Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Ramon Novarro, Vivienne Segal, and Frank Morgan
Directed by William K. Howard and Sam Wood
Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Otto Harbach
Having reviewed all of the movies MGM operetta stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy made as a team, this week, we're going to focus on two of their solo vehicles. The Cat and the Fiddle was Jeanette's first movie at MGM, and her first time singing Jerome Kern's music onscreen. She's joined by Novarro, making his first musical since Call of the Flesh in 1930. How well do they work together in this adaptation of a 1931 Broadway show about an ambitious classical composer who falls for a lovely pop songwriter? Let's begin in Brussels, Belgium with Victor Florescu (Navarro) showing off his latest composition at a local bar and find out...
The Story: While escaping the bar owner who wants to confiscate his music, Victor jumps into a cab with American Shirley Sheridan (MacDonald). He later hears her playing her jazz music in the building across from his apartment. Annoyed at first, he eventually ends up at her place. They write the ballad "The Night Was Made for Love" together. The song - and Shirley - attract the attention of wealthy Jules Daudet (Morgan), who takes a chance and publishes the song.
Even after "The Night Was Made for Love" is a huge success, Victor still wants to see his operetta performed. Shirley brings in Odette (Segal), a former stage star hoping to make a comeback who is willing to back the show, provided she stars in it. Upset when Victor chooses his operetta over her, Shirley declares she'll marry Daudet. Meanwhile, Victor's operetta runs into backstage trouble when the spurned Odette and the leading man walk out. He'll take the leading man role, but there's only one woman he wants playing his leading lady...and if she doesn't agree to it, he may be the one in trouble after using a bad check to cover the show.
The Song and Dance: Charming with a fairly unique story. Even just a few months after its release, MGM would not have gotten away with depicting Victor and Shirley living together unmarried. It's also pretty rare for operettas to get into Busby Berkeley put-on-a-show territory. MacDonald is as delightfully sexy and sassy as she was in her movies with Maurice Chevalier, and Segal makes the most of her role as the diva whose main interest isn't in the show, but its writer. Some lovely gowns for the ladies, too, especially in the big Technicolor operetta sequence in the finale.
Favorite Number: We're introduced to Shirley via the instrumental "Impressions of a Harlem Flat." When Victor sees it's the very same woman he encountered in a cab that day playing jazz, he manages to make his way into her flat. They expand her song into "The Night Was Made for Love." She also gets the lilting and saucy hit "She Didn't Say Yes." Shirley gets a solo "Night Was Made for Love" when they and everyone at the conservatory where they take lessons are trying to sell it to Daudet. Another instrumental number, "Ha! Cha Cha," becomes a big chorus routine after their audition for Daudet goes well.
After their success, Shirley and Victor celebrate with "I Watched the Love Parade" in their bedroom. Victor accompanies Odette as she sings "A New Love for Old." He initially gets "One Moment Alone" with the chorus; Shirley reprises it in the show later. The smitten Victor sings about how "The Breeze Kissed Your Hair." "Don't Ask Me Not to Sing" is the big chorus song, taken from Kern's other major Broadway show of the time Roberta. Victor sings of "The Crystal Candalabra." Shirley learns "Try to Forget," a new song Victor wrote for the show after she left, with harpist Charles (Charles Butterworth) as he tries to convince her to join the show.
Trivia: Vivienne Segal's last film.
First use of 3-strip Technicolor in a live-action film.
The Cat and the Fiddle debuted on Broadway in 1931 and ran a year, a decent showing for the height of the Great Depression. It's rarely been seen since, other than this film, though several of the songs were major hits at the time and became Kern standards.
What I Don't Like: Novarro lacks the chemistry MacDonald had with her more frequent partners Nelson Eddy and Maurice Chevalier. He's a good actor and not a bad singer, but he's more like a brother bickering with his big sister than a lover. Honestly, you don't understand what Shirley sees in him or Daudet, or why she eventually goes back to Victor in the end. Not to mention, there's a few changes from the original show. Instead of Shirley replacing the leading lady, the trouble was when her jazz songs were added to his operetta to give it a little more zip.
The much-vaunted 3-strip Technicolor sequence is pretty and has nice costumes, but it adds little to the finale other than some flash. The whole thing could have been filmed in black-and-white and had a similar impact. They should have either gone out on a limb and filmed the entire movie in color (something MGM wouldn't do for another 4 years), or tested the Technicolor on shorts instead. Not to mention, the ending doesn't solve much, including their obsession with their work getting in the way of their relationship.
The Big Finale: Mainly for fans of MacDonald, Novarro, or Kern's music.
Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former via the Warner Archives.
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