Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942)

Directed by: Leo McCarey | 115 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Walter Slezak, Albert Dekker, Albert Bassermann, Ferike Boros, Harry Shannon, Natascha Lytss

Former striptease dancer Katie O’Hara is thrilled to marry the wealthy Baron von Luber. Even when she is warned by journalist Pat O’Toole that von Luber is probably a secret accomplice of the Nazis, she only looks at the beautiful jewelry and clothes she gets from him. It therefore takes a while, but at some point she even notices that every country they visit during their honeymoon comes into the hands of the Hitler regime. Katie and Pat then run off together, while the Baron thinks she’s dead. Katie even does some resistance work in France during their flight, which gets her and Pat into trouble.

A messy movie is the least you can say about this curious product. It swings back and forth between a romantic comedy, a patriotic monstrosity and a weak spy story. One incredulity piles up on another, such as Ginger Rogers not realizing who or what her husband-to-be is, nor understanding the connection between the violence that the people endure from every country they inflict. The dark company her husband is in doesn’t ring any bells either. And to make the confusion complete, she suddenly helps a Jewish woman with her children to escape and also does espionage work. Well.

‘Once Upon a Honeymoon’ is entertaining at times, but falls short on many fronts. There’s no chemistry between Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant, which kills the romantic fact. The war propaganda is understandable given the year of release, but so many years later blunt and annoying. The humor is too sparse and not funny enough. The only bright spot is the game by Walter Slezak, who very nicely portrays the imperturbable fat man who rolls up country after country and is outrageously opportunistic, but otherwise it is all not to be very happy, nor to be moved by it or to swoon. .