Customer Reviews

It's a Pleasure [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"It's A Pleasure"
(RKO, 1945)
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This is an unusually robust, earthy film for Norwegian skating sensation Sonia Henie... Her other films tended to be pretty goodie-two-shoesy, but this late WWII flick has a pretty salty script, apparently influenced by the hard-bitten film noir genre of the time. Here, Henie is a hardworking professional figure skater who falls for a hard-drinking, roughneck hockey player whose bad temper and alcoholism gets him banned from the sport (played by Michael O'Shea). He in turn is pursued by the trampy, sexually aggressive wife of one of his best friends, who plies him with booze and (apparently) leads him astray. The dialogue is full of both implied and surprisingly direct rawness -- hardly the family-friendly fare of Henie's earlier films. All in all, pretty entertaining! You might be surprised at how racy the plot is... the skating's pretty fine, too! (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue film reviews)

This is a novelty: A musical film from 1945 that contains alcoholism, poverty and adultery. Of course it`s Sonja`s show and she carries it of beautifully, though her dramatic depth as an actress might be questioned hehehe. The photography by the great Ray Rennahan is spectacular, as are the scenic design and costumes. Marie "The Body"(as she was called) McDonald is a breathtaking witch. McDonald suffered from too many ex-husbands and eventually committed suicide by the early 60s... Sonja`s solos are the best she did on celluloid(with Iceland 1942) and her dance-scene without skates proved that she was an excellent dancer. What a pity she never was teamed with Fred Astaire; it could have been an interesting musical....

Lent ongoing allure by the extraordinary early Technicolor process, this ice-skating romance also benefits from contributions by several Oscar-winning technicians, all in top form here, including cinematographer Ray Rennahan (Gone With the Wind), interior designer Wiard Ihnen, and set decorator Julia Heron. Additionally, those responsible for the superlative costumes and hair styling should be recognized, with all of these crew strengths nearly making the plot irrelevant, as a viewer is dazzled in one way or another and, of course, often by the skating of Sonja Henie. For precision skating, Henie has never been topped, and here her known acting shortcomings seem less obtrusive than is usual, as she is supported by a solid cast, including Michael O'Shea, Gus Schilling, Iris Adrian, and a startlingly beautiful Marie McDonald, whose agenda to steal O'Shea from Henie comprises the core of a somewhat melodramatic and simplistic screen play. The script turns upon Henie's love for O'Shea, who plays a professional hockey player is permanently banned for punching an official, and whose fondness for alcohol leads to a variety of thorny situations which turn his life upside down, and which link him with the difficult to ignore McDonald. All involved in this effort are served well by journeyman director William A. Seiter, who takes charge of the action whenever the scenario flags, although the editing and blocking are at times obtrusive. It all comes down in the end to Henie on ice, and there the pirouetting dervish provides as usual, with her at times off-putting Norwegian inflections not an issue, skating as well as ever and benefiting, as throughout the film, including one non-gelid partnered dance scene, from a lovely score composed by Walter Donaldson and Edgar Leslie.

A very minor movie to be sure, but noteworthy for Sonja Henie fans, because it's the only film she did in Technicolor. It was also sadly one of her last movies. In IT'S A PLEASURE, Henie co-stars with affable Michael O'Shea and the scene-stealing Iris Adrian.

Sonja Henie stars as Chris Linden, a talented skater who falls in love with Don Martin (Michael O'Shea), a drunken hockey player who gets disqualified from the sport after he beats up the referee. It's a standard "Star is Born" story but given lots of life thanks to Henie and O'Shea's winning chemistry. Musical theatre singer Bill Johnson (as the ice-troupe manager) and Marie McDonald (his coldly-manipulative wife) are also impressive.

Sonja Henie, always so youthful and innocent in her early vehicles like "Second Fiddle" and "Sun Valley Serenade" is allowed to show a more mature, dramatic side to her personality in this movie. Three years later she'd appear in her final movie ("The Countess of Monte Cristo") before going into semi-retirement.

One for the Sonja fans.

This is the first Sonja Henie picture released on DVD (and her only one in Technicolor). It is not from her best period but the beautiful Technicolor and her skating and dancing scenes more than make up for it. Iris Adrian adds to the fun.

Lovely old movie in color, the skating on the black mirror rink is surperb, even by today's standards of filming. I thoroughly enjoying watching Sonja Henie's skating, she was a champion for her time. Thanks for putting it on DVD for us more mature people to enjoy.

Superb entertainment! Ice skating rarely seen in today`s world. My 3 generation family watched the movie together and all were fascinated.

this is the first film with sonja henie iv'e seen them put on dvd, does anyone know if they are gonna do any more???
all her films are great and i hope to see the rest of them on dvd

I've been of fan of Sonja Heine since she stared making movies. Since this was her last film and the only color one that she did. I'm glad that I have it. I think that they could have had a more likeable leading man. Did not care for M.O'Shea . The rest of cast was just so so.

Although most of her movies feature her in the same routine in her skating which are very similiar ,I still love watching her movies. She is a little pocket rocket. Its great this movie is in color.