A year earlier Republic Pictures had a hit with its big screen version of the ICE CAPADES. The studio was eager to put a follow-up picture into production. Originally titled ICE CAPADES REVUE, this was later seen as RHYTHM HITS THE ICE. Two supporting players from the first film, Jerry Colonna and Barbara Jo Allen, are back to provide more comic relief. But the lead couple is played by Ellen Drew and Richard Denning, on loan from Paramount.
Drew is cast as a New England farm girl whose debts are out of control. In need of money to stay afloat, she is heartened to learn she's received an inheritance but must go to New York City to claim it. However, when she and her aunt (Allen) arrive in NYC, they are shocked to learn the inheritance is not in the form of money; it's in the form of a traveling ice show (the Ice Capades dancers, featuring Vera Hruba Ralston). This is not exactly good news, since the ice show is also in debt.
Complicating matters is the fact that some racketeer has control of the contract for the ice rinks in the region, and one of his stooges (Denning) charms Drew to get her to disband the show. In fact, he thinks that if he can get her alone in a telephone booth, she'll be putty in his hands.
If Drew breaks up the ice show then Denning's boss (Harold Huber) can promote his own business interests without any competition. When Drew finds out Denning is a heel, she wants nothing more to do with him. She takes the troupe to her farm where she works on a plan to save the show with backing from a potential investor (Colonna).
One of the film's funnier sequences involves Colonna whose stock in trade is astrology. He has told them all he will come into a fortune on a certain day of the month, leading Drew and Allen, who has a crush on Colonna, to think he has some sort of trust fund. But it turns out Colonna's referring to the night a radio broadcast occurs when he believes he will win a contest. He's a crackpot hoping to win a jackpot.
Realizing they are right back where they are started, Drew tries to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, Denning has shown up at the farm. To make up for his previous mistakes, he rigs a broadcast to make it seem like Colonna has won a load of cash, to keep everyone's spirits up...until Denning can find a new legitimate backer. Some of this is silly and far-fetched but it's amusing to watch.
The best parts of the film are the ice skating numbers. I was surprised at how much variety and thought went into these scenes. At 20th Century Fox, Sonja Henie was usually the main attraction, with everything built around her. But here, we have an ensemble group's talents on displays. There's a Latin themed number early in the film where the skaters rumba and do a Conga line on the ice. There is also a fun Hawaiian hula type number with Vera Ralston front and center.
Plus we have a 'rhythm hits the ice' routine performed to the tune of 'Ain't Misbehavin' that gives us a good jazzy piece to watch. The last number is a more patriotic performance with the skaters marching on ice.
Of course we know that everything will turn out all right in the end. Drew and Denning will become a proper couple; so will Colonna and Allen. The skaters will keep on skating, and the audience will keep coming back to see these kinds of entertaining motion pictures.
Drew is cast as a New England farm girl whose debts are out of control. In need of money to stay afloat, she is heartened to learn she's received an inheritance but must go to New York City to claim it. However, when she and her aunt (Allen) arrive in NYC, they are shocked to learn the inheritance is not in the form of money; it's in the form of a traveling ice show (the Ice Capades dancers, featuring Vera Hruba Ralston). This is not exactly good news, since the ice show is also in debt.
Complicating matters is the fact that some racketeer has control of the contract for the ice rinks in the region, and one of his stooges (Denning) charms Drew to get her to disband the show. In fact, he thinks that if he can get her alone in a telephone booth, she'll be putty in his hands.
If Drew breaks up the ice show then Denning's boss (Harold Huber) can promote his own business interests without any competition. When Drew finds out Denning is a heel, she wants nothing more to do with him. She takes the troupe to her farm where she works on a plan to save the show with backing from a potential investor (Colonna).
One of the film's funnier sequences involves Colonna whose stock in trade is astrology. He has told them all he will come into a fortune on a certain day of the month, leading Drew and Allen, who has a crush on Colonna, to think he has some sort of trust fund. But it turns out Colonna's referring to the night a radio broadcast occurs when he believes he will win a contest. He's a crackpot hoping to win a jackpot.
Realizing they are right back where they are started, Drew tries to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, Denning has shown up at the farm. To make up for his previous mistakes, he rigs a broadcast to make it seem like Colonna has won a load of cash, to keep everyone's spirits up...until Denning can find a new legitimate backer. Some of this is silly and far-fetched but it's amusing to watch.
The best parts of the film are the ice skating numbers. I was surprised at how much variety and thought went into these scenes. At 20th Century Fox, Sonja Henie was usually the main attraction, with everything built around her. But here, we have an ensemble group's talents on displays. There's a Latin themed number early in the film where the skaters rumba and do a Conga line on the ice. There is also a fun Hawaiian hula type number with Vera Ralston front and center.
Plus we have a 'rhythm hits the ice' routine performed to the tune of 'Ain't Misbehavin' that gives us a good jazzy piece to watch. The last number is a more patriotic performance with the skaters marching on ice.
Of course we know that everything will turn out all right in the end. Drew and Denning will become a proper couple; so will Colonna and Allen. The skaters will keep on skating, and the audience will keep coming back to see these kinds of entertaining motion pictures.
