Duchess of Idaho
| Duchess of Idaho | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Robert Z. Leonard |
| Produced by | Joe Pasternak |
| Written by | Dorothy Cooper Jerry Davis Sid Fields |
| Starring |
Van Johnson Esther Williams |
| Music by | Albert Sendrey George Stoll |
| Cinematography | Charles Edgar Schoenbaum |
| Edited by | Adrienne Fazan |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,705,000 |
| Box office | $4,236,000 |
Duchess of Idaho is a musical romantic comedy produced in 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, it was the fourth film pairing Esther Williams and Van Johnson. It was filmed at the MGM Studios lot and exteriors shot in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Christine Riverton Duncan (Esther Williams) attempts to play matchmaker for her lovelorn friend Ellen (Paula Raymond) by pursuing Douglas J. Morrissen, Jr. (John Lund), the man Ellen loves, all the way to Idaho. There, Christine decides to play a joke on Douglas. After boarding his train to Sun Valley, Christine wins the man's affections and then shocks him with hints that she expects a commitment. Once she's in Sun Valley, however, things become problematic when Christine falls in love with hotel bandleader Dick Layne (Van Johnson). During her time in Sun Valley, Christine wins the title of "Duchess of Idaho" in a dance contest.
In her autobiography, Million Dollar Mermaid, Williams called this a "re-hash of the Esther Williams formula: the mismatched lovers plot. It was enough to give one a case of cinematic deja vu."
This marked Eleanor Powell's first film appearance in six years as well as her last film appearance. Williams reported that Powell had practiced her cameo's routine until her feet bled, claiming that it had to be perfect.
Lena Horne's contract with MGM also ended with this film, though she would make several more MGM musical appearances later in the decade.
Several musical numbers filmed for the movie were cut from the theatrical release. The deleted songs were:
These performances would later surface on a special DVD packaged in a 2004 box set of the That's Entertainment! films.
According to MGM records the film earned $2,851,000 domestically and $1,385,000 foreign, making the studio a profit of $921,000.
...
Wikipedia