By The Light Of The Silvery Moon (1953)

 

By The Light Of The Silvery Moon - 1953

In the United States, Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  So today, I thought we'd take a look at a Thanksgiving-themed film.  1953's "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon" is the sequel to "On Moonlight Bay" and tells the continuing story of Marjorie, Bill, and the Winfield family as they live their lives in small-town America.

The film's cast includes Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp, Billy Gray, Mary Wickes, Russell Arms, Maria Palmer, Howard Wendell, Geraldine Wall, and PeeWee Flannery.

Right away we are re-introduced to the Winfield family, one of whom is the youngest child Wesley.  He's currently obsessed with being a private investigator (Fearless Flanagan, Badge 79).  He also keeps a watch over Gregory, a turkey who is eventually supposed to end up as Thanksgiving dinner.

Housekeeper Stella is the one who tells of each member of the family.  At the end of her introductions, she says, "Oh, you're probably wondering who I am.  Well, don't be so nosy."

The Winfields are all excited.  Their daughter Marjorie's boyfriend Bill is coming home from the war.

Bill is happy to be coming home, too.  On the train, he and his fellow servicemen sing "My Hometown Is A One Horse Town".

When Bill arrives at the Winfield house, he greets an excited Marjorie, who began trying on a wedding dress the minute she heard that Bill was on the way.

Bill and Marjorie head off to a town dance, and their romance picks up right where they left off.  They sing "Your Eyes Have Told Me So" as they move around the dancefloor.

Meanwhile, Wesley is having trouble keeping control of Gregory.  "For the last time," says Mr. Winfield, "that turkey does not belong in the house!"  Wesley replies, "Well, if he's good enough to be on the table, he's good enough to walk around it."

After the dance the other night, Bill and Marjorie had a little misunderstanding.  So, Marjorie decides to make Bill jealous by singing with Wesley's music teacher.  "Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee" does its job and stings Bill into action.  He and Marjorie are back together before the song is through.

Preparations for Thanksgiving dinner are in full swing.  Bill and Marjorie take a break from helping so they can sing "Ain't We Got Fun".

Mr. Winfield steps into the kitchen and looks at the turkey cooking in the oven.  "Looks good," he says.  "When will it be ready?"  Stella gives him a sarcastic look and quickly closes the oven door.  "I don't know.  I never cooked one with the door open before," she says.

Through some fast thinking on Wesley's part, Gregory the turkey gets a reprieve and isn't cooked up for dinner.  Naturally, Mr. Winfield isn't happy about being deceived.

After dinner, Bill and Marjorie sing the title song together.  Afterwards, Marjorie says, "You know, I think we have more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving than anybody."  To which Bill replies, "Yeah.  Except Gregory."

After all the Thanksgiving festivities are over, Mr. Winfield goes over to visit actress Renee LaRue at her hotel to discuss a play that his bank is sponsoring.  He reads the script, but isn't particularly happy with one piece of dialogue.  He takes it home to give it some more consideration.

Unfortunately, the paper is found by Wesley who shows it to Marjorie.  Out of context, it looks like their father is cheating on their mother with Miss LaRue!  Soon the whole town gets in on the scandalous gossip.

Marjorie and Stella sympathize with Mrs. Winfield, who doesn't suspect a thing.

Bill and Marjorie continue to see each other.  However, the "situation" with her father and Miss LaRue has Marjorie a bit skittish about the institution of marriage.

At home, Marjorie and Wesley fuss over Mrs. Winfield, because they feel badly about the "games" their father is playing with Miss LaRue.  Mrs. Winfield tells her husband that they are treating her like a queen.  "You are a queen!  And that's straight from the king," says Mr. Winfield.  Stella shoots him a look and blurts out, "Henry the Eighth!"

While all this is going on, Marjorie participates in a sketch for a show in town.  She sings an energetic "King Chanticleer", to much applause from the crowd.

In case you were worried about the Winfield marriage or whether Bill and Marjorie would really get together, don't despair.  Everything works out in the end.

Cast rundown:

   Doris Day.....................................Marjorie Winfield

   Gordon MacRae.............................Bill Sherman

   Leon Ames...................................George Winfield

   Rosemary DeCamp........................Alice Winfield

   Billy Gray......................................Wesley Winfield

   Mary Wickes..................................Stella

   Russell Arms.................................Chester Finley

   Maria Palmer..................................Renee LaRue

   Howard Wendell.............................John Harris

   Geraldine Wall................................Emily Harris

   PeeWee Flannery............................PeeWee Harris

And that's it for By The Light Of The Silvery Moon.  Doris Day always mentioned this film as one of her favorites of her own films.  Doris was 30 years old when she played 18-year-old Marjorie.  Gordon MacRae was 31 years old when he played 20-year-old Bill.

So Happy Early Thanksgiving!  Stayed tuned tomorrow for another Thanksgiving post.

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