The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)

Mary and Larry are are a modestly successful skating team. Shortly after their marriage, Mary gets a picture contract, while Larry is sitting at home, out of work. To prove that he can ... See full summary »

Director:

Reinhold Schünzel

Writers:

Leonard Praskins (screenplay), Florence Ryerson (screenplay),

Stars:

Joan Crawford, James Stewart, Lew Ayres

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Crawford	...	Mary McKay
James Stewart	...	Larry Hall
Lew Ayres	...	Eddie Burgess
Lewis Stone	...	Douglas Tolliver Jr.
The International Ice Follies	...	Themselves
Bess Ehrhardt	...	Kitty Sherman
Roy Shipstad	...	Himself - Ice Follies Skater
Eddie Shipstad	...	Himself - Ice Follies Skater
Oscar Johnson	...	Himself - Ice Follies Skater
Lionel Stander	...	Mort Hodges
Charles D. Brown	...	Barney

Storyline

Mary and Larry are are a modestly successful skating team. Shortly after their marriage, Mary gets a picture contract, while Larry is sitting at home, out of work. To prove that he can accomplish things on his own, he leaves Hollywood and convinces a former partner to put on an ice revue in Canada. The show is a huge success, but it makes it impossible for him to be with his wife, but the studio boss has a wonderful idea.

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Plot Keywords:

contract | marriage | drunkenness | statue of liberty new york city | cross dresser | 

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Taglines:

Sparkling With Stars, Gaiety, Music!

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Genres:

Musical | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apigorevmenos Paradeisos

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Mommie Dearest, this is the movie Crawford is getting ready for in the opening sequences.

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Goofs

Bess Ehrhardt is billed and introduced as 'Kitty Sherman', but an advertising placard in the movie uses her real name along with character names of some other actors.

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Quotes

Larry Hall: Stars are a million miles apart; they never touch. They live away from each other, cold and lonely - like we'll have to do.

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Connections

Referenced in Ice Antics (1939)

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Soundtracks

"Something's Gotta Happen Soon"
(1938) (uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed
Written for the movie and possibly played instrumentally

User Reviews

Stewart&Crawford&Ayres On Ice

Ice Follies of 1939 involves a trio of professional skaters, Joan Crawford, James Stewart, and Lew Ayres who have some creative differences and the act breaks up temporarily. So do Crawford and Stewart who are a romantic item.

This was Stewart and Crawford's second film together, the first was The Gorgeous Hussy in which Stewart was only a supporting player. It's too bad that neither of them got anything better.

I also can't put this any better, the three of them look plain ridiculous on skates and they probably felt just as ridiculous.

This film was the brainchild of Louis B. Mayer who looked green with envy over at 20th Century Fox and the money that Darryl F. Zanuck was making with Sonja Henie. I say 'with' and not 'off of' Sonja Henie because Ms. Henie was a star before she signed a contract with Zanuck and Zanuck paid her dearly for her services. Something I'm not sure Mayer was prepared to do.

To gloss over the trite backstage story, MGM did import a whole load of the top ice acts circa 1939 other than Sonja Henie. Interesting to see them and Sonja and compare them to Nancy Kerrigan or Johnny Weir or the infamous Tonya Harding.

Fortunately the next films for Stewart and Crawford were, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and The Women. The future was going to get better for both.