On The Riviera (1951)

A nightclub entertainer (Danny Kaye) is hired to impersonate an internationally famous aviator (Danny Kaye) when he's out of town since they look alike. But when the aviator returns home sooner than expected, the confusion over mistaken identities disorients the aviator's wife (Gene Tierney), the entertainer's girlfriend (Corinne Calvet) and everybody else! Based on the play THE RED CAT by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler, this is the third film version of the play. It was previously filmed in 1935 and 1941. With Danny Kaye in the lead, one would expect more zaniness but Kaye is surprisingly restrained here. The scenes at the aviator's party are wonderfully done but everything else seems tired as if the plot had been overused. The film is padded out with songs by Sylvia Fine (Kaye's wife) and they're an unmemorable lot and the cloying puppet number is Kaye at his worst. But Jack Cole's choreography is lively at least. Directed by Walter Lang. With Gwen Verdon, Mari Blanchard, Sig Ruman, Marcel Dalio, Joi Lansing, Clinton Sundberg, Ann Codee and Joyce Mackenzie.