Sonja Henie

[Oceanblue]

I just saw her 2018 biopic Sonja: White Swan .  Has anyone ever read her memoir or biographys?   I admire her skating, and think her movies are fun to watch.   I did not know Tyrone Powers was one of her beaus , until I took an interest in his career last year.  I know they made a few films together.  

Getting back to her biopic, I would rate it a 6.  Her parents were well heeled.  Her dad made his fortune  in brush manufacturing and furs. Her mom was born with a silver spoon.  She and her brother Leif bought property in Oceanside, and named it Heineland.  It is still around.   Furthermore, she and her last husband  were art collectors.  In addition,  according to an online article about her published in 2014, she made white  ice skates popular, I guess back then, they only came in black.  Also, the article  mentiond  her  dad asking Hearst and Marion Davies to help promote his daughter's career.   In the film, her "take charge "attitude  is highlighted  regarding her movie career.

[Tikisoo]

36 minutes ago, Oceanblue said:

bought property in Oceanside, and named it Heineland.

Mekka-Lekka Hai Mecca Heinie Ho.

I gained a new appreciation for Sonja when our classic film group screened her films, usually our season closer in Dec. They are lighthearted fun and audiences are rapt in the skating dance sequences. Our host has mentioned she had rinks built with the base under the ice painted black to photograph better, ingenious. She took great pride in promoting her sport and comes across as a smart cookie.

Thanks for bringing this biopic (is it a documentary?) to our attention.

[Roy Cronin]

I've read the biography "Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie", published many years ago.  I knew little about her, so I found it interesting. 

As the title indicates, there was a dark side.  

[TopBilled]

Ms. Henie is remembered for her ice skating musicals at 20th Century Fox in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

WINTERTIME was her final Fox outing. It lacks a traditional leading man (typically she was paired with Don Ameche, Tyrone Power or John Payne). But it has a lot of fun supporting players. Plus a young Cornel Wilde is featured.

[Oceanblue]

I would like to see Wintertime, in addition to Sun Valley Serenade.  In the second film, Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers make cameos.  

[Oceanblue]

On 6/21/2021 at 7:07 PM, TopBilled said:

Ms. Henie is remembered for her ice skating musicals at 20th Century Fox in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

WINTERTIME was her final Fox outing. It lacks a traditional leading man (typically she was paired with Don Ameche, Tyrone Power or John Payne). But it has a lot of fun supporting players. Plus a young Cornel Wilde is featured.

Caesar co starred in a few of her films as well.  He was also good pals with Tyrone.

[Oceanblue]

On 6/21/2021 at 6:40 AM, Roy Cronin said:

I've read the biography "Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie", published many years ago.  I knew little about her, so I found it interesting. 

As the title indicates, there was a dark side.  

I think her estranged brother coauthored the bio.  I read that it contained many falsehoods, still I would like to read it. 

[Oceanblue]

On 6/21/2021 at 6:08 AM, TikiSoo said:

Mekka-Lekka Hai Mecca Heinie Ho.

I gained a new appreciation for Sonja when our classic film group screened her films, usually our season closer in Dec. They are lighthearted fun and audiences are rapt in the skating dance sequences. Our host has mentioned she had rinks built with the base under the ice painted black to photograph better, ingenious. She took great pride in promoting her sport and comes across as a smart cookie.

Thanks for bringing this biopic (is it a documentary?) to our attention.

No it is not a documentary, but at the end there is vintage footage of the ice skater.

[Oceanblue]

There is a mention of the ice being painted black in the film, glad to know the reason.

[Movie Collector OH]

6 hours ago, Oceanblue said:

I think her estranged brother coauthored the bio.  I read that it contained many falsehoods, still I would like to read it. 

Sounds interesting.

[Roy Cronin]

This is from a Vanity Fair article about Sonja:

 

In 1985, about 16 years after Sonja’s death, a biography co-written by Raymond Strait and Leif Henie (who died in 1984) was published: Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie. The book is richly detailed, brimming with background information, and loaded with fascinating insights from Sonja’s colleagues and friends. It is also merciless, sharing every last foible and flaw. More than one reviewer compared the book to the Joan Crawford takedown Mommie Dearest. Obviously the sibling of a superstar is going to have grievances, but Sonja’s peers in the skating world, all that Vanity Fair spoke to, found the book “unfair.”