On the Riviera

On the Riviera is a 1951 Technicolor musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox. Directed by Walter Lang and produced by Sol C. Siegel from a screenplay by Valentine Davies and Phoebe and Henry Ephron, it is the studio's fourth film based on the 1934 play The Red Cat by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler. This version stars Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney and Corinne Calvet, with Marcel Dalio, Henri Letondal and Sig Ruman. The studio had signed Kaye for a one-picture deal, and revived the story as a vehicle for the multi-talented actor, who had a history of playing dual or multiple roles. On the Riviera was nominated for two Academy Awards: Scoring of a Musical Picture (by Alfred Newman) and Best Art Direction in Color (Art Directors Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller, Joseph C. Wright, and Set Decorators Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott). Plot At the Côte d'Azur nightclub in Monte Carlo, American entertainer Jack Martin (Danny Kaye) is a hit with his singing, dancing and impressions. One night, everyone in the club flocks to a television to watch famed aviator Captain Henri Duran (also Kaye) land in Nice, concluding a record-breaking round-the-world flight. Jack's partner—and girlfriend—Colette (Corinne Calvet) reminds him to put on his glasses, and they agree that Duran looks like Jack. Bored, Gapeaux (Sig Ruman) insists that Jack make his act “sensational”, or else.