On the Riviera (1951)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

best movie i've ever seen.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

There is probably more remakes left in The Red Cat, the play on which Folies Bergere, That Night In Rio, and now On The Riviera is based. Danny Kaye in this film steps into the shoes of first Maurice Chevalier and Don Ameche and they fit well.Like his predecessors Kaye plays dual roles, an American entertainer who includes impressions in his act and a French industrialist who was an air ace a World War ago. The entertainer has Corinne Calvet in his act as an assistant and the industrialist is married to Gene Tierney.When the industrialist makes a secret trip to Great Britain for some financing his associates are left holding the bag with another French industrialist. They hire Kaye the entertainer to impersonate the industrialist and the results, especially with the interaction between the women are hilarious.I'm surprised that Danny Kaye never thought to play the Dromios in a film version of A Comedy Of Errors. With his friend Laurence Olivier as Antipholus it would have been a classic.On The Riviera got two Oscar nominations for Art&Set Direction and for musical scoring by Alfred Newman. Sylvia Fine also known as Mrs. Kaye wrote most of the score and Popo The Puppet got Kaye a lot of success with his children fans. But the hit was the oldtime ragtime song Ballin' The Jack revived for On The Riviera.This film holds up well and one of these days Robin Williams will see this as a property for him. As it is three fine films have been made already.

Most actors and performers excel in one field, with maybe a second very good talent. Bing Crosby could croon, and add a little tap or soft shoe. Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly could hoof up a storm, and often add a tune or melody. Frank Sinatra and others could sing, or play dramatic roles in films. Bob Hope and many other comics could toss in a little shuffle and/or tune with their comedy. But, once in awhile, a multi-talent comes along — like Danny Kaye. He could sing and dance, cavort and crack tongue-twisters, play it straight, and just put life and zest into a film. Movie goers since the mid-20th century have seen Kaye perform some or many of his talents in various movies. But, in "On the Riviera," he displays the finest of all his many talents. The plot in this film wasn't new or intriguing for then or now, but it was just the right venue to allow Kaye to show us the best of all his talents. Kaye's performance in a double role (impersonation) is far and away above that by actors in any other film (see Maurice Chevalier in "Folies Bergere de Paris," Yves Montand in "Let's Make Love," and Don Ameche in "That Night in Rio"). His comedic exchanges in this film are crisp as ever, and he shines in all his song and dance numbers, four of which were written and composed by his wife, Sylvia Fine, for this show. One particularly creative routine, "Popo the Puppet," lets Kaye show his exceptional physical versatility and talent as a dancer. One of the great attributes of the talented Danny Kaye was his ability to bring out the best in his co-stars and fellow performers. That shows as well in the performances of all the fine cast in this film. What a great performer and entertainer this man was — and global humanitarian as well. What great fun and enjoyment for those of us who love all these aspects of entertainment. I didn't always recognize the greatness of Kaye's talent. In my younger years, I liked the more manly figures or accomplished voices in films. But as I watch films not seen for decades, and as I look for the best of the music and musicals for my family film library, I see Kaye as the much bigger all around talent — and top entertainer — that he was. If you like great entertainment with song, dance, comedy and romance, you'll love "On the Riviera."

I'm afraid I couldn't get with the program here. Danny Kaye is responsible for some of the funnier movies ever made, but this plot is a weak comedy of manners. It has Kaye as Jack Martin, a nightclub impersonator, being called on to pretend he's a celebrated, aristocratic French aviator. There is a mix up with the aviator's wife, Gene Tierney, and Kay's girl friend, Corinne Calvet, gets jealous.It's in glorious Technicolor but it's all been done elsewhere, often better, as in "The Prisoner of Zenda." Sometimes worse, as in "The Front." There's little in the way of physical comedy. Kaye doesn't take any pratfalls. He rarely seems as rattled as he does in his usual screen persona -- more embarrassed than neurotic and cowardly. He doesn't sing a gibberish song. The location needn't have been the French Riviera. Kaye's part could easily have been given to anyone else.It's as much a musical as it is a comedy. Kaye plays a showman and does his musical numbers straight. None are memorable ("Ballin' the Jack") and Kaye wears a tuxedo. Kaye is energetic enough, on stage and off stage, and his voice is pleasant, but that's about it. One of his songs' best features is that it used (unless I'm mistaken) Gwen Verdon for one of the lead dancers. She should have had more screen time.If this was an attempt to broaden the style of Kaye's performances, it really doesn't work. As a comedian, with a good script, he's superb. As a singer and dancer, he's mediocre.

Danny Kaye has made many good movies, but "On the Riviera" and "White Christmas" are my favorites. Danny Kaye plays two men who look alike but have different personalities and lives. One is a philandering industrialist, who is elegant, and the other is an entertainer, who is silly. Each man has a beautiful woman in his life: the industrialist's wife (Gene Tierney) and the entertainer's girlfriend (Corinne Calvet). Both women are funny and this is their best comedy.