What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2021) with… On Moonlight Bay (1951)

We may be past the Doris Day “Star Of The Month” blogathon this year (back in January), but I’m not through with her yet for the year, as I’ve got another one of her films to look at! It’s her 1951 musical On Moonlight Bay, also starring Gordon MacRae! But first, we have a few theatrical shorts to start us off!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Let’s Sing A Song About The Moonlight (1948)

(available as an extra on the On Moonlight Bay Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection)

(Length: 9 minutes, 24 seconds)

This short contains four different songs about the moon. They include “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon,” “On Moonlight Bay,” In The Evening By The Moonlight” and “Shine On Harvest Moon.” It’s another entry in the “Memories From Melody Lane” series of shorts from Warner Brothers. It gives quick histories of the songs, and it also includes the lyrics as a singalong. There’s some fun to be had here (especially if you enjoy the music).

Coming Up Shorts! with… A Hound For Trouble (1951)

(available as an extra on the On Moonlight Bay Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection)

(Length: 7 minutes, 9 seconds)

Kicked off a boat in Italy, Charlie Dog turns to an Italian pizzeria owner, hoping to be his dog. A bit of a fun cartoon, as Charlie tries different ways to get in good with the pizzeria owner (and fails). Granted, this cartoon isn’t exactly politically correct, with the fake Italian being spoken and the stereotypes of Italians, but it’s not too terrible. Of course, one of the best gags is the one that ends the cartoon! This one was quite enjoyable, and one worth revisiting!

And Now For The Main Feature…

It’s 1917, and the Winfield family has just moved into a new home. Most of them are unhappy with the move, as they miss their old friends and neighbors as well as their old house. However, head of the family George Winfield (Leon Ames) likes the new home, with its location closer to the bank he works at, and hopes that his older daughter, Marjorie (Doris Day), will meet some young men. Marjorie is a bit of a tomboy, but she attempts to be more feminine when she meets and takes a liking to her nextdoor neighbor, William “Bill” Sherman (Gordon MacRae). College man Bill, who is home for the summer, develops an interest in Marjorie as well, but his views on life (partially affected by the war raging in Europe) cause strife with Marjorie’s father. As a result, George tries to promote a romance between Marjorie and music teacher Hubert Wakely (Jack Smith), much to Marjorie’s annoyance. Meanwhile, younger son Wesley (Billy Gray) has trouble at school with his teacher, Mary Stevens (Ellen Corby). His tall tales (partially influenced by a movie he saw) get him out of trouble temporarily, but cause problems for his family.

It’s been said that, when planning for what become On Moonlight Bay, Jack Warner (the head of Warner Brothers Studios) looked through a copy of all the music that Warner Brothers owned and picked a song (by randomly stabbing it with a toothpick) for the title tune. He then had his writers, Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson, write a story around it. They ended up adapting (very loosely) some of the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington (which had already been brought to the big screen a number of times before), with the focus shifted to the character’s older sister to put the spotlight on the studio’s popular actress and singer Doris Day. The film proved to be popular with audiences (enough so that a sequel, By The Light Of The Silvery Moon, was quickly put into production). For Doris Day, the film helped to cement her status as America’s Virgin Sweetheart (a status she wasn’t particularly thrilled by). Still, she considered the movie to be one of her favorites that she did.

I myself am coming off my second time seeing this movie. As I’ve said previously, I enjoy films from the early part of Doris Day’s career at Warner Brothers, and this one is no exception! The period music is certainly fun (not overtly memorable, but it’s still enjoyable, just the same), with Doris Day and Gordon MacRae doing well with the tunes. The story itself is nothing to write home about. Where the movie does shine, however, is in its comedy, especially with the family dynamics. As Wesley, Billy Gray manages to get into a number of humorous situations, including when the character, forgetting his school assignment to write a letter to somebody, decides to “borrow” his sister’s love letter to her boyfriend (without even bothering to read it first), only to be forced to read it in front of his class (much to his embarrassment). The fun continues as he decides to get revenge by trying to come between his sister and her other “boyfriend” (you know, the one her father approves of), only to realize that she is happy with his interference. And I can’t forget actress Mary Wickes, who plays their maid Stella, with the film’s running joke being her trying to carry dishes and stuff through doors, only for somebody else coming through causing her to drop everything. Plain and simple, this is a very entertaining movie, and one I would have no trouble recommending!

This movie is available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection featuring a new transfer from a 4K scan of the original Technicolor negatives. In short, this movie looks terrific, cleaned up the right way and with the colors as vivid as they should be! As usual, Warner Archive has maintained their high quality standards with this release, making it the best way to see this wonderful movie!