Tonight's Movie: By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

Half a decade ago the Warner Archive Collection released a charming lifelong musical favorite, ON MOONLIGHT BAY (1951), on Blu-ray.

I'm delighted that after several years of waiting, that movie's sequel, BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON (1953), is now out on a Warner Archive Blu-ray as well.

The disc, from a new 1080p HD master from a 4K scan of the original Technicolor negatives, looks absolutely smashing, and sound quality is also outstanding.

BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON picks up shortly after ON MOONLIGHT BAY left off. William Sherman (Gordon MacRae) is just arriving home from serving in World War I. His fiancee Marjorie Winfield (Doris Day) is expecting a speedy wedding, but William is concerned about getting a job and starting a nest egg first.

That conflict is minor compared to Marjorie and her little brother Wesley (Billy Gray) becoming convinced their father (Leon Ames) may be romancing an actress (Maria Palmer). That plotline is reminiscent of A DATE WITH JUDY (1948), another film which coincidentally costarred Leon Ames.

Any viewer knows Mr. Winfield wouldn't step out on his lovely, understanding wife (Rosemary DeCamp)...the family kerfuffles are really simply an excuse to spend an enjoyable 101 minutes reunited with the Winfield family.

My only significant criticism of the movie is the same as it was in the first film: A little bit of Wesley's mischievous antics go a long way. I suppose it's natural these scenes are included, given that the screenplay by Robert O'Brien and Irving Elinson was very loosely inspired by Booth Tarkington's PENROD stories, but he becomes tiresome.

The movie also leaves me with the question: Where is William's family? Mrs. Winfield mentions having spoken to William's mother, but otherwise they're completely absent from the story; William even spends Thanksgiving with the Winfields.

Otherwise this film is a lovely time with charming actors seen in gorgeous Technicolor, directed by David Butler and filmed by Wilfrid M. Cline.

Day is delightful as always, and other than a couple short-lived scenes where he's being annoying for the sake of movie conflict, MacRae is also a handsome charmer. I especially love their "Ain't We Got Fun" duet, but all of Day and MacRae's songs, together and separately, are wonderful. They were a terrific team.

I also love the attractive pairing of Ames and DeCamp. The cast is rounded out by Mary Wickes as the family housekeeper and Russell Arms as Marjorie's would-be beau, perpetually hoping she'll dump William and choose him instead.

Blu-ray extras consist of the trailer; a pair of Joe McDoakes shorts, SO YOU WANT A TELEVISION SET (1953) and SO YOU WANT TO LEARN TO DANCE (1953); the cartoon FROM A TO ZZZZ (1953); and best of all, a Song Selection Menu for easy replay of the musical numbers.

I very much recommend both this disc and the previous Blu-ray release of ON MOONLIGHT BAY. I've watched both films many times over the course of my life, but they have never looked better than they do on these Warner Archive releases. These charming family musicals on beautiful Blu-rays are winners.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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