History Film / OnMoonlightBay

In 1910s Indiana, the Winfield family -- comprised of parents George (Leon Ames) and Alice (Rosemary [=DeCamp=]), their children Marjorie (Day) and Wesley (Billy Gray), and their cook Stella (Creator/MaryWickes) -- move into a new house a mile and a half across town to be closer to the bank where George works. There, they meet the family across the street, particularly college senior William Sherman ([=MacRae=]). The film is told in a series of loosely-connected vignettes, though the driving plot thread is the blossoming romance between Marjorie and Bill.

In 1910s Indiana, the Winfield family -- comprised of parents George (Leon Ames) and Alice (Rosemary [=DeCamp=]), their children Marjorie (Day) and Wesley (Billy Gray), and their cook Stella (Mary Wickes) -- move into a new house a mile and a half across town to be closer to the bank where George works. There, they meet the family across the street, particularly college senior William Sherman ([=MacRae=]). The film is told in a series of loosely-connected vignettes, though the driving plot thread is the blossoming romance between Marjorie and Bill.

* ACupAngst: Alluded to ''very'' obliquely (it was the 50s, after all). Marjorie's mother Alice is seen giving her two powder puffs prior to her date, with the implication that she will use them to [[FakeBoobs pad out her dress]]. Later Marjorie dances the two-step, causing them to fall out.

The Winfield family - comprised of parents George and Alice, their children Marjorie and Wesley, and their cook Stella - moves into a new house a mile and a half across town to be closer to the bank where George works. There, they meet the family across the street, particularly college senior William Sherman and his brother Jim. The film is told in a series of loosely-connected vignettes, though the driving plot thread is the blossoming romance between Marjorie and Bill.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moonlight_bay.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:We were sailin' along \\
[[TitleDrop on Moonlight Bay...]]]]

A 1951 JukeboxMusical very loosely based on Booth Tarkington's ''Penrod'' books, starring Creator/DorisDay and Gordon [=MacRae=].

* WhoWritesThisCrap: On his first date with Marjorie, Bill complains that the song that's playing in the background sounds like it was written by someone with "a glass of beer in one hand and a rhyming dictionary in the other." The song is... "On Moonlight Bay."

* PinkIsFeminine: Marjorie's dress in her SheCleansUpNicely scene wears a pink dress with a poofy skirt with matching gloves and hairbow.

* HollywoodCostuming: The films are set in the 1910s, but you'd never know it if you looked at Marjorie's 50s bangs and outfits.

* ParentsAsPeople: George and Alice are loving and understanding parents, although occasionally George will forget that he also used to be a kid.

A 1951 JukeboxMusical very loosely based on Booth Tarkington's ''Penrod'' books, starring Creator/DorisDay and Gordon MacRae.

* GossipEvolution: The news of George's alleged affair with Miss LaRue, a French actress, goes around town, causing everyone to slight George and pity Alice, while they remain oblivious.

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Wesley. Dear God, Wesley. He regularly tries to sabotage Marjorie's dates and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way. It backfires on him when he successfully sabotages one of Marjorie's dates with Hubert to get back at her, not realizing that she had been trying to get rid of Hubert herself.

[[caption-width-right:300:We were sailin' along/[[TitleDrop on Moonlight Bay]] \\
You could hear the voices ringin'\\
They seemed to say, \\
"You have stolen her heart \\
Now don't go away!" \\
As we sang love's old sweet songs \\
on Moonlight Bay...]]

You could hear the voices ringin'

"You have stolen her heart

As we sang love's old sweet songs

You could hear the voices ringin'/They seemed to say, \\
"You have stolen her heart/Now don't go away!" \\
As we sang love's old sweet songs on Moonlight Bay...]]

[[caption-width-right:300:"We were sailin' along/[[TitleDrop on Moonlight Bay...]]"]]

A sequel, ''By the Light of the Silvery Moon,'' was released in 1953.

* MistakenForCheating: Both George ''and'' Marjorie, in the sequel. A controversial excerpt from a French play that the bank is financing is mistaken for a love letter: Wesley and Marjorie assume it's addressed to their father, while Bill assumes it's addressed to Marjorie.

* SoapboxSadie: Bill is a RareMaleExample of this. He spends his first date angrily denouncing his fellow college students for frittering away their time with baseball and women - to ''Marjorie,'' a PassionateSportsGirl.