Seven Hills of Rome

MGM, 1957

Starring Mario Lanza, Marisa Allasio, Renato Rascel, and Peggy Castie

Directed by Roy Rowland

Music and Lyrics by various

Having visited Mexico in our last Mario Lanza vehicle, we head to Italy for an all together happier story. This is actually a co-production between American studio MGM and the Italian studio Titanus, where most of the interiors were filmed. As such, it's as much about Italy and its people, which was just beginning to emerge from its post-war malaise, as it is about Lanza and his music. How well does Lanza work in the story of an Italian American opera singer who discovers more than great scenery when he follows his socialite fiancee to Rome? Let's begin in the US and find out...

The Story: Marc Revere (Lanza) is working on his own TV show when he finds out his high society fiancee Carol Ralston (Castle) is flying to Rome. He follows her, looking up his cousin Pepe Bonelli (Rascel) to stay with. On the train to Rome, he meets sweet young Raffella Marini (Allasio), who needs a place to stay. She ends up with the guys, which causes considerable friction with Carol when they arrive in Rome. Angry when Carol is out with a male escort, he gets into a fight with the man and destroys the bar where he's singing. He ends up performing there for free to pay for the damages...but it does finally make him realize which woman is truly right for him.

The Song and Dance: This is basically "Serenade done right," or at least less melodramatic. It's an almost identical story - Lanza plays an opera singer in love with a wealthy woman who falls for a girl closer to his own age in an exotic land - but in this case, the land makes all the difference. The burning passions and bullfights of Mexico are replaced by a buoyant post-war Italy, where every rugged green landscape is drenched in glittering sunlight and Rome isn't merely the romantic land of ruin, but the very living world of Pepe and his neighbors. Rascel is hilarious as Lanza's cousin, while Allasio is so sweet and lovely, you understand why Marc fell for her. Lanza is far looser and funnier here playing off Rascel than he is in most of his vehicles. His imitations of several popular singers of the time deftly reveals that he did have a sense of humor to go with the artistry. The scenery really is gorgeous, with its stunning views of those seven hills and of a modern Rome.

The Numbers: We open with the title song over the credits. Rascel sings his own "Arrivedeci Roma" when his cousin arrives in Italy. "Calypso Italiano" plays over the sequence where Raffella, Marc, and Pedro fly over the Italian countryside in a helicopter. Pedro sings and plays "Vogliamoci tanto bene" during the party, while Marc encourages everyone to "Come and Dance With Me." Lanza sings a bit from "The Loveliest Night of the Year," his hit from The Great Caruso, along with the Italian song "Cielito Lindo." He does imitations of Perry Como, Frankie Laine, Dean Martin, and Louis Armstrong.

Trivia: Allasio's last film (she gave up her career to marry a count) and Lanza's second-to-last film.

Known as Arrivedeci Roma in Italy. That was to have been the title of Lanza's next film in 1960, but he passed away before filming could begin. 

What I Don't Like: While infinitely more palatable than the melodrama in Serenade, this is still a pretty fluffy story. Carol is so obviously wrong and obnoxious from the start, you wonder why Marc pursued her in the first place. More often than not, the story, the music, and even Lanza are secondary to all that gorgeous footage of Italy. This was an Italian-American co-production, and it's more than likely that the Italians were eager to build themselves up again after their wartime sacrifices.

The Big Finale: By far my favorite of the three Lanza vehicles I reviewed this week, the great music and gorgeous scenery makes this worth checking out for fans of Lanza, opera, or 50's musicals.

Home Media: Once again, easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Serenade

Warner Bros, 1956

Starring Mario Lanza, Vincent Price, Joan Fontaine, and Sara Montiel

Directed by Anthony Mann

Music and Lyrics by various

Lanza's temperamental and erratic behavior on the set of Because You're Mine didn't make him popular with pretty much anyone on the MGM lot. His difficulty with his ballooning weight and his temperament ultimately cost him the title role in the operetta The Student Prince, where he had the indignity of dubbing another actor. Warners picked him up when MGM put him on suspension and tossed him into this cauldron of opera sequences and overheated melodrama. They also gave him the up-and-coming Mann as a director, a James M. Cahn story, and Fontaine and Price, two of the biggest actors in Hollywood, in the cast. How does an opera singer's affair with an older socialite look today? Let's begin at the grape vines of Napa Valley, California, where one young opera hopeful is about to get a job that will change his life, and find out...

The Story: Damon Vinceni (Lanza) gets a job at a local restaurant known for hiring opera hopefuls. It's here that he meets socialite and producer Kendall Hale (Fontaine) and her companion Charles Winthrop (Price). She tags him for an opera star the moment she sees him. He gets singing lessons she paid for and, with their help and hers, is able to make his debut at the San Francisco opera. He truly loves Kendall, but she's known for being fickle. When she turns her attention to handsome young sculptor Marco Roselli (Vince Edwards), he has a nervous breakdown and walks off-stage during a performance of Otello. 

Traveling to Mexico to recover and regain his voice, he falls for beautiful bullfighter's daughter Juana Montes (Montiel) and marries her. His manager Tonio (Harry Bellaver) calls him back to perform at that same local restaurant again. Damon brings Juana, but she feels out of place among San Francisco's opera elite. She thinks she's lost him when Kendall and the San Francisco opera seemingly take him back. It's not until tragedy strikes and Damon almost loses Juana that he finally realizes which woman he truly cares about.

The Song and Dance: Lanza and Fontaine make a surprisingly sharp couple in this operatic melodrama. Her brittle sass helps cut through his temperamental bravado. Vincent Price plays off both of them beautifully as the sarcastic friend caught in the middle of their tryst. Gorgeous costumes (especially in the opera sequences) and vivid cinematography of the real Mexico helps ground the romance. Mann, mostly known for his action movies, does manage the occasional interesting touches, once again mostly during Damon's sojourn in Mexico.

The Numbers: We open at the vineyard, with Damon singing "Nessun Dorma" to the other workers while driving a tractor. "Dio Ti Giocondi" from Otello is his number at the restaurant. He sings "Serenade" and "My Destiny" for Kendall and Charles. We get "Il Mio Tesoro" from Don Giovanni at singing practice, then a lovely "Ave Maria." Next up is a montage of Damon's great opera roles, including the Italian Tenor Aria from "Der Rosenkavalier" and "Di Quella Pira" from "Il Trovotore." The Otello number is reprised...but not finished before Damon walks off the stage in frustration. "Tono a Surrento" is Damon's big number in Mexico after he's recovered his voice and married Juana. "O Paradiso" is his number at the nightclub after he gets his job back there. He sings "O Soave Faniculla" from La Boheme before tragedy strikes. We end the movie with him reprising the title song onstage.

What I Don't Like: Not only is this overheated melodramatic mush, but it apparently doesn't have much to do with the James M. Cain book that inspired it. There, the impresario and socialite is male and gay, Damon is far less ethnic, and the Mexican woman he falls for is a prostitute who wants to open a brothel for him. The movie is also way beyond too long at over two hours. This load of operatic hogwash barely has enough going on for one hour, let alone two. Montiel lacks the charisma of her co-stars, coming off as bland rather than young and passionate.

The Big Finale: Unless you really love Lanza, I'd leave this one stranded onstage. You're better off looking for the film's soundtrack instead.

Home Media: Once again, easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warmer Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Because You're Mine

MGM, 1952

Starring Mario Lanza, Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore, and Rita Corday

Directed by Alexander Hall

Music and Lyrics by various

For our last three-review week until next month, we're going to look at three of the vehicles featuring Philadelphia opera sensation Mario Lanza. He had just come off the smash success of his biggest vehicle The Great Caruso when MGM rushed him into this one. He had reservations, to say the least, about the quality of the script and the leading lady, which led to myriad tensions and problems on the set. Was all the fuss and fury worth it? To find out, let's begin as a narrator explains about the then-prevalent draft system, and one man, opera star Renaldo Rossano (Lanza), who is caught in it...

The Story: Renaldo and his girlfriend and singing partner Francesca Landers (Corday) are furious that the US Army has drafted him right before a major radio performance. Renaldo gets lucky when it turns out his sergeant, "Bat" Batterson (Whitmore), is a big fan of his. In fact, he wants him to help out his younger sister Bridget's (Morrow) career. Renaldo is reluctant to at first, until he discovers that Bridget is not only lovely, she can really sing. He claims he's going to get her to New York to be heard by his manager Albert Foster (Eduard Franz), but his real interest is in that performance. 

Neither Bat nor Bridget are terribly happy when they find out about the deception. Bat starts treating Renaldo far more harshly, culminating in a fistfight that lands them both in the brig. Good thing there's a delegation of United Nations officials arriving who absolutely must hear Renaldo sing, and Renaldo's mother is willing to explain her son's behavior to Bridget.

The Song and Dance: With a story that slight, the song and some good performances are the main interest here. Whitmore and Jeff Bennet are by far the most interesting as the opera-loving military man and his frustrated girlfriend. Spring Byington and Curtis Cooksey have a few funny moments as one of the top generals on campus and his fluttery wife. Doretta Morrow was better-known for her work in stage and TV musicals at this time. It's too bad she'd never do another film. She really does sing beautifully, and manages to be both attractive and frosty when she realizes Renaldo's deception.

The Numbers: We open with a sequence from the opera Cavallera Rusticana as we see Renaldo's original job and how popular he is. He performs "Granada" for the troops after his arrival. Bridget sings a commercial jingle "Gummy for Your Tummy" when we're first introduced to her. She also gets the Cole Porter standard "You Do Something To Me." Renaldo gets "The Songs That the Angels Sing" and "Lee-Ah-Loo" at camp. Bridget and Renaldo duet on the hit title song twice, first at home, then in the finale in front of the United Nations delegate. Renaldo's fellow private Artie Pilcher (Bobby Van) does an instrumental dance routine around the barracks near the end of the movie. Lanza performs a powerful version of "The Lord's Prayer" for the congregation at the camp church, including Bat and Bridget.

Trivia: Lanza apparently behaved abominably during filming, turning the making of this movie into a nightmare. His weight ballooned constantly, and he treated Morrorw so badly, she'd never make another movie.

What I Don't Like: I can kind of see Lanza's point. This is low-grade genre fluff, especially disappointing coming after the genuine drama of The Great Caruso. The story is silly, boring, and ultimately besides the point, and the script is dull to the point of inertia. The only reason to see this is to watch Lanza sing a couple of great songs and interact with some of MGM's better character actors. 

The Big Finale: Yeah, this is for the most ardent Lanza fans only. All others would be better off looking for his commercial recording of the title song and skipping this.

Home Media: On streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

The Great Caruso

MGM, 1951

Starring Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, Dorothy Kirsten, and Jarmila Novotna

Directed by Richard Thorpe

Music and Lyrics by various

We jump from the world of romantic composers to grand opera for our next biography. Enrico Caruso was one of the major tenors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He sang on opera stages across Europe and North and South America, but is primarily known today as one of the leading stars of New York's Metropolitan Opera from 1903 to right before his death in 1921. He also became one of the first singers to embrace the new recording medium, which not only bolstered his Met career, it made him one of the major superstars of the first two decades of the 20th century. 

MGM had been trying to get this movie off the ground for years. It wasn't until Philadelphia tenor Lanza joined the company in 1948 that the studio finally found its Caruso. How well does Lanza do as his idol? Let's begin with the birth of a great singer in Naples, Italy in 1873 and find out...

The Story: Young Enrico (Peter Price) is devastated when his mother dies. She encourages him to keep singing and training. Unfortunately, it doesn't earn the grown Enrico (Lanza) much money. He's singing for pennies in cafes when he tries to marry his hometown sweetheart Musetta (Yvette Duguay). Her father (Argentina Brunetti) disapproves of singing as a career and brings him into his flour business instead. He ends up being discovered by an agent at a cafe he's delivering flour to. Musetta's father fires him and turns him away when a storm ruins the flour. Enrico swears he'll come back after he's made money singing.

He does make money singing, working his way up to leading roles at Milan's famous La Scala opera house...but Musetta marries someone else. Heartbroken, he leaves for a world tour that ends with him at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He accidentally insults one of the leading patrons of the Met, Park Benjamin (Carl Benton Reid), then  goes to his house to apologize and charms Benjamin's sweet socialite daughter Dorothy (Blyth). 

Neither Benjamin nor the New York critics find Caruso as adorable as Dorothy does. He finally weds her against her father's wishes after another long tour, attempting to prove himself as a singer of refinement. Opera diva and Caruso's fellow Met performer Louise Heggar (Dorothy Kirsten) tries to explain to Dorothy that Caruso's life revolves around his voice, but she's too much in love to care. They prove to be a happy couple with the world at their feet. Caruso, however, doesn't have long to live, thanks to illness...but his recordings and tremendous popularity assure that he will never be forgotten.

The Song and Dance: Lanza may have been born to play Caruso. Both men were said to be large in spirit, possessing of two of the finest operatic voices heard in the 20th century, and great lovers of women and luxurious living. Lanza pretty much blows everyone else off the screen. He's just as big and hearty as this movie, with its gorgeous settings and lavish recreations of many famous operas. In fact, this movie may be even more of a crash course in famous operas than it is of Caruso's life. You really get a sense of what made Caruso a star, and why many of these shows remain popular to this day. 

Favorite Number: We open with the young Caruso singing in a local choir that goes on a procession through the Italian town where he was born. He knows his mother is gone when she doesn't come to the window to watch him sing. "A'Vuchella" is the number Caruso sings with his friends at the cafe, while "La Danza" is the one that so impresses Casazza despite the spoiled flour. 

We see Caruso performing sequences from many major operas. Tosca is his first major hit at La Scala, and he does several different scenes from that throughout the movie. Kirsten joins him for the finale of Aida, the sextet from Lucia de Lammermoor,  and the title song of the Victor Herbert operetta Sweethearts. He's seen in segments from Pagliacci, Il Trovotore, Rigoletto, La Boheme, La Giocanda, and Cavaliera Rusticana in montages. Blyth joins him for the movie's big hit ballad, "The Loveliest Night of the Year," which Dorothy performs with Enrico during his birthday party. Caruso's last appearance is in Martha, but it's the show that literally kills him.

What I Don't Like: This is another musical biography that plays fast and loose with facts. First of all, Caruso never sang in an opera chorus. He always played leading roles. He was a hit at the Met from the first time he sang there in 1903 and never had to win their favor. He had many relationships with women not shown in the film, including one that resulted in the birth of two sons out of wedlock. He didn't meet and marry Dorothy until 1917. His voluminous recording career is barely touched on. He made over 200 recordings between 1903 and 1920, many of which survive and remain popular to this day. And while he did suffer a throat hemorrhage during an opera performance in 1920, it didn't cause him to die onstage. He finally passed away in Naples a year later while waiting for an operation.

And yeah, this follows all the standard beats of a movie biography. This isn't for you if you're looking for something with less music, or that treads new ground. The dialogue is as stiff as some of Enrico's costumes at the Met.

The Big Finale: This is a must-see if you have even a passing interest in Lanza, Caruso, or opera, or want to learn more about opera on the big screen and in general. 

Home Media: DVD and Blu-Ray only from the Warner Archives. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

The Student Prince

MGM, 1954
Starring Edmund Purdom, Ann Blyth, Edmund Gwenn, and John Ericson
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Music by various

Not every love affair in a musical ends on a happy note. This week, we're going to explore two operettas that feature romances where the lovers part or die before the end. The Student Prince, the bittersweet tale of a bar maid who falls for royalty, likely remains the most famous and popular of the melodramatic operettas Romberg wrote in the late 10's and 20's. How does this version look today? Let's head to the tiny German kingdom of Karlsberg in the early 20th century as Prince Karl (Purdom) is greeting his grandfather King Ferdinand (Louis Cahern) and find out...

The Story: King Ferdinand is proud of his grandson and how he's been able to drill military bearing into him. The prince's intended bride Princess Joanna (Betta St. John) finds him too stiff and cold to be around. Hoping to loosen him up and teach him to have fun, his tutor Professor Juttner (Gwenn) suggests sending him to university at Heidleburg to teach him social graces and to get along with his peers.

He has a hard time settling down at first. He's used to being in command. Gradually, he joins a group of poor but cheerful students and falls in love with the bar maid at their favorite beer garden, Kathie (Blyth). They're ready to run off together when Ferdiand dies and he has to go home and prepare to marry the princess. He's never forgotten Kathie, though, and returns to Heidleburg to give her a final farewell.

The Song and Dance: Glowing romance enlivens this sweet story. Blyth is radiant as Kathie, who resents the obnoxious prince until she starts to realize she's fallen for him as he becomes more carefree. She and Mario Lanza (who dubbed Purdom) sound glorious on their duets. Gwenn and John Ericson are a delight as the fun-loving professor who thinks the prince will learn more among his peers than he ever could in a military formation and the prince's stuffy major-domo. Special kudos to the amazing costumes that ably show off a fairy-tale Germany at the turn of the 20th century, with colorful peasant dirndls, haughty military uniforms smothered in gold braid, and suits for the students that's far more sober than their rowdy behavior.

Favorite Number: "The Student's Drinking Song" introduces the prince to his fellow learners at the beer garden. He's not impressed with Kathie's arrival, as she says "Come Boys" and joins in their high spirited antics. "Serenade," the prince's solo to woo Kathie, sounds absolutely amazing here, with Lanza really pouring his heart into Karl's attempts to woo the lovely barmaid. Likewise, "Golden Days" at the end is genuinely heartfelt as Karl lingers on the memories of his time with Kathie. "Deep In My Heart" brings the two together for the first time. "I'll Walk With God" is a touching hymm for Karl after his grandfather dies.

Trivia: Mario Lanza was originally supposed to play the prince himself, not just dub him, but he refused to work with the first choice director Curtis Bernhardt after he criticized his singing and either walked out or was fired. MGM eventually suspended his contract for 15 months and agreed to use his singing with someone else.

Most of Dorothy Donnelly's original lyrics were re-written by Nicholas Brodzky.

S.Z Sakall's last film.

What I Don't Like: Note that "most of Dorothy Donnelly's original lyrics were re-written" thing above. What was wrong with the original lyrics? Why did the give all the songs to the chorus, the Prince, or Kathie? In the original operetta, everyone sang, including the Professor and Princess Joanna and her own illicit sweetheart, the latter of whom was cut from the film. Purdom isn't bad when fencing with students or being called on to look stiff and Teutonic, but he lacks the passion that the Prince is supposed to have later in the story (and that Lanza likely would have injected into the role).

The Big Finale: Mostly recommended for major fans of Lanza, romances, or operetta.

Home Media: The Warner Archives DVD is currently out of print. Your best bet is likely used venues or seeing if you can catch it on TCM.

DVD

The Toast of New Orleans

MGM, 1950
Starring Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, David Niven, and J. Carrol Naish
Directed by Norman Taurog
Music by Nicholas Brodsky and others; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn and others

Mario Lanza, a popular tenor in Philadelphia, was scouted out by MGM as their next big musical star in the late 40's. They starred him in a pair of operettas with soprano Kathryn Grayson that were both big hits, of which this is the second and last. Is this tale of a backwoods fisherman who becomes a gentleman as soaring as its music, or should it be tossed back into the bayou? Let's take a slow boat over to old New Orleans to see for ourselves...

The Story: Opera manager Jaques Riboudeaux (Niven) and his most popular star Suzette Micheline (Grayson) find themselves stranded in the Louisiana bayous in the 1880's. While there, they witness a festival in the local Cajun community. Among the performers are the exuberant dancer Tina (Rita Moreno) and fisherman Pepe (Lanza), who has a magnificent voice. Despite Pepe falling for Suzanne as soon as he sings with her, she doesn't share his feelings. Jaques, on the other hand, sees Pepe's natural talent and invites him to sing for his New Orleans opera company. Pepe turns him down, until a storm destroys the fishing boat operated by him and his Uncle Nicky (Naish). They go to Jaques to accept his offer in an attempt to earn enough money to buy another fishing boat.

Jaques immediately insists that Pepe be groomed for opera performances. This proves to work too well. Pepe still sings magnificently, but he's lost much of his original rough-hewn charm, to the dismay of both Tina and Suzette. Meanwhile, Nicky doesn't care who's singing what and just wants to go home to the bayou. Pepe has to figure out which world he belongs to...and which woman's heart he really wants.

The Song and Dance: Lanza never did become the best actor in the universe, but he at least acquits himself a bit better than in his previous movie with Grayson, That Midnight Kiss. It helps that this is a slightly better film. The gorgeous historical costumes and sets and down-home Cajun flavor gives this one an edge that the modern urban-set Kiss lacks. This was one of Rita Moreno's first movies, and she gets a nice solo dance routine early on "The Tina-Lina." Niven brings his usual urbanity to the suave Jaques.

Favorite Number: The big hit here was "Be My Love," which is sung constantly throughout the film. My favorite version is the first duet between Lanza and Grayson in the beginning, where we see the shock on her face and the surprise on Niven's when they hear Lanza's robust tenor joining in. We also get several sequences from actual operas, including a sequence from Madama Butterfly in the finale.

What I Don't Like: Not only is this pretty much a historical version of the previous That Midnight Kiss (which also featured Lanza as a working-class tenor who is suddenly discovered and falls for Grayson), but both stories are cliched to the max. Even the enormous sets and beautiful costumes can't disguise the twice-told story. Niven's out of place - musicals were never really his forte - and quite frankly seems a little bored.

The Big Picture: While it's better than Midnight Kiss or some of Lanza's other vehicles, I still only recommend it for major fans of him, Grayson, or opera.

Home Media: Originally only available as part of a two-pack with Midnight Kiss, it finally got a solo release from the Warner Archives last year.

DVD
DVD - 2-Pack That Midnight Kiss/The Toast of New Orleans