Starring Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Fernando Lamas, and Bert Lahr
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Music by Rudolf Friml; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto A. Haurbach, and Paul Francis Webster
Operetta, with its romantic stories and soaring light opera songs, made a comeback in the 1950's. Many operettas were performed on early television and in concert halls. Opera singers made recordings of old favorites from the 1910's and 20's like Rose Marie. The studios began to dust off some of those operettas for revival around the middle of the decade. MGM already filmed Rose Marie in as a (now lost) silent in 1928 and a vehicle for singers Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in 1936. How does the show look, now that it's back to more-or-less its original plot? Let's start in the wilds of Canada, as Mountie Mike Malone (Keel) looks for his man...er, woman...and find out...
The Story: Rose Marie Lemaitre (Blyth) becomes Malone's ward after the death of her father. She hates the idea of being dragged back to his barracks, but eventually becomes something of a mascot. Malone sees her as a cute kid, but the Inspector (Ray Collins) reminds her that she's a growing woman, and she needs formal training. Malone eventually sends her to Lady Jane Dunstock (Marjorie Main) in a small town nearby. Rose Marie is taught how to dance and wear gowns, but what she really wants is to see the handsome trapper James Severn Duvall (Lamas) again. Even after Duvall steals money from a town dance, she can't help falling in love with him.
She's devastated when Duvall is accused of murdering a Native chief. She's sure he didn't do it, but Mike's determined to get his man...until he finds evidence that Duvall's cast-aside Native lover Wanda (Joan Taylor) may be involved in the chief's demise.
The Song and Dance: Now this is probably a lot more like what people think of when they hear the words "operetta." Rose Marie is back to being a spirited young woman, and she now has two lovers, the kindly but firm Mountie bound by duty and the bad boy trapper she falls for, even though she knows he's a thief and a local troublemaker. Bert Lahr and Marjorie Main have some great moments as the clumsy Mountie who never gets his man or promotion and the tough noblewoman tasked with turning Rose Marie into a real lady...and who wouldn't mind getting her hands on that goofy Mountie. Keel too does very well as the Mountie who gets his man, but loses his lady.
Real Canadian scenery is another selling point. This is the first musical done in Cinemascope, and it looks gorgeous, with many long shots of majestic pines and towering cliffs.
Favorite Number: Mike tries to explain to tough-minded little Rose Marie "The Right Place for a Girl," but she's having none of it. She wants to be "Free to Be Free" and to live the way she chooses. We get a montage of how Rose Marie grows to love Malone and "The Mounties" and is eventually considered to be one of them. Barney McCorkle tells rousing stories explaining why he's "The Mountie Who Never Got His Man" in Lady Jane's saloon. Jim Duvall tells Rose Marie the story of the "Indian Love Call" when she goes to see him in the mountains, leading to this show's most famous standard. "Totem Tom Tom" is the big totem dance routine for the Indians, complete with waving feather sticks and a maiden shoved against the tote.
Trivia: Main and Lahr originally had a duet, "Love and Kisses." It was cut, but exists and is included on the Warner Archives DVD.
"Totem Tom Tom" was Busby Berkeley's last screen assignment.
The original Broadway show was a huge success in 1924. It hasn't been seen in New York since then, but it remains popular with light opera companies.
What I Don't Like: First of all, while I'm glad we're seeing the original story, it hasn't dated well. Today, I suspect Rose Marie would do just fine out in the wilderness, though I do give Malone credit for realizing she's just not dainty lady material. I almost wish she'd ended up with Malone, who at least treated her well. Jim was a bit of a jerk who carelessly tossed aside one woman for her and stole from the dance. And why didn't they keep most of the original songs along with most of the original story? They only use three songs from the Broadway show.
There's also the entire Indian subplot. While Chief Black Eagle was played by a real Native (and a real Chief, at that), Wanda is obviously a white woman in bad red makeup. We also have the Indians being more-or-less the villains; in the original play, they were working with a wealthy white man who was after Rose Marie. The whole thing might come off as more than a little distasteful for some members of the audience today.
The Big Finale: This is actually not a bad starting point if you're interested in learning more about operetta on the big screen and can handle the Indian subplot, or are a big fan of Keel and the musicals of the 1950's.
Home Media: On streaming and DVD in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.
No comments:
Post a Comment