The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)

83 mins | Drama, Musical | 10 March 1939

Director:

Reinhold Schunzel

Producer:

Harry Rapf

Cinematographer:

Joseph Ruttenberg

Editor:

W. Donn Hayes

Production Designer:

Cedric Gibbons

Production Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
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HISTORY

The working title of this film was Ice Follies. Whereas onscreen credits list only Eddie and Roy Shipstead and Oscar Johnson as members of the Ice Follies, the reviews include Harris Legg and LaVerne Busher as members, too. According to the Var review, Joan Crawford recorded three songs for this fllm, all of which were cut. The review also notes that for this picture, art director Merrill Pye designed the first mechanical set to operate on ice. The final Cinderella sequence was filmed in technicolor. ...

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The working title of this film was Ice Follies. Whereas onscreen credits list only Eddie and Roy Shipstead and Oscar Johnson as members of the Ice Follies, the reviews include Harris Legg and LaVerne Busher as members, too. According to the Var review, Joan Crawford recorded three songs for this fllm, all of which were cut. The review also notes that for this picture, art director Merrill Pye designed the first mechanical set to operate on ice. The final Cinderella sequence was filmed in technicolor.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Daily Variety
2 Mar 1939
p. 3
Film Daily
7 Mar 1939
p. 13
Hollywood Reporter
8 Oct 1938
p. 8
Hollywood Reporter
3 Mar 1939
p. 3
Motion Picture Daily
7 Mar 1939
p. 14
Motion Picture Herald
24 Dec 1938
p. 35
Motion Picture Herald
11 Mar 1939
pp. 43-44
New York Times
17 Mar 1939
p. 25
Variety
8 Mar 1939
p. 18
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
PRODUCER
Prod
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photog in technicolor, Cinderella finale
ART DIRECTORS
Art dir
Art dir assoc
Scenic eff, Cinderella finale
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
SET DECORATOR
Set dec
COSTUMES
Ice Follies ensembles
Miss Crawford's gowns
MUSIC
Mus dir
Georgie Stoll
Mus dir
Spec mus score and finale
Orch and vocal arr
Orch and vocal arr
SOUND
Rec dir
DANCE
Skating choreography
Skating choreography
MAKEUP
Miss Crawford's hair
COLOR PERSONNEL
Technicolor color dir, Cinderella finale
Assoc, Cinderella finale
SOURCES
SONGS
"It's All So New to Me," music and lyrics by Bernice Petkere and Marty Symes.
SONGWRITER/COMPOSER
DETAILS
Alternate Title:
Ice Follies
Release Date:
10 March 1939
Production Date:
began early Oct 1938
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Loew's Inc.
8 March 1939
LP8700
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Sound System
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
83
Length(in reels):
9
Country:
United States
PCA No:
5099
Passed by NBR:
Yes
SYNOPSIS

Larry Hall and Eddie Burgess have a successful skating act until Larry falls in love with Mary McKay, an inept skater whom Larry insists upon including in the act. Fired from job after job because of Mary's ineptitude, Larry keeps up his spirits by dreaming of producing a colossal ice show. Following their latest dismissal, the couple elope, and Mary, feeling guilty for damaging her husband's career, convinces Douglas Tolliver, Jr., the head of Monarch Studios, to offer her a contract. While reading the fine print of the contract, Mary discovers that she is forbidden to marry without the studio's permission, and Larry convinces her to keep their marriage a secret. After his wife's first picture catapults her to stardom, Larry finds himself relegated to the position of househusband and leaves for New York in hopes of producing his ice extravaganza. In New York, Larry is reunited with Eddie in the office of producer Mort Hodges, who raises the money to make Larry's dream a reality. Larry's Ice Follies becomes a smash hit, and with husband and wife now equal in stature, Mary and Larry hope to revive their marriage. When they discover that they are still separated by the demands of their careers, however, Mary publicly announces that she is foresaking her career to return to a life of domesticity. The impasse of their conflicting careers is finally bridged when Tolliver hires Larry to produce an ice show starring his wife, thus uniting their personal and professional ...

More Less

Larry Hall and Eddie Burgess have a successful skating act until Larry falls in love with Mary McKay, an inept skater whom Larry insists upon including in the act. Fired from job after job because of Mary's ineptitude, Larry keeps up his spirits by dreaming of producing a colossal ice show. Following their latest dismissal, the couple elope, and Mary, feeling guilty for damaging her husband's career, convinces Douglas Tolliver, Jr., the head of Monarch Studios, to offer her a contract. While reading the fine print of the contract, Mary discovers that she is forbidden to marry without the studio's permission, and Larry convinces her to keep their marriage a secret. After his wife's first picture catapults her to stardom, Larry finds himself relegated to the position of househusband and leaves for New York in hopes of producing his ice extravaganza. In New York, Larry is reunited with Eddie in the office of producer Mort Hodges, who raises the money to make Larry's dream a reality. Larry's Ice Follies becomes a smash hit, and with husband and wife now equal in stature, Mary and Larry hope to revive their marriage. When they discover that they are still separated by the demands of their careers, however, Mary publicly announces that she is foresaking her career to return to a life of domesticity. The impasse of their conflicting careers is finally bridged when Tolliver hires Larry to produce an ice show starring his wife, thus uniting their personal and professional lives.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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