"It's a Date" is a wonderful, very funny comedy romance film with a delightful cast. This is the type of story that one can imagine the cast having a ball over making. It has two angles or twists that haven't been used very often in comedies, and seldom together. The first is a mother and daughter thinking they have the same part or role in an upcoming play or film. The second is passengers on a ship mistakenly thinking a girl has been hurt or suffered a loss or catastrophe. There is a third element, of course, and that's a romance, and it's also similar to a plot ploy used very rarely, where the girl thinks the older guy is in love with her and/or others think that she has a crush on him.
Well, that should whet the appetite of prospective viewers of this film. The girl in all of this is Pamela Drake, played superbly by Deanna Durbin. She also was a singer of operatic type of music, and this film is billed as a musical. But this is nothing like a musical in either of the usual formats -- revue or play. Rather, this is a comedy romance, with a story built around the theater, in which Durbin sings three songs.
Kay Francis plays the other female lead as Pam's mother, Georgia Drake. She is a famous actress and singer in the story, but the opening scene is the only one in which she is acting in a musical, and her singing is dubbed. Walter Pidgeon plays the male lead, John Arlen. While a fan of Drake's, he's a big pineapple grower in Hawaii who, in middle age, hasn't yet found the right woman. Of course, the audience knows how this will turn out. But that doesn't diminish the film in the least - it's even necessary to set the plot for the last three-fourths of the film. That's where the comedy gets quite hilarious.
Aiding and abetting in this enjoyable frolic is a wonderful supporting cast of well-known and beloved performers of the mid-20th century. Henry Stephenson is the ship's head, Captain Andrew; Eugene Pallette plays Governor Allen of Hawaii; Samuel Hinds is the Drakes' producer and close friend; and Fritz Feld is hilarious as the frustrated Headwaiter. And, this is the American and English debut of the wonderful Hungarian actor, S. Z. Sakall. Already with more than 50 films behind him in Europe, Sakall would become a well-loved key supporting actor in Hollywood for the next decade and a half. He added spice to many comedies. In this film he is a playwright, Karl Ober, who has brought his new play to the U. S. to debut on the Broadway stage.
The actor who plays Pam's young friend, Freddie Miller, looks very promising in this, his second film. But his acting career never took off and he committed suicide in 1951, at age 32. This is also one of the few films that the older Cecilia Loftus was in. But she is a treat to see as the woman companion and friend of the Drake women, Sara Frankenstein. While that's apparently not her real name, Pam calls her that when she introduces her, and that's how she appears in the cast list.
Another little treat in this film is its scenes with music by Harry Owens and his Royal Hawaiians orchestra that played for years at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. I enjoyed the Royal Hawaiians myself while dining there one night in the early 1970s. This is a superb film that's loaded with hilarious dialog. Here are some favorite lines. The Quotes section on this movie page has many more very funny lines.
Karl Ober, "I can't work in New York anyway. Is this place far from here?" Pamela Drake, "Oh, no, Mr. Ober. It's only Maine. You know where Maine is?" Ober, "No." Pamela, "Oh, it's practically a few minutes from here."
Pamela, "Personally, I see the part played by a young, beautiful girl." Sidney Simpson, "Can you suggest somebody?"
Pamela, rehearsing lines that others hear while she's sitting on a ship's deck chair, "A woman's love is like a cocoon."
Captain Andrew, who loses frequently to John in chess, "But I've been reading up on this. Just you watch yourself." John Arlen, "So, you've learned to read, have you?"
John Arlen, "She's got quite an imagination. She not only imagined a proposal out of me, but she turned me down."
Sara Frankenstein, "What's it about?" Pam Drake, "Well, I play everything. I'm happy and I'm sad. My heart's broken. I wanna kill myself. I go crazy. I recover. I go crazy again. Oh, Sara, it's the real me." Sara, Yeah, I , I see a certain similarity."
Captain of Waiters, "What did he say when you said his friend shot himself?" Headwaiter, "Too bad."
Georgia Drake, "Your friends - one sends a message that he's broken his leg. The last fellow says he shot himself." John Arlen, "Now, Georgia, I explained that."
Georgia Drake, "Don't tell me - let me guess. Your house is on fire. That means that you sent a message to yourself, to eat breakfast tomorrow." John Arlen, "No, it's really on fire. I did it myself to collect the insurance."
Georgia Drake, "What's the background of the play?" Pamela, "Uh, the Swiss Alps. Very colorful, you know - mountain people." Georgia, "You mean this naval officer lives in the Swiss Alps?" Sara Frankenstein, "They haven't even got a navy in Switzerland."
Pamela Drake, "Oh, I'm old for my age. If you're raised in the theater, you age quicker, is the way I look at it." Sara Frankenstein, "You're practically an old hag, Pam."
John Arlen, "Oh have a heart, lady. How'd I know you were gonna turn out like this?" Georgia Drake, "You expected an old, fat dimwit, didn't you?"
Well, that should whet the appetite of prospective viewers of this film. The girl in all of this is Pamela Drake, played superbly by Deanna Durbin. She also was a singer of operatic type of music, and this film is billed as a musical. But this is nothing like a musical in either of the usual formats -- revue or play. Rather, this is a comedy romance, with a story built around the theater, in which Durbin sings three songs.
Kay Francis plays the other female lead as Pam's mother, Georgia Drake. She is a famous actress and singer in the story, but the opening scene is the only one in which she is acting in a musical, and her singing is dubbed. Walter Pidgeon plays the male lead, John Arlen. While a fan of Drake's, he's a big pineapple grower in Hawaii who, in middle age, hasn't yet found the right woman. Of course, the audience knows how this will turn out. But that doesn't diminish the film in the least - it's even necessary to set the plot for the last three-fourths of the film. That's where the comedy gets quite hilarious.
Aiding and abetting in this enjoyable frolic is a wonderful supporting cast of well-known and beloved performers of the mid-20th century. Henry Stephenson is the ship's head, Captain Andrew; Eugene Pallette plays Governor Allen of Hawaii; Samuel Hinds is the Drakes' producer and close friend; and Fritz Feld is hilarious as the frustrated Headwaiter. And, this is the American and English debut of the wonderful Hungarian actor, S. Z. Sakall. Already with more than 50 films behind him in Europe, Sakall would become a well-loved key supporting actor in Hollywood for the next decade and a half. He added spice to many comedies. In this film he is a playwright, Karl Ober, who has brought his new play to the U. S. to debut on the Broadway stage.
The actor who plays Pam's young friend, Freddie Miller, looks very promising in this, his second film. But his acting career never took off and he committed suicide in 1951, at age 32. This is also one of the few films that the older Cecilia Loftus was in. But she is a treat to see as the woman companion and friend of the Drake women, Sara Frankenstein. While that's apparently not her real name, Pam calls her that when she introduces her, and that's how she appears in the cast list.
Another little treat in this film is its scenes with music by Harry Owens and his Royal Hawaiians orchestra that played for years at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. I enjoyed the Royal Hawaiians myself while dining there one night in the early 1970s. This is a superb film that's loaded with hilarious dialog. Here are some favorite lines. The Quotes section on this movie page has many more very funny lines.
Karl Ober, "I can't work in New York anyway. Is this place far from here?" Pamela Drake, "Oh, no, Mr. Ober. It's only Maine. You know where Maine is?" Ober, "No." Pamela, "Oh, it's practically a few minutes from here."
Pamela, "Personally, I see the part played by a young, beautiful girl." Sidney Simpson, "Can you suggest somebody?"
Pamela, rehearsing lines that others hear while she's sitting on a ship's deck chair, "A woman's love is like a cocoon."
Captain Andrew, who loses frequently to John in chess, "But I've been reading up on this. Just you watch yourself." John Arlen, "So, you've learned to read, have you?"
John Arlen, "She's got quite an imagination. She not only imagined a proposal out of me, but she turned me down."
Sara Frankenstein, "What's it about?" Pam Drake, "Well, I play everything. I'm happy and I'm sad. My heart's broken. I wanna kill myself. I go crazy. I recover. I go crazy again. Oh, Sara, it's the real me." Sara, Yeah, I , I see a certain similarity."
Captain of Waiters, "What did he say when you said his friend shot himself?" Headwaiter, "Too bad."
Georgia Drake, "Your friends - one sends a message that he's broken his leg. The last fellow says he shot himself." John Arlen, "Now, Georgia, I explained that."
Georgia Drake, "Don't tell me - let me guess. Your house is on fire. That means that you sent a message to yourself, to eat breakfast tomorrow." John Arlen, "No, it's really on fire. I did it myself to collect the insurance."
Georgia Drake, "What's the background of the play?" Pamela, "Uh, the Swiss Alps. Very colorful, you know - mountain people." Georgia, "You mean this naval officer lives in the Swiss Alps?" Sara Frankenstein, "They haven't even got a navy in Switzerland."
Pamela Drake, "Oh, I'm old for my age. If you're raised in the theater, you age quicker, is the way I look at it." Sara Frankenstein, "You're practically an old hag, Pam."
John Arlen, "Oh have a heart, lady. How'd I know you were gonna turn out like this?" Georgia Drake, "You expected an old, fat dimwit, didn't you?"