Customer Reviews

On Moonlight Bay

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Doris Day plays a teenage girl to parents Leon Ames and Rosemary DeCamp. Doris is pretty much a tomboy. She can lift furniture and play baseball. The father decided to move into this new big house to live in a more refined neighborhood so his daughter could meet someone to marry. Well, while playing baseball and then trying to keep her brother (Billy Gray, "Father Knows Best" tv series 1954-60) out of trouble with the new neighbor kid, she meets Gordon MacRae in the worst way, and even gets a spanking from him. This leads to her first time in an evening dress and afirst date. A nice , cordial romance begins.
Mary Wickes plays the house maid. Ellen Corby plays a school teacher.
Funniest line in the film: Billy gray says, "Everyone in town knows marjorie's old petticoat!"
Sequel: BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON (1953).

Marjorie Winfield(Doris Day) and her family move to a new town so her father George Winfield (Leon Ames) can be living closer to the bank that he works at along with his wife Mrs. Winfield (Rosemary Camp), Wesley Winfield (Billy Gray). Their she meets and falls in love with William Sherman (Gordon MacRae) at first her parents are all for it until they find out that he doesn't support marriage and that he hates banks. Which Mr. Winfield is the president of the Town Bank! So they have a lot of fun with everything fun that they do! Their are a lso a lot of other fun songs that are being sung like Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee, And On Moonlight Bay. This is one Movie Musical that you are for sure to enjoy!

Traditional American values and warm nostalgia blend seamlessly in this WB film based on Booth Tarkington's 'Penrod' stories. Starring a young Doris Day and Gordon MacRae and set in Indiana during WWI it is more a sweet story of love and family values scattered with songs than a traditional Hollywood musical. The end of this film will leave a warm feeling in your heart just as it did the public in 1949.

The sets of Indiana during the early 20th century are marvelous and a cast that includes Leon Ames, Jack Smith, Ellen Corby and Rosemary De Camp give Doris Day and Gordon MacRae all the fun and drama they need to fall in love.

Doris Day is the baseball playing tomboy, Margie, who meets William (MacRae) in the unlikliest manner when she takes a gun away from her mischievous little brother, Wesley, and almost shoots William in the process! Of course, love blooms and soon she trades her cleats for high heels as she and William overcome her father's objections and the enlistment of William and his entire graduating class of Indiana U into the army.

Along the way we get snowball fights and the sweet angst of young and innocent love, not to mention some really nice songs. A few belly laughs are provided as Margie's little brother, Wesley, makes up a horrible story about his family to sidestep some homework, based on a 'flicker' he has seen, that has the whole town talking!

Perhaps because this film so often gets compared to the perfect musical of American nostalgia, 'Meet Me in St. Louis,' it doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Doris Day shows that glowing magic that endeared her to audiences around the world and the film itself is a warm and wonderful reminder of America and its values.

Outspoken college boy, William Sherman (Gordon MacRae) falls for tomboy Marjorie Winfield (Doris Day) in this fun romantic musical set in a small Indiana town in the early 1900's. After accidentally shooting him and missing in the barn, Marjorie gives up baseball and embarks on a series of romantic adventures with the handsome William.
Their romance is sweet and innocent from beginning to end. They share their first date at the Moonlight Bay amusement park where they enjoy a canoe ride, dance a two-step, win a kewpie doll, and share their first kiss. They sing beautiful songs together and to each other like "Cuddle Up A Little Closer," "Till We Meet Again," and many more.
They also face opposition from Marjorie's father and a near elopement as they find themselves being separated by William's enlistment in the army during WWI.
The nostalgic atmosphere created by the period music, clothes, and sets is unforgettable from the houses to the streets to the old fashioned school house. If you want to get lost in an old-fashioned romance and bring to life the feeling of old town Americana, then this movie is it!!

This is a sequel movie to By The Light Of The Silvery Moon and is really funny. Great for the whole family. Doris Day and Gordon Macrae make a cute pair. The kids will love it too!

By 1951 Doris Day had become one of the most valuable assets at Warner Brothers. She was their number one female box-office draw and as a follow-up to her hugely popular 1950 musical with Gordon MacRae, "Tea for Two" the pair were teamed up again (their 3rd teaming in fact) in the technicolor "On Moonlight Bay".

Loosely based on the "Penrod" tales by Booth Tarkington, "Bay" is a nostalgic, lovingly created look at small town Americana, a world that might not have existed quite as it is depicted but a place we'd like to believe really was.

Doris Day is a tomboy, more at home on the baseball field or fixing a car than in a dress. The arrival of the boy next door changes some of that, though not all. Her precocious brother Wesley is the devil incarnate. Mom and Dad spend a lot of time scratching their heads in bemused wonderment at their youngsters antics, and the family maid is erascible but likeable. It's all tied up with gorgeous technicolor photography and a lot of lovely music.

Some critics have carped that it's Warners version of "Meet Me in St. Louis" but "On Moonlight Bay" can stand on its own merits thanks to a great cast and some genuinely sweet and funny moments.

Doris is perfect as Marjorie, effectively balancing the tomboy and blossoming young lady elements of her character and singing in that gorgeous voice that is distinctly her own. Gordon MacRae is stalwart as the object of her affection and it's obvious that the two have a genuine feeling for one another. They remained good friends until his untimely passing. Their rendition of "Till We Meet Again" is outstanding.

It's easy to believe that the cast is really a family. Leon Ames and Rosemary DeCamp as the parents are warmly winning. In 1984 I had the pleasure of joining Miss DeCamp and her husband, a retired California Judge at an awards dinner and we talked about this film among others and she glowed as she discussed the on-set atmosphere and interactions of the cast.

Bill Gray (of "Father Knows best" fame) is delightful and funny as Wesley, and who could have played the family maid better than Mary Wickes. This was the 1st of 4 on-screen roles opposite Day who was a lifelong friend. In addition Wickes did a very funny guest shot on Day's CBS Television series in 1969.

"On Moonlight Bay" was such a huge success for Warners that two years later they reteamed most of the cast for an equally popular sequel, "By the Light of the Silvery Moon".

Take a sail on Moonlight Bay and you'll be surprised at how much you enjoy the trip.

I've been looking for a copy of this movie for 2 years now. I'm so happy to learn it has a sequel! If you know a movie doesn't have to be disgusting to be funny and love zany romantic comedies and/or musicals, you'll enjoy "On Moonlight Bay". Sure, the ending is predictable, but there are plenty of surprises along the way. If you liked "Tammy and the Bachelor", you will like this movie equally well (if not more). It's my opinion that this movie is funnier and attracts a wider audience than "Tammy".

On Moonlight bay had my roomates and myself laughing hysterically and quoting lines for days. Even guys like this show!

ON MOONLIGHT BAY is one of those musicals that has a great score but runs out of plot in some parts. Story is creative, but the predictibility of the supposedly funny sequences are not up to par quite and nothing "comedic" that you haven't seen before. This only makes the viewer half-smile, not laugh. The lifestyle (even in 1916-1917!) of the families involved is not too believable. But with songs like "On Moonlight Bay" and "Love Ya, Love Ya Honey" and a great looking Doris Day, for the most part one doesn't really care. Grandly entertaining, only if a slightly concieted story doesn't bother you.

There is no way you can feel anything but happy while, and after, watching this charming movie. Day and McCrae are adorable. And if you don't sing "Love Ya, Love Ya, Honey" for days after watching there's something seriously wrong with you!