Romance on the High Seas

[Musiclover]

Just perused a copy of David Kaufman's biography of Mary Martin, in which he writes that she was Jack Warner's first choice for the role Doris played in ROTHS. I think Martin would've been miscast as Georgia Garrett, due to her age for one thing. It's our good fortune that she (according to Kaufman) turned down the part!

[jmichael]

That’s interesting info, Judy. I wonder how accurate it is because we’ve already heard a half dozen conflicting versions of who was considered to play Georgia Garrett before Doris came along. If recall correctly, weren’t Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland, Janis Paige and Betty Hutton considered or actively pursued before Doris tested for the part?

I keep meaning to read David’s book on Mary Martin but haven’t done so yet.

Thanks for sharing this tidbit with us.

Michael

[howard]

It's a wonderful book, Michael. Like the Doris Day book, it is extremely well researched.

[Johnny]

In The Doris Day Scrapbook, there is a letter to the author Alan Gelb from Doris' co-star Janis Paige about working with Doris in Romance On The High Seas and then again twelve years later in the film, Please Don't Eat The Daisies.

Ms Paige writes:

"...She really broke the mold of prettiness that prevailed in those first years of ours at Warner Bros. She was not the traditional type of star and she had an incredible instinct for acting.She was totally natural in front of the camera and I always felt she had a major talent for both acting and singing. I am sure her years of fronting a band gave her a great deal of poise and assurance before she reached motion pictures. For any of us who worked clubs or gotten any of that stuff called experience were blessed. There is no replacement for it. She was always a hard worker and would try things in her performance to be better. I admire her enormously and always have. She keeps herself in top condition and looks great.

To me the atmosphere on the set was always one of hard work and hat's the way I like it. She is totally professional and always was. I think she handled her husband's death and the ensuing problems with dignity and courage. Having lost my own husband seven months ago, I understand what one goes through at a time like that....there is not much more that I can add except to say that her co-workers were very loyal to her and everyone was treated with respect and affection. I give her an A plus."

These are particularly good words when one considers that Miss Paige first met and worked with Doris when Doris was making her motion picture début;,ten years later, Doris was a great box-office attraction. It's nice to know that she managed to be consistent.

My own observation from reading about Doris, I have the impression that she has a strong sense of self. Thinking about a photo of Doris as child in a dance uniform, she has a look of confidence in her stance that seemed to follow her in her professional life. More importantly, Doris's joy in her work is always present even in difficult circumstances.

[Peter Flapper]

Hi Johnny,

Thanks for that reply of Janis Paige. A great read!

P

[Jas1]

Thanks for that Johnny, all the more impressive considering:-

Doris got the Georgia Garrett role [over Janis]; and,

Doris [on screen] played the role Janis created on stage [Babe Williams]; and,

Doris was at the top of her game come Daisies time- when Janis was reduced to co-starring film roles.



Janis Paige always had style and class and elegance.

[jmichael]

Yes, thank you Johnny, for posting her gracious tribute to Doris.

I've always loved Janis Paige. She was a scene stealer and ideally suited to play the sassy bad girl or the romantic rival to the leading lady. I think what she says about Doris shows how classy both of them are. As Jas pointed out, there was apparently never any jealousy or tension between them even though Doris got the Georgia Garrett part (which Paige tested for) and the Babe Williams role in Pajama Game.

Scott Dreier was very close to getting Paige to sit down for an interview about Doris for the DVD he produced a few years ago. Unfortunately, they weren't able to make the scheduling work out and it never happened.

Paige may not be a household name but she represents the best qualities of the golden age of Hollywood.

Michael

[howard]

I agree, Michael. Janis Paige was a classy performer, and multi-talented to boot. She was a good singer, a fine actress, and she stole every scene she appeared in in "Please Don't Eat the Daisies." I think she deserved a nomination for that role.

[Johnny]

Excellent observation Howard!

It prompted me to think about past and present actors who have been overlooked and underappreciated by the Academy Awards. Janis Paige truly deserved s nomination for Please Don't Eat The Daisies.

Since it is Academy Awards nomination season, I will introduce a new topic in OFF TOPICS focusing on this subject.

[Musiclover]

One of the final singles Doris recorded with Les Brown in August, 1946, was "Sooner or Later." Its lyricist was Ray Gilbert, who passed away 30 years later. His widow is Janis Paige.

[Jas1]

Betty Grable considered too for the Janis Paige part in Daisies = all these possibilities really intrigue me - though JP was fabulous in that sultry role.

[Johnny]

Thank you Musiclover and Jas for your interesting comments. I had not heard about Betty Grable being a choice. I think Janis Paige was perfect in the role.

I am currently searching for books that focus on casting stories for films made in the 1950's and 1960's.

I have a lead on a book called How The Greatest Casting Decisions Were Made and Why. I am not sure it covers the 50's and 60's.

[Musiclover]

Johnny, that book does include casting info about some '50s and '60s films. It's available at Amazon.com for a very modest price.

[Jas1]

Thanks for the heads up re the casting book - must check myself.

[howard]

Just watched a YouTube video of the "Put 'EM In a Box" number, and came upon this interesting tid bit:

"I was friendly with Page Cavanaugh and Al Viola in their later years and Page told me they recorded three slightly different versions of this song with Doris. The director Michael Curtiz came into the studio to listen to them and said they were all wrong...he wanted it to be angrier. The recording engineer said he had one more take which confused Doris and the trio. Then he just replayed the first take but turned up the volume loud and Curtiz said PERFECT!!!"

[Jas1]

That's interesting Howard, I love this song - and the 2 distinct versions as in the released film. The hipper [first] one and the more romantic second outing.

[Johnny]

It is a new year and it seems fitting to comment on Doris' first film, Romance On The High Seas.

I discovered some hidden gems in this information on Wikipedia about Romance On The High Seas:

"Director Michael Curtiz requirements were that the actress had to be beautiful, that she had to sing, and dance, and above all she must have a "sparkle". After dozens of young women failed to meet Curtiz's specifications, Doris Day was finally introduced to him. He immediately perked up and exclaimed, "This is it. This is the most everything came I have ever seen".

......In later years, Village Voice critic, Molly Haskell, asserted that "whenever I remember Doris Day roles..it is as one of the few movie heroines who had to work for a living". In Romance On The High Seas, Day's first film character, Georgia Garrett, is indeed a poor, working class chanteuse whose favourite pastime is dreaming of ocean voyages she thinks she'll never enjoy.

....
In his laudatory review of a live singing performance by Doris Day at the Gregory Gym in Austin, Texas in the winter of 1949, entertainment critic Steve Perkins of the Austin American- Statesman reminded his readers of the race review of Romance On The High Seas he had written the previous summer through the following excerpt: "A new leading lady has popped up out of nowhere and it will probably
be a long time before she pops down again. Doris Day who already achieved a small measure of fame with dance bands and on records, is a vocalist who can act, sing sweet and look pretty all at the same time".

I find it interesting reading original Doris Day film reviews. It is clear in the 1948 reviews that most critics found Doris Day's charasmatic personality and singing style major strengths that would help her climb to stardom. Twelve years later Doris was the number one box-office star in the world.

[jmichael]

Still one of the most sparkling film debuts ever.

Michael

[Peter Flapper]

Hi all,

Always a film that can cheer me up. What a great start for a movie career. Doris was amazing.


P

[Jas1]

I love all about this film, the script (albeit silly) but so enjoyable and funny. Of course the music was top notch and Doris looked great - love her early WB clothes, not so much those from 1949-52 - but then all clothes / styles at this time were not the best (in my opinion) - oh and I will refrain from mentioning Gertrude Wheeler's hair do on D!

[Johnny]

I came across on IMDb this trivia on Doris Day’s first film Romance on the High Seas:

“This was Doris Day’s first film acting role, and she was extremely naive about how movies were made. She wrote in her autobiography that the first scenes to be filmed would be aboard the cruise ship, and the first day, she walked onto the sound stage and asked when they would be leaving for the boat. The crew broke up laughing.”

“Although she had fourth billing in this film , her screen debut, audience reaction to Doris Day was so strong and immediate that Warners said gamed her to to a 7 year contract, during which she appeared in dozens of films and became a Top Ten Box Office star.”

“The movie trailer includes a brief duet by Doris Day and Janis Paige , wearing matching up-swept hairdos.”

“Doris Day and Jack Carson who met while making this film had a brief romance “.


“It is a remake of the 1933 movie “The Keyhole” starring Kay Francis , George Brent, and Allen Jenkins.”

“The cruise ship shown in the film is the S.S. America of the United States Lines. She entered service in 1940. In 1941 she was taken over by the U.S. Navy for use as a troop transport for World War2 and renamed the I.S.S. Weat Point (AP-23). She was returned to passenger service in 1946 and served the United States lines until 1964.

“The role played by Doris was refused by Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, and Lauren Bacall.”

“The film’s earliest documented telecast took place in Tucson, Tuesday September 11-1956 .”

Romance On the High Seas was shown in black and white until its’ first technicolor presentation on Wednesday March 30-1960.

Romance on the High Seas is a joyful romantic musical -comedy. It was a perfect technicolor match for Doris’ winsome and charismatic personality. It makes one wonder if Doris’ immediate stardom would have been different if she has made the black and white Young Man with a Horn as her debut film.

It is serendipitous that Romance on the High Seas was Doris’ first film . The film’s song It’s Magic has additional significance with the casting of Doris Day.

[puck]

Thank you Johnny, do love that movie, the title was "Romance in High C" but they changed into "Romance on High Seas" and she started to play when her private life was a mess at that time, but she did play her part so perfectly.

[Johnny]

The original review in The New York Times of Romance on the High Seas by Bosley Crowther is brutally harsh.

It reads in part:

"As much as we all like to welcome new faces and talents to the screen , it is hard to work up enthusiasm for the Warners' new starlet , Doris Day. Maybe this bouncy young lady, who came directly from singing with bands to a leading role in that studio's colour musical , "Romance on the High Seas", has ability and personality. But as shown in this picture at the Strand , she has no more than a vigorous disposition which hits the screen with a thud. The fault is not hers entirely . If the Warners' had tried to pick a show in which a new and untested personality was least likely to succeed, they couldn't have done better than this woeful banality.

It is a scatterbrained comedy of errors in which the identies of several people are confused, for completely preposterous reasons, in the course of a South American cruise. And as a brash little night- club singer who is supposed to act like a swell , Miss Day is most plainly the victim of the writers unutterable ennui. Furthermore , Michael Curtiz's direction of her and the rest of the cast is slapdash and void of distinction as it professionally can be. .....

But it must also be acknowledged that Miss Day herself seems much inclined to a viscous catch -as - catch can technique of wrestling with her material. She's the brassy type , the Jive joint cut-up --a sort of blond Joan Davis , you might say- who calls people" schmoes" and "choices" with reckless nonchalance. Maybe Warner's figured they had a new Betty Hutton in her, but even without other assets , she still misses Miss Justin's vital style . Also Miss Day's singing voice , while adequate to such night - club tunes "I'm in Love" , "You or No One", and "It's Magic" is nothing to hearld. ...


There is more to the interview that I will post in the future. I could not find any positive comments that Bosley Crowther made about Romance on the High Seas.

Obviously Bosley Crowther didn't have a crystal ball to see Doris Day's luminous career in the future.

I find this review reeks with condescension . Perhaps his most insulting criticism is describing Doris' singing voice as "adequate".

There is much more about this review to discuss but I will leave for another day. Thankfully the audience for Romance on the High Seas recognized and loved Doris Day's talent, charisma and magic that gave her immediate stardom.

I will search out more of Bosley Crowther's reviews on other Doris Day films to post.

[Peter Flapper]

Hi Johnny,

Thank you for this review by Bosley Crowther. He didn't do anything to favor Doris career. But there are some more examples in Doris career. They didn't keep Doris long on The Your Hit Parade radio Show because her singing style was almost the same as Frank Sinatra's. (Doris Day her own story?)

Les Brown offered Bob Hope to hire Doris earlier than 1948... He didn't want to do it, and when he did he had to pay a lot more (And I think they worked very well together) (Doris Day her own Story)

In the 60's Doris wanted to do a Classic/operatic album, but the forces of power at Columbia didn't wan't her to do it. And I still think she should have tried to do it. (This information is from The Move Over Darling Bear Family book)

Thanks again for all the research work you do on the forum. I love reading your stories and thoughts. Keep up the good work. Hope to read a lot more.

Peter

[Johnny]

Welcome to 2023. I am continuing to research information on the films of Doris Day. I came across the following headline review on Doris Day's first film, Romance on the High Seas:

Doris Day makes a spectacular debut in her first film

Some excerpts:

In 1947, Warner's planned to bring a lavish musical comedy , Romance on the High Seas to the screen. Arrangements had been made with MGM to borrow Judy Garland to star in this picture, but unfortunately, Miss Garland was unable to take part for health reasons. Betty Hutton was then cast in the role, however , she discovered she was pregnant and was forced to bow out. In desperation the movie's songwriters Jules Styne and Sammy Cahn, urged 23 year-old band singer , Doris Day, to audition for the role after hearing her sing at a Hollywood party. Reluctantly, Doris auditioned for Hungarian director, Michael Curtis, and to her astonishment, landed the coveted role.
...
Doris makes a spectacular d but in Romance on the High Seas. She was fresh and displayed a naturalness that had not been seen in the screen before. Audiences immediately took her to their hearts. The film made Doris Day an instant star añd she received almost unanimous raves from the movie critics.

During the proceedings, Miss Day sang a song that Judy Garland wished she could have called her own, It's Magic. The beautiful ballad was performed twice during the picture and became a huge , million selling record for Miss Day and was nominated for an Academy Award.
....

Doris Day 's performance was refreshingly professional. She acted as if she had been making films for years and work d well with her co-stars Jack Carson, Janis Paige, and Oscar Levant. The costumes by Milo Anderson and the technicolor photography by Elwood Brendell were first rate and Chris's direction was deft. Overall, Romance on the High Seas is a feel-good movie brought to the the screen a new star, who helped save a dying art , the movie musical. MGM had Judy Garland, 20th Century Fox had Betty Grable, RKO had Ginger Rogers,candy now Warner Brothers finally had a true musical star to equal them all: Doris Day.

Ralph McKnight , New York


Doris Day said: "From the first take onward, I never had any trepidation about what I was called upon to do. Movie acting came to me with greater ease and naturalness than anything I had ever done".