Search - It's a Pleasure on DVD

Sonia Henie noir...?

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 05/04/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

""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)"

Sonja in Technicolor!

Lawrence L. Smith | Allentown Pa | 04/09/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Sonja saves the day in this minor musical

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 06/02/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Great movie

Ms. V. Monaco | Melbourne Australia | 07/31/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."