One in a Million (1937)

This might have looked good on a storyboard, but despite a spirited effort from Adolphe Menjou and some graceful ice-capades from Norwegian champion Sonja Henie, the film really struggles to get out of first gear for what felt like quite a bit longer than an hour and an half. He’s a skint theatrical impresario who discovers this astonishingly talented ice dancer “Greta” (Henie) whilst she is preparing to represent her home nation of Switzerland at the Winter Olympic Games, and after his own hotel was mysteriously reduced to cinders. He quickly realises there are more ways than one to skin a cat, so offers her guesthouse-owing father (Jean Hersholt) a part in his vaudeville-style enterprise in the hope that will ensure he gets to manage the daughter too! Meantime, the conflagration has attracted a couple of opportunistic hacks hoping to tie in this fire with some nefarious criminal activities. “Bob” (Don Ameche) and “Danny” (Ned Sparks) are not only intrigued by the ashes, but with the enigmatic and obviously up-to-something Montagu Love. Henie is clearly learning something of the craft here, and to an extent the others help to compensate for her obvious inexperience in front of the camera, but the musical numbers are just a bit too perfectly staged and the so-called comedians “The Ritz Brothers” did make me wonder if they were supposed to be in the hotel that was razed to the ground. The whole story could have been told in half an hour, and that could have included an entertaining finale that showcases the polished skill of this already double Olympian. Otherwise, though, it’s all really a bit of a meandering muddle.