and Manuel Paris in the cast, but their participation in the finished film has not been confirmed.
