Sun Valley Serenade

Last updated
Sun Valley Serenade
SunValleySerenade.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Screenplay by Robert Ellis
Helen Logan
Story byArt Arthur
Robert Harari
Produced by Milton Sperling
Starring Sonja Henie
John Payne
Milton Berle
Glenn Miller
Lynn Bari
Cinematography Edward Cronjager
Edited by James B. Clark
Music by David Buttolph
Cyril J. Mockridge
Emil Newman
Production
company
Distributed byTwentieth Century Fox
Release date
  • August 21, 1941 (1941-08-21)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.25 million (rentals) [1]

Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 American musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features the Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by the Nicholas Brothers. It also features Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996, and was awarded the first Gold Record for sales of 1.2 million. Studio 20th Century Fox re-released the film in 1946 and in 1954 to tie-in with the biopic The Glenn Miller Story .

Contents

Plot

Ted Scott (John Payne) is a band pianist whose publicity manager decides that, for good press, the band should adopt a foreign refugee. The band goes to Ellis Island to meet the girl and soon discovers that the refugee isn't a 10-year-old child, but a young woman, Karen Benson (Sonja Henie). The surprise comes right before the band is to travel to Sun Valley, Idaho, for a Christmas event. While on the ski slopes Ted soon falls for Karen's inventive schemes to win the heart of her new sponsor, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend, Vivian Dawn (Lynn Bari), a soloist with the band. Vivian promptly quits the band out of jealousy, and Karen stages an elaborate ice show as a substitute.

Cast

Future Olympic gold medalist Gretchen Fraser was the skiing stand-in for Sonja Henie. Fraser was a member of the Olympic team in 1940 (cancelled) and 1948.

Music

Of particular note is the elaborate "Chattanooga Choo Choo" sequence. The scene begins at a rehearsal with the Glenn Miller Orchestra practicing "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and includes two choruses of the song whistled and sung by Tex Beneke in a musical exchange with The Modernaires. As the Miller band concludes their feature the camera pans left to reveal a railway station set. The band continues with the production number and accompanies Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers in their song and dance routine.

Sun Valley Serenade is the first of the only two movies featuring The Glenn Miller Orchestra (the other is 1942's Orchestra Wives ). Besides "Chattanooga Choo Choo", other Glenn Miller tunes in the film are "Moonlight Serenade", "It Happened in Sun Valley", "I Know Why (And So Do You)", and "In the Mood".

An instrumental version of "At Last" was recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra as well as a version with vocals by John Payne and Pat Friday, but these recordings would remain unused and unissued except for the 1954 LP album. Darryl Zanuck reportedly said. "There are too many big ones in this. Let's save one for the next." "At Last" can be heard in the movie in three scenes, however, in an orchestral performance by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra film in the Lido Terrace night club after they perform "In the Mood", as part of the orchestral background score in a scene between John Payne and Lynn Bari, and in an orchestral version with vocalization but without lyrics a minute and twenty seconds in length during the closing skating sequence with Sonja Henie. [2] "At Last" would also appear in the 1942 follow-up movie Orchestra Wives performed by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra with vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday.

Los Angeles vocalist Pat Friday pre-recorded the vocal tracks that Lynn Bari lip synced in the film. [3]

Filming

Sun Valley Serenade was filmed in March 1941, by Darryl Zanuck. Zanuck had come up with the idea for the film while on holiday there. [4] Popular myth to the contrary, nearly all of the filming was done on the 20th-Century Fox sound stages in Hollywood. [5] Only a few actors travelled to Sun Valley for exterior location shots. [6]

The film became a Hollywood hit and served as a recruiting effort for the elite ski corps of the 10th Mountain Division stationed at Camp Hale in Colorado. Sun Valley's ski school director, Otto Lang, of St. Anton, oversaw the skiing scenes. [7] The musical numbers were recorded in multi-directional mono, placing microphones around different parts of the orchestra. Those were all mixed down to mono at the time the film was released. The parts of those recordings were found and mixed into true stereo. They have also been included in home video releases.

Clarice Freeman Schnoebelen, a skater who toured with Sonja Henie and appeared in the films, told her family a story about the filming of "Sun Valley Serenade." Her name at the time was Clarice Evans or Corliss Evans. She said that the black dye added to the ice in the famous "black ice" scene, which created the mirror effect of the ice, stained the women's skates, and no offer was made to clean the skates or replace them. The women had to replace the skates out of their own pockets. In addition to the dye, the surface was flooded with water to increase the intensity of the reflection, which also increased the splashing of dye onto the skates. Some of the men, who wore black skates, didn't have the same problem. It is unclear if the other men who wore white skates were reimbursed. [8]

Screenings

The film is shown 24 hours a day on a dedicated television channel available to all rooms at the Sun Valley Lodge and Inn. [9]

The film was released in the Soviet Union in June, 1944, as escapist entertainment for Soviet civilians. For many years afterwards, in the early Cold War era when American films and music were mostly banned in the country, this film was the template for the Soviet youth who tried to imitate the "American lifestyle".

The film was a favourite in Jewish Displaced Persons Camps in the aftermath of the Holocaust, with the film's light entertainment and quick adaptation of Sonja Henie's character to American life a potential model for Jewish Displaced Persons' futures. [10]

The first Christmas Eve presentation of Sun Valley Serenade on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) was introduced by host Robert Osborne, in 2013. TCM had shown this movie in previous years on days other than Christmas Eve.

The film was released in the VHS format in 1991 by 20th Century Fox. In 2007, Sun Valley Serenade was released on DVD by 20th Century Fox for Region 2 format (Japan, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East). It remains unreleased on DVD for Region 1 (U.S., U.S. Territories, Canada, and Bermuda), though it is available on VOD outlets in the United States. The Blu-ray version of Sun Valley Serenade has been Released in Spain under the title Tu Serás Mi Marido [literally You Will Be My Husband]. It is playable on Region A Blu-ray players in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.

Awards and honors

Academy Awards:

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Chattanooga Choo Choo

The film features the million selling hit song "Chattanooga Choo Choo" which is a highlight and centerpiece of the movie. The RCA Victor 78 single reached no. 1 on the Billboard singles chart in 1941 and became the top record of that year. RCA Victor awarded Glenn Miller a Gold Record award for sales of 1.2 million copies in 1942. Originally, RCA issued the song as the B side with "I Know Why" as the A side. But "Chattanooga Choo Choo" was the side that was played on the radio and which became the hit.

Reception

Filmink thought Henie "is particularly smug in this one but everything else is fantastic. Brilliant support cast. Glenn Miller novelty. Divine Bari and Nicholas brothers." [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonja Henie</span> Norwegian figure skater (1912–1969)

Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champion (1931–1936). Henie has won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. She is one of only two skaters to defend a ladies' singles Olympic title, the other being Katarina Witt, and her six European titles have only been matched by Witt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Miller</span> American big band musician (1904–1944)

Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombone player, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forces. His civilian band, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra were one of the most popular and successful bands of the 20th century and the big band era. His military group, the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra, was also popular and successful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Warren</span> American composer and lyricist (1893–1981)

Harry Warren was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe". He wrote the music for the first blockbuster film musical, 42nd Street, choreographed by Busby Berkeley, with whom he would collaborate on many musical films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chattanooga Choo Choo</span> 1941 song by Mack Gordon

"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song written by Mack Gordon and composed by Harry Warren. It was originally recorded as a big band/swing tune by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade. It was the first song to receive a gold record, presented by RCA Victor in 1942, for sales of 1.2 million copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Miller Orchestra</span> American swing dance band

Glenn Miller and His Orchestra were an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and commercially successful dance orchestra of the swing era and one of the greatest singles charting acts of the 20th century. As of 2024, Ray Anthony is the last surviving member of the orchestra.

<i>Wintertime</i> (film) 1943 film by John Brahm

Wintertime is a 1943 Twentieth Century-Fox musical film directed by John Brahm and starring Sonja Henie and Cesar Romero. It also features Woody Herman and His Orchestra.

<i>The Glenn Miller Story</i> 1954 film by Anthony Mann

The Glenn Miller Story is a 1954 American biographical film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their second non-western collaboration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tex Beneke</span> American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader

Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. His band is also associated with the careers of Eydie Gormé, Henry Mancini and Ronnie Deauville. Beneke also solos on the recording the Glenn Miller Orchestra made of their popular song "In The Mood" and sings on another popular Glenn Miller recording, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Jazz critic Will Friedwald considers Beneke to be one of the major blues singers who sang with the big bands of the early 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It Happened in Sun Valley</span>

"It Happened in Sun Valley" is a 1941 song composed by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Mack Gordon. It was recorded and featured by Glenn Miller and his orchestra in the movie Sun Valley Serenade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chummy MacGregor</span> American jazz musician

John Chalmers MacGregor, better known as Chummy MacGregor, a musician and composer, was the pianist in The Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1936 to 1942. He composed the songs "Moon Dreams", "It Must Be Jelly ", "I Sustain the Wings", "Doin' the Jive", "Sold American", "Cutesie Pie" in 1932 with Bing Crosby and Red Standex, and "Slumber Song".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Modernaires</span> American vocal group (active 1934–1970s)

The Modernaires were an American vocal group, best known for performing in the 1940s alongside Glenn Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Lang (film producer)</span> Bosnian American skier and film producer

Otto Lang was a skier and pioneer ski instructor from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who lived and worked in the United States. After teaching skiing at a variety of smaller resorts in Austria, he joined the Hannes Schneider Ski School in St. Anton am Arlberg, one of the most prestigious ski schools of the era. Like many instructors who taught Schneider's Arlberg Method, Lang was eventually offered a chance to teach in the U.S., at Pecketts' on Sugar Hill in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He later moved out west and founded ski schools on Mount Rainier, Mount Baker and Mount Hood.

<i>Orchestra Wives</i> 1942 film by Archie Mayo

Orchestra Wives is a 1942 American musical film by 20th Century Fox starring Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, and Glenn Miller. The film was the second film to feature The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and is notable among the many swing era musicals because its plot is more serious and realistic than the insubstantial storylines that were typical of the genre. The movie was re-released in 1954 by 20th Century Fox to tie-in with the biopic The Glenn Miller Story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Eberle</span> American singer (1919–1979)

Raymond Eberle was a vocalist during the Big Band Era, making his name with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. His elder brother, Bob Eberly, sang with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.

<i>Iceland</i> (film) 1942 film by H. Bruce Humberstone

Iceland is a 1942 musical film released by 20th Century-Fox, directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and stars skater Sonja Henie and John Payne as a U.S. Marine posted in Iceland during World War II. The film was titled Katina in Great Britain and Marriage on Ice in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Miller discography</span>

Between 1938 and 1944, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released 266 singles on the monaural ten-inch shellac 78 rpm format. Their studio output comprised a variety of musical styles inside of the Swing genre, including ballads, band chants, dance instrumentals, novelty tracks, songs adapted from motion pictures, and, as the Second World War approached, patriotic music.

Sweet and Low-Down is a 1944 film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Benny Goodman and Linda Darnell. The film was a fictionalized version of life with Goodman, his band, and their manager while entertaining at military camps. The song "I'm Making Believe" was nominated for an Academy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Headin' for California</span>

"I'm Headin' For California" is a 1944 song composed by Glenn Miller and Arthur Malvin and performed for radio broadcast. The song was released in 1946 as a 78 single by the Glenn Miller Orchestra led by Tex Beneke. The song was Glenn's last composition.

<i>Happy Landing</i> (1938 film) 1938 film

Happy Landing is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring Sonja Henie, Ethel Merman, Don Ameche and Cesar Romero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Know Why (And So Do You)</span>

"I Know Why " is a 1941 song by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song appeared in the 20th Century Fox movie Sun Valley Serenade. The song was also released as an RCA Bluebird 78 single.

References

  1. Solomon, Aubrey (2002). Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 219. ISBN   978-08-1084-244-1.
  2. Soundtracks for Sun Valley Serenade. IMDb.
  3. Sun Valley Serenade (1941) - IMDb , retrieved 2019-09-06
  4. Green, Stanley (1999). Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 104. ISBN   0-634-00765-3.
  5. Flower, John (1972). Moonlight Serenade: A Bio-discography of the Glenn Miller Civilian Band. Arlington House. p. 289. ISBN   0-87000-161-2.
  6. first-person account from Dennis M. Spragg, chief historical consultant to the University of Colorado's Glenn Miller Archives
  7. Shelton, Peter (2003). Climb to Conquer: The Untold Story of WWII's 10th Mountain Division. Scribner. p. 48. ISBN   0-7432-2606-2.
  8. the reference is a first-person account by a skater on the set
  9. Cinema Treasures, Sun Valley Opera House
  10. Feinstein, Margarete Myers (2010). Holocaust Survivors in Postwar Germany, 1945-1957. Cambridge University Press. p. 123. ISBN   978-05-2142-958-0.
  11. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  12. "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  13. Vagg, Stephen (April 24, 2020). "I saw every Sonja Henie film so you don't have to". Filmink.