Alicia I love this movie so much

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

l_rawjalaurence In 1942 the United States had only just entered World War Two, with the people trying their best to come to terms with a conflict which three years previously had seemed like a remote European war, with little or no importance to them. This was the basis of the America First Movement, which flourished in the late Thirties.ONCE UPON A HONEYMOON was designed to influence public opinion by showing how much the Nazi colonization of Europe mattered to everyone in the world. The basic plot is straightforward: former showgirl Kathie O'Hara (aka Katherine Butt-Smith) (Ginger Rogers) is about to marry the Baron Franz von Luber (Walter Slezak) without realizing that he is a Nazi agent masquerading as an Austrian patriot. Campaigning journalist Pat O'Toole (Cary Grant), on an assignment to investigate O'Hara's past and present for American readers, acts as the voice of reason as he tries to set her right. The task proves impossible at first, but in a series of picaresque adventures in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and France, she comes to understand what a mistake she has made.Leo McCarey's film contains certain flabby moments - especially in a sequence ostensibly taking place in Paris, when O'Toole and O'Hara confess their love for one another. There are also some overt scenes of propaganda that interrupt the plot, especially when O'Hara encounters American spy Gaston le Blanc (Albert Dekker). On the credit side, however, there are some truly delightful comic sequences, no more so when Grant poses as O'Hara's dressmaker and tries to take her measurements. He makes every effort to avoid embarrassment, and by doing so ties himself into knots both physically and verbally. Grant and Rogers's playing of this sequence is masterly, with Rogers's deadpan countenance contrasting with Grant's facial contortions.Walter Slezak makes a convincing villain, his smooth, gentle exterior concealing a ruthless personality. He encounters O'Toole at a Paris café and backs the journalist into a corner: if O'Toole does not broadcast on the Nazi Party's behalf, then O'Hara's future cannot be guaranteed as she will be handed over to the Gestapo. Slezak's voice hardly rises above a whisper, yet the threat remains - despite his outwardly noble nature, O'Toole will have to submit to the Baron's wishes.ONCE UPON A HONEYMOON is certainly a period-piece, but it is still of interest, if only as an example of how versatile an actor Grant actually was, straddling the boundaries between comedy and straight drama with consummate ease.

writers_reign This turkey has some of the sloppiest writing ever inflicted on A-list actors and a journeyman director. Example: It begins in Vienna. Ginger Rogers, clearly blue-collar American has a fancy Park Avenue name, a well-appointed apartment, and, for good measure, is engaged to a ranking Nazi official, Walter Slezak. How did she get there? You tell me. Next: Cary Grant saddled with the name Patrick O'Hara (equalled, if not eclipsed, only by his 'cockney' Ernie Mott in None But The Lonely Heart. By 1942 Grant was the epitome of urbane sophistication and there were surely other Hollywood contract actors who could have handled the role. More? Throughout the film - set, don't forget, in a Europe more and more under Nazi control, Grant, an American citizen has no problem travelling freely from country to country and in several cases a scene ends like an unresolved chord and we take up the action at a later date in a 'once out out of snake-filled well' cavalier fashion. Journeyman Leo McCary was light-years short of Lubitsch who did this thing so much better in titles like To Be Or Not To Be or even Ninotchka. See it if you're a Grant or Rogers completist and while you're watching remember that this was what Grant was doing whilst other Englishmen who'd established themselves in post-war Holllywood like David Niven, were back in blighty in uniform.

jhsteel This film is great because I love Cary Grant, but I was surprised that in 1942 people were making what appeared to be a comedy about Hitler. It seems similar to a comedy being made about Daesh now: the evil that is killing millions of people across Europe was being treated light-heartedly by US film makers in 1942. However, the sense of humour needed to fight a war of that nature probably helped everyone to focus their efforts to defeat the enemy. The characters of the Nazis seems almost humorous, Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers were their usual wonderful selves, and it was very light and enjoyable. I had to look at the date when it was made, in order to understand the context.

utgard14 American burlesque dancer Ginger Rogers jumps at the opportunity to marry a wealthy Austrian baron (Walter Slezak). Little does she know her new husband is a Nazi. Enter radio news correspondent Cary Grant, who falls for Ginger while trying to do a story on her husband. He follows the pair all over Europe. When she's forced to face just who her husband is and what is really going on in the world, Ginger decides to flee with Cary. A wartime romantic comedy directed by Leo McCarey with two of my favorite stars, Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Sounds amazing. Unfortunately it isn't without flaws. But first, some of the good. Cary is charming as ever and has great chemistry with Ginger. Love the measuring scene. For her part, she's pretty and fun. I'm not sure why she was using that terrible accent early on. Her husband knew she was an American so I don't understand who she was supposed to be fooling. I guess she was supposed to be putting on airs, like some kind of society lady or something. It's pretty weird and never addressed. Walter Slezak makes for a fine villain, as he usually did. Albert Bassermann is great in a brief role.The scenes with Cary and Ginger are what works most in the film, particularly in the first hour. On the downside, when the film awkwardly switches to drama it undoes whatever momentum it has built up. I'm not offended, like other reviewers are, over the use of Nazis and anti-Semitism in a (mostly) light comedy. It was all within context and treated appropriately. However, I do think the movie becomes less interesting and certainly less fun in the second hour as it becomes darker. The fact that it goes on so long is what does it the most harm, though. As it is, it's a flawed film but still worth a peek for fans of Grant and Rogers.