Bodas no Gelo

A pretty miss in ICELAND falls for an American Marine corporal stationed there temporarily during World War Two.

Sonja Henie was Norway's ice queen when she won Olympic gold medals for skating in 1928, 1932 & 1936. After going professional, she began a celebrated movie career at 20th Century Fox in 1936 with her American film debut, ONE IN A MILLION. Beautiful & talented, as well as being a natural in front of the cameras, she carved out her own special niche during Hollywood's Golden Age. Although Miss Henie's ice routines may look antiquated by comparison to modern champions, there was nothing antique about her dazzling smile or sparkling personality. In this regard, some of today's snowflake princesses could still learn a great deal from her.

As her career progressed, it became increasingly difficult for 20th Century Fox to find decent stories for Miss Henie and the excuses for the lavish ice dancing numbers were often implausible. No matter. Audiences did not flock to her films to watch Sonja recite Shakespeare. The movies were meant to be pure escapist fantasy, plain & simple.

ICELAND is no exception and its story is often quite ludicrous. However, the skating episodes are pleasing and there is a generous amount of band music supplied by the Sammy Kaye Orchestra, which introduces 'There Will Never Be Another You,' by Mack Gordon & Harry Warren.

Thanks to the script, John Payne's romance with Sonja is kept a rather dull affair. As Payne's sidekick, Jack Oakie comes across as loud & annoying. Felix Bressart, a fine actor when given something decent to work with, plays Sonja's silly Papa.

Fritz Feld makes the most of his few minutes as an inquisitive Icelandic functionary. Movie mavens will recognize an oddly uncredited Sterling Holloway, who is very funny as Sonja's erstwhile suitor.

Ultimately, though, this is Sonja's show. She glides effortlessly into the viewer's heart, while balancing on a thin edge of silver, suspended over frozen water.

Having seen all previous Sonja Henie movies-including Sun Valley Serenade which also featured her leading man John Payne and was directed by Bruce Humberstone, same as this one-this one is perhaps even more contrived than those others. It concerns a mixup between Ms. Henie and Payne concerning whether a wedding between them will be held or not. This was made while the US was involved in World War II so the numbers are of the patriotic kind as performed by Sammy Kaye and his Orchestra with singer Joan Merrill. Those numbers were highly enjoyable as were Ms. Henie's skate dances of which one of them has her partnered with Eugene Turner, a US skating champion. Supporting player Jack Oakie provides some funny lines, Sterling Holloway was also amusing in his brief scenes. But the banter between Ms. Henie and Payne wasn't funny and got increasingly tiring at the end. Good thing the movie's only about 90 minutes. So on that note, Iceland is worth a look for any Sonja Henie fans and nothing more.

Of course, you couldn't expect much more from a Sonja Henie movie. The plot was thin, basically about an Icelandic girl who falls in love with a Marine stationed in Iceland, who is reluctant to get married.

The skating numbers and music were terrific. The one where Sonja Henie dressed in Chinese, Hawaiian, and Latin costumes and skates around is exceptionally well done. The end number is also fantastic, and the songs, especially "There Will Never Be Another You" were all good.

This doesn't hold a candle to Sun Valley Serenade, but if you like light entertainment that involves ice skating, I'd say give this a try.

The storyline for the movie was nothing special. The skating was excellent for its' time and the music from the SK Orch. was excellent. Of course, I was partial to the music.....my Dad was in the band as lead trumpet player at the time and I watched the movie for that reason. He was front and center most of the time and it was neat to see him in the movie and think that as I was watching him in the movie, I was older than he was then. My Dad passed away in 1991 and it was really nice to finally find this movie on a few years ago. My sister and I "taped" it to have for the memories. John Payne did all he could with the poor storyline and made it enjoyable. Sterling Holliway was a pleasant surprise since my Dad talked about him often and that they were friends.

Sonja Henie was always watchable, even in her weakest films, and a marvel at ice skating.

Her filmography was very much a mixed bag. There are charmers and gems such as 'Sun Valley Serenade', 'Second Fiddle' and 'Lovely to Look At'. However, there are also wildly uneven and average films such as 'It's a Pleasure', 'Everything Happens at Night' and 'One in a Million'. Have yet to see a film of hers, though there is more to see, that's less than mediocre or terrible.

'Katina' (or 'Iceland') falls more in the latter category. Certainly not a terrible film, but is a case of some elements working far better than others. Some elements such as the music, Henie, the production values and the ice skating float beautifully, others such as the comedy, the romance, the script and the story sink badly.

It's beautifully photographed and the production values are suitably elegant and couldn't have been more perfectly complemented by the photography. Another high point is the music which is delightful and every bit as delightfully played and sung. "There Will Never Be Another You" is particularly note-worthy. John Payne sings gloriously, while Sterling Holloway is effective in his role as is Felix Besshart.

The best things about it are Henie, who charms as an actress and dazzles in the ice skating routines, and the ice skating sequences, which are full of energy and grace. Most envious on both counts.

On the other hand, the story is little more than (very) thinly plotted and very dull filler, with a romance that rarely goes anywhere and betraying a lack of chemistry. The comedy is similarly as limp as a kipper, especially with Jack Oakie who tries to compensate for that and instead overdoes it.

Payne has little to do and is rather wooden, while the pacing and the direction are leaden.

All in all, an uneven film that floats beautifully with some elements and sinks badly in others. 5/10 Bethany Cox