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On the Riviera

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Merry medievalist (talk | contribs) at 02:55, 13 September 2020 (Saving in progress. Corrections additions and clarifications. (This is not a backstage musical.) Restored outdated link to New York Times.Added About template. Removed “uncredited” reference to Gwen Verdon—no evidence.Added Reception and Production, began adding info including Crowther review excerpt.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 02:55, 13 September 2020 by Merry medievalist (talk | contribs) (Saving in progress. Corrections additions and clarifications. (This is not a backstage musical.) Restored outdated link to New York Times.Added About template. Removed “uncredited” reference to Gwen Verdon—no evidence.Added Reception and Production, began adding info including Crowther review excerpt.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about the film starring Danny Kaye. For the 1935 version of the same story, starring Maurice Chevalier, see Folies Bergère (film). For the 1941 remake starring Don Ameche, see That Night in Rio.1951 American film
On the Riviera
1951 movie poster
Directed byWalter Lang
Written byscreenplay by
Valentine Davies
Henry Ephron
Phoebe Ephron
based on a play by
Hans Adler
Rudolph Lothar
Produced bySol C. Siegel
StarringDanny Kaye
Gene Tierney
Corinne Calvet
Marcel Dalio
Sig Ruman
CinematographyLeon Shamroy
Edited byJ. Watson Webb Jr.
Music byAlfred Newman
Sylvia Fine
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • April 20, 1951 (1951-04-20)
Running time90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.5 million (US rentals)

On the Riviera is a 1951 Technicolor musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox. Directed by Walter Lang and produced by Sol C. Siegel from a screenplay by Valentine Davies and Phoebe and Henry Ephron, it is the third film to be based on the 1934 play The Red Cat by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler. This version stars Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney and Corinne Calvet, with Marcel Dalio, Henri Letondal and Sig Ruman. Gwen Verdon, credited as Gwyneth Verdon, appears in dance sequences choreographed and staged by Jack Cole.

On the Riviera was nominated for two Academy Awards: Scoring of a Musical Picture (by Alfred Newman) and Best Art Direction in Color (Art Directors Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller, Joseph C. Wright, and Set Decorators Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott).

The first film adaptation of The Red Cat, Folies Bergère (1935), stars Maurice Chevalier, Merle Oberon and Ann Sothern. The 1941 remake, That Night in Rio, stars Don Ameche, Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda.

The studio had signed Kaye for a one-picture deal, and revived the story as a vehicle for the multi-talented actor, who had a history of playing dual or multiple roles. Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, wrote four songs for the picture.

Plot

Jack Martin (Danny Kaye) is an American entertainer. He has a skit in his show, making fun of, Captain Henri Duran (also Kaye). On one particular evening, the Captain and his wife, Lili (Gene Tierney) come to see Jack's impersonation. To the surprise of the couple, the act is amazingly realistic. Backstage, the Captain meets Jack's girlfriend, Colette (Corinne Calvet), and invites her to a party he is going to hold. Colette declines.

Later in the evening, Jack meets Lili and is attracted to her beauty. He does an impersonation of the Captain for her. But the real Captain receives a telegram that his airline is in danger because a contract is not being renewed and he has already purchased 51% of the stock. He has to leave France.

Jack is hired to play the Captain to confuse his rival, Periton (Jean Murat), but at the stock market, he buys the remainder of the airline stock. That evening, at the party, Jack is hired again to play the Captain. He does not want Lili to know, but Lili is informed without his knowing. He sweeps her off her feet and they stay close to each other for the remainder of the evening.

Meanwhile, Colette is furious to discover that Jack is at the party and decides to go there as well, where she discovers that he is impersonating the Captain. To make matters worse, the real Captain returns to his house, confusing all involved. Periton corners Jack instead and talks to him in French, which Jack can't understand.

Cast

Production

There was trouble with the censors over the last act of the script, which relies on the suspicion that Lili and Jack have spent the night together. The final script was approved.

Reception

New York Times critic Bosley Crowther recalled the two previous versions of the story for his readers: “Now, brushed up slightly by Valentine Davies and Phoebe and Henry Ephron; equipped with four musical numbers by Mr. Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, and turned out in gorgeous Technicolor that does justice to a splash production and a well-fed cast, it does service for Mr. Kaye's talents... (S)omething better could certainly have been found for this brilliant comedian's performance than this hackneyed and unexciting tale... the plot is too mixed up to follow and isn't very funny anyhow... Gene Tierney looks better in new garments than the old story looks upon her. And Corinne Calvet is pretty but neglected.. Marcel Dalio and Henri Letondal do a Tweedledum and Tweedledee routine... There are also lots of pretty girls.“

References

  1. 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
  2. Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 223
  3. ^ "NY Times: On the Riviera". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  4. ^ Crowther, Bosley (1951-05-24). "THE SCREEN: FOUR FILMS HAVE PREMIERES HERE; Danny Kaye 'On the Riviera,' With Gene Tierney, Arrives at the Roxy Theatre". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  5. "On the Riviera". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2020-09-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

Films directed by Walter Lang
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