Musicals On TV - The Desert Song (1955)

NBC, 1955

Starring Nelson Eddy, Gale Sherwood, Otto Kruger, and John Conte

Directed by Max Liebman

Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach

This was the other big operetta that debuted on NBC in 1955. In fact, it might be an even more likely prospect for an adaptation than The Chocolate Soldier. It was a bit newer, having originally debuted in 1926. It had already turned up three times on film, most recently in 1953 with Gordon MacRae as the heroic Red Shadow. Baritone Nelson Eddy was no stranger to the role, having sung it on records for years. How well does he do with the story of the French general's son who masquerades as the leader of the Riffs in North Africa in 1925? Let's begin with the Riffs and their masked leader The Red Shadow (Eddy) getting ready to fight against the French Legionnaires and find out...

The Story: The Red Shadow does indeed lead a double life. By night, he leads the Riffs on a rebellion against French rule. During the day, he's Pierre Birabeau, the son of General Birabeau (Kruger), who is the leader of the French garrison. Pierre passes himself off as a weakling to deflect suspicion, which becomes more of a problem with the arrival of spirited Margot Bonavalet (Sherwood). Her fiancee is the valiant Captain Paul Fontaine (Conte), a stoic fighter who is everything gentle Pierre isn't. 

Pierre falls hard for Margot, but she's looking for excitement, not someone who seems more like a good friend than a lover. He kidnaps her when he's the Red Shadow and takes her to the fortress of his friend Ali Ben Ali (Salvatore Baccaloni), the head of the Riff tribes. Margot does fall in love with him here, even as she wonders who he really is. When jealous dancing girl Azuri (Violet Essen) gives away his location, the general captures the Riffs and insists on a duel. The Red Shadow, however, can't fight his own father. Margot is horrified when the Riffs turn him out to the desert with a broken sword in shame...but then Pierre turns up back in Morocco with that same sword, and she realizes who she truly loves.

The Song and Dance: The supporting cast and interesting story are what shine here. Baccaloni is a jovial desert chieftain, Kruger a father alternately concerned about his weakling son and the rebellion, and tenor Earl Williams is lovely as the Red Shadow's second-in-command. This also probably comes the closest of any screen Desert Song to the actual show. It still drops all of the comic characters and their numbers, including Pierre's goofy friend Benjy, but it otherwise feels a lot more like what people saw on the stage in 1926 than the 1953 or 1943 versions do.

The Song and Dance: The movie opens with "Ho! Bold Men of Morocco" and "The Riff Song" as the Red Shadow and his men discuss their recent battles. After a short Arabian dance, we get the local women in the outpost wondering "Why Did We Marry Soldiers?" in a lively chorus number. The ladies join their men for the "French Military Marching Song." "O Pretty Maid of France" is Paul's introduction of Margot. Margot admits to Pierre that she longs for the heady thrill of "Romance." Hassi's more interested in the desert life that's "Soft as a Pigeon Lights Upon the Sand." We see what Azuri does for a living with her short solo dance number. Pierre tries to woo Margot, but she finds his idea of courtly love too slow. "Then You Will Know" I love you, Pierre tries to explain.

The Red Shadow appears at the outpost to sing the title song with Margot before we see Bambi Lynn and Rod Alexander more-or-less reprise what they were doing with "The Desert Song Ballet." Dancers in Spanish costumes represent the Spanish side of Africa with "My Little Castagnette." Ali Ben Ali insists that the Red Shadow "Let Love Go." Hassi talks about how "One Flower Grows In Your Garden," but Pierre and Ali care more that they're "One Alone." Margot admits her growing feelings about the Red Shadow in "The Sabre Song." The Red Shadow sings his "Farewell" in a reprise of "One Alone" after he refuses to fight his father. We get a brief reprise of "French Military Marching Song" when the soldiers return to the outpost, then more of Azuri's dance, ending with reprises of the title song and "One Alone."

Trivia: This, The Chocolate Soldier, and Satin and Spurs were part of the series Max Liebman Presents, which broadcast a series of lavish (for TV in the 50's) musicals on Saturdays from 1954 to 1956. 

A young Neil Simon was among those brought in to modernize and streamline the dialogue. 

The Desert Song originally opened on Broadway in 1926, where it was a major hit, one of the biggest hit operettas of the 20's. A short-lived revival in the 70's moved the setting to the 30's, for some reason. It hasn't been seen on Broadway since then, but remains popular with opera and light opera companies. 

This is the only surviving footage of Eddy appearing in a live television musical. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the constant ballets and dance numbers only fit in slightly better here than they do in Chocolate Solider. No matter how passionately they dance, Lynn and Alexander's big ballet numbers simply weren't necessary and really slow the pacing. Eddy is way too old to be playing the Red Shadow or Pierre and only comes off as slightly less stiff than in his movies with Jeanette MacDonald, and Sherwood's not a whole lot more animated as Margot. Essen's not a believable dancing girl, either. In fact, it's pretty obvious the Arabians are all opera singers in bad makeup, even in the poor black and white copies currently available.

The Big Finale: While far from bad, this is really only for fans of Eddy or 50's musicals. There's better versions of The Desert Song out there.  

Home Media: Same deal as The Chocolate Soldier. The VAI disc is expensive, but it can currently be found on YouTube.

DVD

YouTube

Balalaika

MGM, 1939

Starring Nelson Eddy, Illona Massey, Charlie Ruggles, and Frank Morgan

Directed by Reinhold Schunzel

Music and Lyrics by various

This was the second of Nelson Eddy's three solo vehicles at MGM. Like The Chocolate Soldier, this one has a stage pedigree. It was a hit in London, and though the stage show never came to the US, MGM still thought the robust story of a Russian Cossack prince who falls for a revolutionary was perfect for Eddy's virile presence and robust baritone. Were they right, or should this tale of love and intrigue in Old Russia be left in the barracks? Let's begin with the Cossacks, lead by Prince Peter Karagin (Eddy), as they take their leave for a night on the town and find out...

The Story: Karagin is smitten with the beautiful singer Lydia Marakova (Massey) at the Cafe Balaiaka in St. Petersburg. Hoping to remain near her, Karagin passes himself off as a poor music student and gets to know her family and friends. He's so impressed with her voice, he bullies opera director Ivan Dancheoff (Frank Morgan) into giving her an audition. Peter's less amused when his orderly Nikki Poppov (Ruggles) uses his money to impress Lydia's maid Masha (Joyce Compton). 

Peter manages to win Lydia over, until her brother Dimintri (Dalies Frantz) is stampeded to death by Peter's Cossack troop after giving a speech in the street speaking out against the nobility. Her father Marakov (Lionel Atwill) brings a gun to Lydia's opera debut and intends to shoot Peter and his father the General (C. Aubrey Smith). Marakov pulls back when the General announces that Germany has declared war on Russia, but his fellow revolutionary Leo Proplinkski (Abe Biberman) does it anyway. Though the General survives, Lydia is arrested anyway. Peter has her released, but the damage is done. He now knows that she shares her father's revolutionary sentiments.

He and his men end up in World War I, fighting in the trenches. After the Russian Revolution overturns the old nobility, Peter winds up as a singer in a Russian-themed cabaret run by Nikki and Masha. He's never forgotten Lydia, though, and hopes she'll come for their Russian New Year's celebration...

The Song and Dance: Some decent performances in this tale of music and revolution in old Russia. Massey's not bad in her first lead role as the strong-willed beauty who must decide if she wants to follow her revolutionary beliefs or her heart. Eddy handles the comic moments well enough, especially when he's scolding Nikki over his spending on Masha, and he has some excellent music. Compton and Ruggles have some adorable moments together when they're flirting with each other, and Smith and Atwill make the most of their limited roles as the lovers' very different fathers. Gorgeous costumes, too, especially with all the elaborate outfits in the Russian New Year finale. 

Favorite Number: The first real number is "Ride, Cossacks, Ride." Eddy's big male chorus number as they make their way to St. Petersburg, hoping for at least wine and women, gives us our first look at robust Peter and his lusty men. They also give us "Life for the Tsar" as they join the women of the town at the cafe. "Tanya" is our introduction to Massey at the cafe. She sings and dances with a male chorus, flirtatious but supremely intense. Massey joins the eager Cossacks afterwards for the Russian drinking song "Gorko" as they all vie to be considered her favorite. She gets "At the Balalaika" from the original English show back at the nightclub.

Massey, Eddy, and the Chorus get bits of a few numbers from Carmen during her opera audition, including her "Chanson Boheme" and his "The Toreador Song" and the duet "Si Tu M'Aime." Eddy and his men through "Song of the Volga Boatman." Massey's number at the opera, "Shadows In the Sand," was taken from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite Scheherazade. Eddy performs a moving "Silent Night" on Christmas Eve in the trenches, even as bombs fall around them. Massey's solo during the war years is another genuine Russian song, "Dark Eyes." Morgan sings "Land of Dreams" with a male trio at the cafe in Paris. Eddy sings two Russian numbers, "Flow, Flow Your Love" and "Wishing Episode" for the intrigued crowd at the Cafe Balalaika. Massey returns for the New Year finale, "Magic Of Your Love" from Franz Lehar. 

What I Don't Like: Eddy doesn't have anywhere near the kind of chemistry with Massey that he did with MacDonald, or even Rise Stevens in his next solo vehicle The Chocolate Soldier. She's lovely but a bit frigid. I also wish they'd used more of the original show. Onstage, the Russian prince fell for a ballerina, and the story was told in flashback. Too bad MGM couldn't have tried that. Might have made the cliched story a little more interesting. All of the original songs were cut but "At the Balalaika," too. Since this seems to be the only filming of this show on either side of the Atlantic, I would love to hear the rest of them. 

The Big Finale: Worth checking out for fans of Eddy, operetta, or old-fashioned romantic melodramas.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.  

DVD

Amazon Prime

The Chocolate Soldier

MGM, 1941

Starring Nelson Eddy, Rise Stevens, Nigel Bruce, and Florence Bates

Directed by Roy Del Ruth

Music and Lyrics by various

This is the last of three vehicles Nelson Eddy did at MGM without Jeanette MacDonald. It's also the first movie for popular Metropolitan Opera soprano Rise Stevens, whom Eddy personally selected as his leading lady. This started life as the smash hit Broadway musical of 1909...but it was based on the George Bernard Shaw play Arms and the Man, and he was extremely crotchety when it came to adaptations of his work. Instead of dealing with him, MGM stuffed the songs around another play they already owned. How does this work as a retelling of the non-musical play The Guardsman? Let's begin at a theater in Vienna, where the recently married stars Karl Lang (Eddy) and Maria Lanyi (Stevens) are staring in a production of The Chocolate Soldier, and find out...

The Story: They're both jealous of the opposite sex paying attention to them. Karl becomes really upset, though, when he learns Maria wants to give up musicals and star in opera. He disguises himself as a passionate Russian singer, Vassily Vassilvich, to test her faithfulness. She at first turns away his overtures, then seemingly embraces them. Karl thinks he's lost his wife's affections forever, but Maria isn't as taken in by his playacting as he thought...

The Song and Dance: Once again, the leads and the lavish production carry the day. Eddy's Russian accent is slightly less absurd than his Mexican accent from The Girl of the Golden West, but he's still having more fun than usual as the jealous husband who masquerades as someone more passionate to prove his wife's faithfulness. Stevens, with her saucy manner and twinkling eyes, is funny enough to make me wish she did more theatrical films (her later appearances were all on TV). MGM once again goes all out, with gorgeous gowns for Stevens and lavish Russian-style costumes with acres of fabric for Eddy's impersonation and during the onstage-show.

Favorite Number: We open onstage with songs from the actual Chocolate Soldier. A huge chorus dances and pirouettes to the title song and "Tiralala," while Karl and Maria come onstage after bantering in their dressing rooms for the latter. Karl sings the Russian number "Song of the Flea" as Vassily at the Double Eagle club to seduce and impress Maria. She's more of the latter than the former. 

He gets the caressing "While My Lady Sleeps" later in an attempt to serenade Maria. They perform the hit ballads "Sympathy" and "My Hero" in the Chocolate Soldier sequences later. The chorus comes in with "Thank God the War Is Over," while a king orders his men to "Seek the Spy." Maria initially sings the opera number "Evening Star" at home; Karl later plays it on a piano and performs it in English. Maria also gets another aria, "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta douce voix" from the opera Samson and Delilah. 

Trivia: This was nominated for Best Sound Recording, Best Cinematography - Black and White, and Best Music: Scoring of a Musical Picture. 

The Guardsman, which this is based on, originally debuted on Broadway in 1924. The 1931 film version carried over its legendary original stars, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. It would be the only time they appeared together on-film. The original stage Chocolate Soldier has been revived on Broadway many times since 1909, mostly recently in 1947, and remains popular with opera and light opera companies. 

What I Don't Like: Although Bates has a few funny moments, this may well be a two-person show. No one else registers, including Bruce as Karl's best friend. I wish Shaw hadn't been so picky about how his plays were represented. The sumptuous onstage sequences are so well-done, I'd love to see what MGM could have done with the original, full show. (Stevens starred in a TV version of the original Chocolate Soldier in 1955.) 

The Big Finale: If you love Eddy, Stevens, opera, or operetta, this is one confection you'll want to remain faithful to. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - New Moon (1940)

MGM, 1940

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Mary Boland, and George Zucco

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard

Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by various

By 1940, the ultra-romantic operettas MacDonald and Eddy specialized in were starting to go out of fashion in favor of zippier, less expensive musical comedies...and indeed, this was their first out-and-out flop. They already died out on Broadway, with only a few flops debuting in the 30's, but the success of MacDonald and Eddy and Grace Moore at Columbia in the mid-30's gave film operetta a shot in the arm. New Moon would be their last flat-out operetta, and their last film together for two years. How does this New Orleans-set colonial romance look today? We begin on the boat to Louisiana, as French nobles in snowy frills dance their cares away...but things are quite different below-decks...

The Story: Duchess Marianne de Beaunoir (MacDonald) is among those dancing their cares away above. The men in the holding area below are bond servants, criminals to be sold as labor to the merchants and plantations in New Orleans. Among them is the Duc de Villars (Eddy), arrested for singing revolutionary songs in the streets. He calls himself Charles and intends to lead the bond servants in a revolt. He passes himself off as an officer when Marianne catches him trying to get the captain to treat the bond servants better. She's annoyed at first, but soon falls for him.

That only lasts until they debark for New Orleans and he's purchased as a valet for Marianne's household. She's amused, then annoyed when she realizes he's only a bond servant. They eventually realize their love for each other is stronger than any class war...which is why Marianne sells him when she finds out from the Vicomte Ribaud (Zucco) that the French government sent people to arrest him. She thinks he's had dalliances in France; he thinks she betrayed him. 

She and her aunt (Boland) take the next boat out of New Orleans with a group of casquette girls going to the Caribbean. They don't make it far when they're attacked by what turns out to be the former bond servants on their way to the New World. They end up on a tropical island during a storm. Charles insists the colonists all get married to avoid fighting over the opposite sex. He and Marianne try to dissuade others from wooing them by marrying each other, though she's still not buying it...until the colony is attacked by the French...

The Song and Dance: For once, it's Eddy who gets to have the most fun as the noble duke who is willing to give up his titles to see that all people get a fair shake. He's still a little stiff in dramatic scenes, but his banter with MacDonald is hilarious, especially once they get on the deserted island. Boland is adorable as Marianne's gossipy aunt who is not above shoving her niece into a relationship or passing the latest juicy story from Paris. Eddy and MacDonald's chemistry is still off the charts. You really do feel the heat between them, especially during the "Wanting You" sequence in the bayou and in the finale when she thinks he's going off to defend the island.

This is also one of the few Broadway adaptations of the era to actually stick to the original stage show. It did change a few minor details - Charles' name was Robert, Marianne came to Lousiana with her father, not her aunt, the bond servants staged a mutiny instead of commandeering a ship - but it's certainly closer than the version MGM put out in 1930. 

The Song and Dance: We open with the re-written "Dance Your Cares Away" as the nobles above-decks enjoy a carefree ship-board ball. Marianne sings "Stranger In Paris" and "The Way They Do It In Paris" for the crowd to drown out the noise of the bond servants under them...and only partially succeeds. Charles is so smitten with Marianne, he sings about her "Shoes" as he shines them and croons a gorgeous version of the hit ballad "Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise." 

Marianne is once again called on to sing at a ball, this time at her plantation in New Orleans. She gets another hit ballad, "One Kiss," with prompting from Charles and the others. She and Charles wander out to the bayou to hear the African-American spiritual "Troubles of the World," which becomes a gorgeous backdrop for their big duet, "Wanting You." Charles leads the bond servants in the rousing "Stoutheared Men" as they head for the docks to take over that ship. Marianne sobs "Lover, Come Back to Me" after she sends Charles away...which turns into a duet on the island when she thinks they're being invaded. 

"Dance Your Cares Away" gets an ironic call-back when danced by former bond servants and brides during Marianne and Charles' wedding. All of the men on the island woo Marianne with the song bearing her name, to her annoyance, and keep following her everywhere. 

Trivia: MGM originally released New Moon in 1930 with Grace Moore and Lawrence Tibbett. Not only did it retain just three songs from the original, but for some reason, they reset it in imperial Russia just before the Revolution. 

The New Moon debuted on Broadway in 1928, after a disastrous try-out in Philadelphia that saw nearly the entire score re-written. That worked. It ran for two years, a smash hit at the time, and would be the last major hit of the Golden Age of Broadway Operettas. It's still frequently performed by opera and light opera companies today. In 2003, it became the only operetta to date to turn up as an Encores! concert in New York. (That show went over so well, it's one of the few Encores titles to have been released on CD.) 

Buster Keaton and Nat Pendleton originally had larger roles as Charles' men and comic relief. Most of their performances ended up on the cutting room floor, though they can be seen briefly in the crowd during "Stouthearted Men."

What I Don't Like: It can come off as way too close to Naughty Marietta at times (though I have read this was a complaint with the Broadway version as well). In fact, the first half feels like a gender-reversed rehash of Marietta, with him as the runaway noble and her the one who doesn't know his identity. MacDonald is more frigid than spirited, even after she's supposed to be thawing and falling for Charles (twice). There's a few annoying plot holes, too, like how the very wet Charles suddenly cleans up for a visit to the captain's cabin in the beginning he never mentioned before. 

The Big Finale: One of the better MacDonald/Eddy movies. Recommended for those who loved Marietta or fans of operettas, the stars, or swashbucklers. 

Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Naughty Marietta (1935)

MGM, 1935

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, and Elsa Lanchester

Directed by W.S Van Dyke

Music by Victor Herbert; Lyrics by Rida Johnson Young and Gus Kahn

We're returning to the world of comedienne and opera diva Jeannette MacDonald with our first three films this week. After Maurice Chevalier left MGM in late 1934 and Ernst Lubistch switched his focus to non-musical projects, the studio searched for just the right leading man for MacDonald's next vehicle. They found him in a contract singer already at the studio. Nelson Eddy had three movies under his belt, but they were all cameos that focused on his singing. This would be his first starring role. How does this romantic musical swashbuckler look today? Let's start in France, as Princess Marie (MacDonald) arrives at the pet shop to purchase new love birds, and find out...

The Story: Marie would much rather be singing with her former music teacher and eager students than marrying the dull Spanish grandee Don Carlos (Walter Kingsford). She trades places with her maid Marietta (Helen Shipman) who had signed on with a shipload of casquette girls, young women traveling to New Orleans to marry settlers. Even as Marie befriends sweet young casquette girl Julie (Cecelia Parker), their ship is attacked by pirates. The girls are rescued by handsome Captain Warrington (Eddy) and his mercenaries. Marie initially thinks he's handsome, but he's not interested in marriage.

She heads off men trying to marry her in New Orleans by claiming she's a woman of questionable character. The governor of the colony (Frank Morgan) sends her off with two soldiers, but they're intercepted by Captain Warrington. Marie's not impressed with him, even after he pays for her rent, and eventually gets a job at a marionette theater. Warrington keeps trying, and they do eventually fall in love...just as Marie's uncle, the Prince de la Bonfain (Douglass Dumbrille) shows up to drag her back to France.

The Song and Dance: An action-packed romantic swashbuckler with some of the most famous songs in any operetta. MacDonald's Marie is spirited, sassy, and sensible enough to realize she won't get what she wants in France. Lanchester and Morgan are a hoot as the governor of Louisiana with an eye for the ladies and his suspicious and sarcastic wife, and Parker's adorable as the little casquette girl Marie takes under her wing. The costumes are especially stunning, with even the casquette girls dressed in mountains of ruffles, lace, and bows. 

Favorite Number: We open with the catchy gavotte "Chansonette" as Marie sings along with the students who adore her. "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" is Warrington's big marching number as he and his mercenaries come to the aid of the casquettes. Warrington's "The Owl and the Polecat" is a comic number on love's complications with Warrington and his men. He then gets the gorgeous ballad "'Neath the Southern Moon" as he tries to deflect Marie's idea of romance. 

Warrington teases Marie that she can't sing like the gypsy girl who serenades them under his window. She goes on to prove that she can, and better, in the soaring "Italian Street Song." "Ship Ahoy" is the bizarre marionette number, with Marie and and one of the gypsies controlling the legs of the marionettes under their heads singing the song...but it also reflects Marie's worries about Warrington and his tomcat tendencies. Warrington finally admits he's "Falling In Love With Someone" while taking Marie on a boat ride through the bayou. They consummate their relationship on the steps at the ball for Marie with the big ballad and this score's standard, "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life."

Trivia: The original Broadway show was one of the biggest hits of 1910, in New York and London. It turned up again on early TV in 1955 with Patrice Munsel as Marietta and Alfred Drake as Warrington. While it hasn't been filmed since, it does remain a staple of opera and light opera companies. 

When Warrington accidentally pushes Marie into a chair that topples over...it really broke! Eddy really didn't mean to be that formal. MacDonald wasn't expecting it, got upset, and ran from the set. WS Van Dyke had to coax her back.

Won Best Sound in 1935 and was nominated for Best Picture. 

What I Don't Like: Eddy doesn't do nearly as well as MacDonald. He's better when throwing off banter with her at his apartment and in the town square and during his numbers than he is in the dramatic scenes, where he's stiff as a board. While this does retain the original New Orleans setting and some characters, it cuts a major story line about the Governor's son masquerading as a pirate and the woman he loves, Marietta was originally the maid she claimed to be, and more was made of Warrington finishing the lyrics of "Ah Sweet Mystery of Life" in the finale. 

And yeah...obviously, if you're not a fan of MacDonald, Eddy, operetta, or romantic swashbucklers, don't touch this one with a hundred-foot pole. It's genre fluff of the highest order. 

The Big Finale: This is a wonderful way to begin a partnership. My second-favorite MacDonald-Eddy movie after the melodrama Maytime. Highly recommended for fans of operetta, romantic swashbucklers, or the two stars. 

Home Media: DVD only from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Animation Celebration Saturday - Make Mine Music

Disney, 1946

Voices of Jerry Colona, Nelson Eddy, Dinah Shore, and Andy Russell, among others

Directed by Jack Kinney and others

Music and Lyrics by various

This was the third of six anthologies of animated shorts Disney released during the 40's when they lost animators to World War II, then had financial difficulty. It's also the hardest to find complete today, thanks to some darker or dated content. How does this collection of extremely varied shorts look today? Let's start on the farm with a pair of feuding Ozark families and find out...

The Story: This being a "package" film, there's actually ten stories here, beginning with...

The Martins and Coys: Retelling of the infamous hillbilly feud and how two members of the families fell in love. 

Blue Bayou: Originally intended for Fantasia with different music, this soothing piece has two egrets flying against a flowing, watery background. 

All the Cats Join In: A teen girl prepares for a night at the local malt shop with her boyfriend, dancing the night away to Benny Goodman and His Orchestra. 

Without You: Haunting ballad of a lost romance, set against a blue backdrop, sung by crooner Andy Russell. 

Casey at the Bat: Jerry Colona sings and recites the famous poem about the cocky star batter for the Mudville Nine who doesn't do as well at the plate as his team had hoped. 

Two Silhouettes: Ballet dancers David Lichine and Tania Rianbouchinskya are rotoscoped silhouettes gliding against a romantic backdrop as two little cupids frolic around them. 

Peter and the Wolf: Retelling of the classical piece for children about a Russian boy and his animal friends who hunt for the title wild canine. 

After You've Gone: Benny Goodman and His Orchestra are back, this time providing the music for a short but jazzy segment with line drawing instruments frolicking across a backdrop of musical notes.

Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet: Two hats fall in love in the window of a New York department store. He's devastated when she's sold and spends the next few years searching for her on various heads.

The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met: Real-life opera singer Nelson Eddy finishes things off with the tragic story of a sperm whale whose dreams of singing grand opera are dashed by a short-sighted and disbelieving impresario. 

The Animation: Like the shorts, it's all over the map, from the dreamy, haunting watercolors of "Blue Bayou" to the cartoony "Peter and the Wolf," "Casey at the Bat," and "Johnny Fedora." The three ballads are downright gorgeous to look at, with their dreamy watercolors and the simple but elegant pastel lines on "Silhouettes." "Whale" even has some nice effects with Willie on the water, the fire where he's playing Mesophiles during the opera montage sequence, and when he's in heaven in the finale. Love the pen "drawing" the bouncy line artwork for "All the Cats," too. 

The Song and Dance: By far the most varied of the package films, with stories ranging from dark comedy in "The Martins and the Coys" to romance in the ballad and ballet shorts to high tragedy in "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met." Kudos to Disney for trying some unusual material for them. "All the Cats" may be their first depiction of normal teens, "Johnny Fedora" is a charming and slightly bittersweet historical romance, and there's that sad finale in "Whale" and all the guns being slung around in "Martins and Coys." "Whale" is probably my favorite segment, with its unique story, followed by "Johnny Fedora" and "Two Silhouettes." 

Favorite Number: "All the Cats Join In" and "After You've Gone" are bouncy, bubbly swing tunes, with Goodman and his musicians as bright and energetic as the teens bopping to "Cats." "Two Silhouettes" is a sweet ballad performed by Dinah Shore depicting two ballet dancers gliding against a soft, misty pastel backdrop. Sterling Holloway narrates the adorable "Peter and the Wolf," which even retains the traditional showing of which instrument performs which character. The Andrews Sisters sing the charming "Johnny Fedora" as Johnny searches for his Alice all over New York. Jerry Colona sings and recites the more comic "Casey at the Bat," with its goofy players and all the build-up to Casey's big miss. 

The big one is "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met." Nelson Eddy uses Disney's experimenting with recording  to let him sing all of the roles, from Willie's baritone to Tetti-Tatti's bass to the soprano who performs Isolde to his Tristan. His "Shortnin' Bread," Eddy's real-life theme on radio, is too fun, and the medley showing Willie's dream of Met success has a couple of great gags, including Willie nearly singing his Isolde off the stage!

Trivia: An extended version of "Blue Bayou" was originally planned as a segment for Fantasia to be scored to "Claire de Lune," but it was cut when Disney thought the movie was running too long. It exists in full and can be found included on The Fantasia Anthology set. 

The only Disney Animated Canon film to not be on Disney Plus at press time. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, I can sort of understand Disney's problems with this one nowadays. "Martins and Coys" is awfully violent for them, with its deaths, gun battles, and hillbilly stereotypes. That's probably why it's cut from the current video and DVD copies. Ironically, "Peter and the Wolf," the one segment that had a bittersweet ending in the original composition, doesn't retain it here - the duck is spared. (It's especially odd since they do retain the downer ending on "Casey at the Bat.") "Blue Bayou" and "Without You" are lovely to look at, but a bit dull to listen to, with their so-so ballads and meandering animation. 

The Big Finale: While this is slightly better than Melody Time, they're still only recommended for major Disney fans or fans of this era of animation.

Home Media: DVD-only in the US, and in an edited version missing "Martins and the Coys" and some bits of "All the Cats." The Blu-Ray was released exclusively through the Disney Movie Club; it's expensive secondhand and was also edited. "Martins and the Coys" can currently be found on YouTube (with Spanish subtitles). 

DVD 

YouTube

Broadway to Hollywood

MGM, 1933

Starring Frank Morgan, Alice Brady, Russell Hardie, and Eddie Quillan

Directed by William Mack

Music and Lyrics by various

Dancing Lady wasn't MGM's only attempt to imitate the new Warners-style backstagers then in vogue...but this one has an unusual pedigree. In 1930, MGM producer Harry Rapf filmed a series of enormous dance numbers in 2-strip Technicolor for what he intended to be his biggest revue yet, The March of Time. Filming began in mid-1930...just as musicals began to fall out of favor with the viewing public. He tried for the next three years to figure out how to get those numbers to the public. Some ended up in a movie made for the German market; others were dumped in shorts. The rest finally went into this through-the-years melodrama...or at least, they originally did. How does this tale of three generations of a show business family look now? Let's begin at the theater, as Lulu (Brady) and Ted (Morgan) Hackett begin their performance, and find out...

The Story: Lulu and Ted raise their son Ted Jr. (Hardie) to be part of their vaudeville act, The Three Hacketts. He's even more popular on the vaudeville circuit than they are, and is soon offered a starring role in a Broadway show. He also goes against his parents' wishes and marries the lovely Anne Ainsley (Madge Evans). Mistrust and his big head after his success tears apart him and Anne, even after they give birth to a son, Ted III (Quillan). When tragedy strikes, he turns his son over to Lulu and Ted Sr. to raise and joins the army. Years later, when Ted III becomes and even bigger success in talking pictures, he brings his grandparents out to be a part of his success...but his grandfather ends up having to save him from following the same path of drink and degradation as his father.

The Song and Dance: Brady and Morgan dominate the film as the central Hacketts. Brady has some hilarious moments, especially early in the film, where she has to keep her husband on the straight and narrow and away from conniving chorus girls. Morgan does equally well; he has a wonderful speech to his grandson in the finale where he reminds him of just how much show business is in his blood.

Favorite Number: "We are the Two Hacketts" introduces us to Lulu, Ted, their old-fashioned song and dance act, and the running gag of some unknown admirer always tossing Lulu flowers. Later, it becomes "We are the Three Hacketts" when first Hardie, then a fast-tapping young Mickey Rooney joins the act. "The Honeysuckle and the Bee" is the big dance routine for Evans and the Albertina Rasch Dancers. Evans gets to show off some amazing limber acrobatic work at one point as she turns cartwheels in a huge dress. The brief "Snow Ballet" returns us to the Albertina Rasch girls, as chorines in fluffy winter wear prance in a winter landscape. The finale has us "Knee Deep In Rhythm," as the girls join Quillan for a big dance routine that shows just what Ted III learned from his vaudeville roots.

Trivia: For all the fuss over using the March of Time numbers, they're mostly missing from the copy currently shown on TCM. 

Moe and Curly Howard of The Three Stooges have cameos as the clowns who strip off Ted Jr.'s costume when he's fired from a show. They're virtually unrecognizable in the makeup. 

Nelson Eddy debuts, briefly singing "In the Garden of My Heart," though it's mostly heard in the background.

The film also features many similarities to the life of Buster Keaton, who was working at - and feuding with - MGM at the time. He was all too aware of it, and it only added to the growing friction between him and the studio. Didn't help that his March of Time scenes were cut from the film. 

What I Don't Like: Oh lord, the melodrama runs thick and fast here. I love the "through the years" theme that focuses on one family, but neither Hardie nor Quillan can handle the dramatics and come off as silly and dull next to Morgan, Brady, and even Madge Evans. You'd never believe these apple-cheeked pretty boys would drink anything worse than an ice cream soda on a Sunday, let alone allow their families to fall to ruin. 

I wish director William Mack would focus on the musical numbers. He keeps cutting away to everyone's reactions to them and things going on in the background...which is why we don't get to see any number complete and in full. The movie is really something of a mess. It was created to showcase those huge March of Time numbers and seems dull and pointless without them. 

The Big Finale: Completely unnecessary unless you're a huge fan of 30's musicals, historical show business stories, or anyone involved.

Home Media: At the moment, it can only be seen occasionally on TCM.

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The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Universal, 1943

Starring Claude Rains, Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, and Edgar Barrier

Directed by Arthur Lubin

Music and Lyrics by various

This week, we explore two very different retellings of the classic 1910 horror novel by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera. Universal made a second go at the story after the famous silent version from 1925 with Lon Chaney. This one would feature full Technicolor, the same sumptuous sets, costumes as glamorous as possible during war time, Nelson Eddy fresh from MGM, and Universal's newest soprano find Susanna Foster. Does it ascend to the same heights as the Chaney film, or will the chandelier come down on this show? Let's begin at the Paris Opera, just in time for a performance, and find out...

The Story: Enrique Claudin (Rains) played the violin at the Opera for twenty years, but he's quickly dismissed when the head conductor discovers his left hand can no longer function. He threw all of his money into anonymously funding singing lessons for Christine DuBois (Foster), a talented young member of the chorus. He tries to sell his latest composition to make money, only for the publisher Pleyel (Miles Mander) to constantly turn him down. When he hears Franz Liszt (Fritz Lieber) playing it, he thinks Pleyel stole it and strangles him to death. His horrified secretary throws etching acid at Claudin's face, disfiguring him. He runs off and hides under the opera.

Meanwhile, Christine has her own problems. She's being pursued romantically by robust baritone Anatole Garron (Eddy) and clever police officer Raoul Dubert (Barrier), but frankly prefers her singing career over either of them. The opera favors spoiled diva Blancarolli (Jane Farrar), who loathes being upstaged. The mysterious Phantom who's been stealing from the opera won't put up with her tantrums or shoving Christine out of the spotlight...and he's determined to get his golden-haired singing angel into the starring role no matter what.

The Song and Dance: This version is light on horror and heavy on music, making it of most interest to classical and opera fans. Some of the opera sequences are beautifully staged, and the color is exquisite. Rains is no Chaney, but he still does pretty well as the soft-spoken musician who unleashes his homicidal side when he thinks he's lost his composition and his love. 

Favorite Number: "Lullaby of the Bells" is the composition by Claudin that causes all the fuss. Eddy and Foster give it a lovely performance early in the film, when we see Christine at her lessons. The three opera sequences are all colorful and exquisitely sung. The first excerpt, from Marta, is the only real opera used. Amour Et Glouire, the sequence where Blancarolli almost ends up off-stage for good, and the finale Le Prince Masque Du Caucasus are fictional, made up from the music of Chopin and Tchaikovsky respectively.  

Trivia: In the original script, Claudin was Christine's father, who had abandoned her and her mother in favor of a musical career. It was cut from the final draft, but it's never really clear in the film why he sponsors her, other than vague attraction. 

This is the only Universal monster movie of the 30's and 40's to win Oscars, for color cinematography and Set Design. 

What I Don't Like: This isn't really much of a horror movie, or a musical, either. On one hand, I'm glad they opted to end with the men being friends and Christine choosing a career over either of them. You don't often see a musical today end with a woman choosing a career over romance, let alone one from 1943. On the other hand, it leaves the film feeling rather anti-climatic. Wish there'd been more of the men confronting Claudin before they bring the roof down. Claude Rains requested that his disfigurement makeup be played down...but it just makes him look a little wrinkled, rather than genuinely frightening. 

The Big Finale: Don't come here expecting to be really scared. This is mainly for fans of Rains, Eddy, classical music, or the Universal horror roster. 

Home Media: Easy to find in all major formats. It's currently streaming for free on Vudu.

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Bitter Sweet (1940)

MGM, 1940
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Sanders, and Ian Hunter
Directed by W.S Van Dyke
Music by Noel Coward; Lyrics by Noel Coward and Gus Kahn

This was MacDonald and Eddy's second go at a tragic romance after Maytime, and their second film in color after the romantic comedy Sweethearts. MGM had high hopes for this to be as well-received as Maytime in 1938, but things didn't work out that way. Playwright and songwriter Coward really hated it, and MacDonald and Eddy weren't overly pleased, either. Why did this delicate confection engender so much hostility? To answer that question, let's head to London, where pretty young Sarah (MacDonald) is singing with her handsome music teacher Carl Linden (Eddy) and find out...

The Story: Sarah is to be married to Harry Daventry (Edward Ashley), a dull, stuffy member of the Foreign Office, but she really loves Carl. They marry secretly and run off to his home in Vienna, where they live in happy poverty as starving artists. Sarah, whom Carl calls "Sari," thinks their luck is changing when superstitious British aristocrat Lord Shayne (Hunter) is convinced their music helped his card game and hires them to sing at a local cafe. The cafe is popular with Austrian military officers, including Baron Von Tranisch (Saunders), who has his eyes on Sarah. When Carl's attempt to defend his wife's honor one evening ends in tragedy, Sarah's left with nothing but her husband's operetta and memories she holds dear for the rest of her life.

The Song and Dance: Gorgeous color and a decent supporting cast enliven this brittle story. Saunders is a delightfully scheming cad, with his roving eyes and sneering accent. Felix Bressart and Curt Bois have a few funny bits as Carl's buddies Ernst and Max, who have the habit of pawning anything their fingers can reach. (Including most of the furniture in Carl's apartment.) The bold palate gives the movie the look of a Dresden fairy tale...until the big "Ziguerner" finale, which is done in the most exquisite pale creams, coppers, and tans.

Favorite Number: We're introduced to the duo as Carl teaches Sarah the big hit from this show, the lovely duet "I'll See You Again." He explains why he so badly wishes to return to Vienna - and wants her to come along - in the yearning "If You Could Only Come With Me." When they do make it to Vienna, Carl leads the men at his favorite cafe through the rousing drinking song "Tokay." He and Sarah sing of their "Dear Little Cafe" as they set up for a meager dinner in their tiny flat. They perform "What Is Love" initially at their flat, then at the cafe among whirling dancers...right before Von Tranisch makes his improper advances at Sarah...

Trivia: There was an earlier British film in 1933 that starred Anna Neagle and apparently came a lot closer to what the original show was like.

What I Don't Like: No amount of color or stunning costumes can cover up the fact that the drama falls flat. I haven't seen the original 1929 Coward Bitter Sweet, but MGM apparently cut a lot out, including the other hit ballad "If Love Were All" and a prologue and epilogue set in the present that sounded too much like Maytime. A sequence with MacDonald and Eddy vying to teach music to shopkeeper Herman Bing's daughter is overwrought and seems completely out of left field with the rest of the film. MacDonald and Eddy don't even attempt to sound British or Austrian, making them fit in awkwardly with the real Brits and Germans in the supporting cast, and are way too old for their roles.

The Big Finale: This is my least-favorite of MacDonald and Eddy's eight films together. Even I Married an Angel shows more wit and sparkle. Only if you're a really huge fan of them, Coward, or operetta.

Home Media: Easily found for streaming and on DVD from the Warner Archives.

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Cult Flops - I Married an Angel

MGM, 1942
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Edward Everett Horton, and Binnie Barnes
Directed by W.S Van Dyke
Music by Herbert Stothart and Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart, George Forrest, and Robert Wright

MGM wanted to do this movie ever since they got Jeanette under contract in the mid-30's, but the original play and Rodgers and Hart musical were too spicy for the era. By 1942, they'd cleaned it up enough to pass the censors...but MacDonald and Eddy were both past their prime, and the movie didn't do well at the box office. Does this angel deserve a second chance on Earth today? Let's head to the bank owned by playboy Count Palaffi (Eddy) in Budapest and find out...

The Story: Count Willie Palaffi would rather chase all the lovely ladies in town than take care of his bank affairs or pay attention to hard-working secretary Anna Zador (MacDonald). His head teller Whiskers (Reginald Owen) tries to encourage Willie to take a second look at her, but his head secretary Martika (Mona Maris) also has designs on her boss and gives Anna a costume to wear to his big birthday ball. She arrives dressed as an angel, but everyone else is wearing elaborate gowns and headdresses. Willie dances with her until they're laughed at.

He flees and falls asleep in his office, where he dreams that Anna is an angel named Brigitta who has come to Earth to marry him. He thinks she's perfect and does take her for his wife...but she's too perfect and too honest, alienating his society friends and causing a run on the bank. His sister Peggy (Barnes) takes her aside to teach her to be a little more devlish...but it proves to be too successful when she flirts with one of his partners (Douglass Dumbrille).

The Song and Dance: This charming fantasy is a great way for MacDonald and Eddy to go out. They both have some very funny moments; check out her rearranging the Bank's board of directors so they're sitting next to their mistresses, rather than their wives, or the expressions on Eddy's face during the surreal montage towards the end where he can't get to his angel, no matter how hard he tries. The lavish costumes, including MacDonald's "real" angel wings, give the film the appropriate decadent European feel. Great cast, too, including sarcastic Barnes as the Count's sensible sister and Edward Everett Horton as the Count's valet and announcer.

Favorite Number: The title number is heard twice, first as a solo for Eddy, then as a duet for him and MacDonald as he introduces her to his bank board at his wedding reception. "Spring Is Here" is also heard twice - MacDonald sings it in the opening, and she and Eddy perform it together later when they're on their honeymoon. Eddy talks to "Hey Butcher" on the streets in Paris, leading into "I'll Tell the Man In the Street." "Tira Lira La" is the big number for the Count's girls in their fancy costume at the party; they later sing it at the wedding reception when he's getting married. Barnes teaches MacDonald how to be a human woman with "A Twinkle In Your Eyes," complete with a really cute little jitterbug.

Trivia: This was originally going to be a Paramount musical in the early 30's, but Rodgers and Hart moved it to Broadway when the Hays Code declared the idea of an angel losing her wings to a mortal man to be too racy. The original I Married an Angel debuted on Broadway in May 1938 and ran nine months, not bad for the time. While it's probably too fluffy to be revived, it has been seen as staged concerts recently, including an Encores! concert in New York in 2019.

What I Don't Like: The fluffy story is cute but insubstantial, and is likely one of the big reasons this has rarely been seen outside of concert halls since 1938. The idea of a mortal "deflocking" an angel and the angel being corrupted may rub some people the wrong way even today, let alone then, and the film and show aren't terribly kind to women, either. MacDonald and Eddy, as funny as they are, were also a tad old for their roles by this point.

The Big Finale: Many MacDonald and Eddy fans aren't crazy about this one, but I think it's a great way for them to end their partnership. It was just the wrong movie at the wrong time. A European-set fantasy romance probably wasn't the best thing to be releasing during the height of World War II, and the stars had probably worn out their welcome by then, too. One of their better and more unique films.

Home Media: On DVD from the Warner Archives and several streaming companies.

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Sweethearts (1938)

MGM, 1938
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, and Florence Rice
Directed by W.S Van Dyke
Music by Victor Herbert and others; Lyrics by Bob Wright, Chet Forrest, and others

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy were still riding high as MGM's top musical team in 1938, despite the failure of their Girl of the Golden West earlier that year. Looking for something totally different, they hired legendary writer Dorothy Parker and her husband Alan Campbell to transform the original Victor Herbert fairy-tale operetta into a romantic comedy about married Broadway stars who are crazy about each, until Hollywood comes calling and their producer and his crew interfere. Let's go straight to the Melody Theater in New York, where Sweethearts is starting its sixth year on the boards, and find out how well they did...

The Story: Gwen Marlowe (MacDonald) and Ernest Lane (Eddy) are indeed the married stars of Sweethearts, their smash-hit operetta that's run for six years on Broadway. They're crazy about each other, to the point where he sends her love notes every day, but they don't have much time to spend together. Their producer Felix Lehman (Frank Morgan) and press agent Dink (Allyn Joslyn) keeps throwing them into radio shows and publicity stunts, while their families live with them in their home and off their money and their fading theatrical legacies. They're both fed up, enough to listen to Hollywood talent scout Norman Trumpett (Reginald Gardiner) when he encourages them to leave New York and take a contract with his studio. Desperate, Lehman uses the terrible play written by musical playwright Kronk (Mischa Auer) to convince Gwen that Ernest is having an affair with their secretary Kay Jordan (Rice).

The Song and Dance: After the false start of Maytime the year before, this was MGM's first full-length 3-strip Technicolor movie. They couldn't have picked better stars to showcase. MacDonald's warm coppery waves and Eddy's short golden locks were made for Technicolor. The cinematography is absolutely glorious, glowing with a ravishing array of rainbow colors, finishing with a well-done montage of Gwen and Ernest becoming more lonely as they travel with their two road companies. The screenplay's almost as good. You can tell Dorothy Parker had a hand in this one; the dialogue is witty and delightful, with zingers flying fast and furious from just about everyone. MacDonald's having a fine time, and Eddy's far more relaxed here than he was in most of their earlier movies. Morgan and Rice are also up to the script as the flustered producer who wants to keep his golden couple intact and the sarcastic secretary.

Favorite Number: MacDonald joins Ray Bolger for the first big number, the charming Dutch-themed dance routine "Jeanette and Her Wooden Shoes." MacDonald keeps up with Bolger admirably and acquits herself quite well with the choreography to the catchy clip-clop rhythm. She and Eddy get the more dramatic "Every Lover Must Meet His Fate" as they're held back by what I presume to be his guards. The first version of the title song is performed on a massive flowery hill, showing off its romantic couples in a sweeping duet. "Pretty as a Picture," sung at the sixth anniversary party, starts simply with MacDonald and Eddy at the piano, but ends with a chorus bringing out flower garlands and encores for more.

What I Don't Like: At it's core, this is a romantic comedy with operetta sequences. The second half, when the plot contrivances kick in, is considerably less interesting than the first half. Even the movie acknowledges how unlikely it is that Gwen would fall for such a ridiculous plot with the play and love letters. Though Ray Bolger partners MacDonald well in "Wooden Shoes" and gets to announce their "Pretty as a Picture" number, I really wish he had more to do. And frankly, the onstage numbers are so lovely, for all the fun banter and nifty modern costumes, I wonder what would have happened if they'd stuck to a revised version of the original fantasy story about a seamstress' adopted daughter who falls for a prince.

The Big Finale: If you love MacDonald and Eddy or romantic comedy or just want to see them in a different light, give this one a try.

Home Media: Currently DVD only from the Warner Archives.

DVD

The Girl of the Golden West (1938)

MGM, 1938
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Buddy Ebsen, and Walter Pidgeon
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Music by Sigmund Romberg and others; Lyrics by Gus Kahn and others

MacDonald and Eddy were two of MGM's biggest stars after the success of their 1937 vehicle Maytime, but a musical western based after an opera is probably the last thing anyone expected them to do as their next big film. How does the tale of a bandit who falls in love with a saloon-owning tomboy come off nowadays? Let's head to Cloudy, a rough-and-ready California boom town, and find out...

The Story: Mary, better known as "the Girl" (MacDonald), is the owner of the Polka Saloon in Cloudy. She keeps the gold the men bring in from the mountains at her place and turns it over to the stagecoaches when they arrive. All of the men in town adore her and think of her as one of their own, and she has two suitors in Sheriff Jack Rance (Pidgeon) and shy blacksmith Alabama (Ebsen). On a trip to Monterrey, Mary's stagecoach is robbed by Ramerez (Eddy), a notorious local bandit. He's so enamored by her spunk and beauty, he follows her to town, where he poses as a lieutenant at a big festival in town just to get to know her better.

He eventually turns up in Cloudy, intending to rob the gold at the Polka...but can't go through with it when he discovers Mary's the owner. His men aren't terribly happy about that, and his half-breed girlfriend Nina (Priscilla Lawson) is even less thrilled. She tells the Sheriff the truth, and he tells Mary when she just invited Ramerez to her cabin. The bandit is hurt while trying to escape and winds up back at her place. Determined to keep him from the sheriff's grasp, she ends up playing a hand of poker with Rance, with the bandit and her hand in marriage on the line.

The Song and Dance: Unusually action-packed for the MacDonald/Eddy movies, with shootouts, bandits, and a genuinely tense confrontation between MacDonald and Pidgeon during that poker game. Ebsen as sweet Alabama and H.B Warner as Mary's padre friend in Monterrey add much-needed authenticity to this romantic adventure melodrama.

Favorite Number: MacDonald gets to sing a lovely version of "Lieberstraum" with town drunk The Professor (Brandon Tynan) on the newly-purchased piano at the saloon that's one of her better solo numbers. Eddy joins her for two big chorus numbers in the fiesta segment, "Senorita" and "Mariachi." The latter turns into the film's sole large-scale dance routine, with swirling dancers and some huge sets. Ebsen comments on how "civilization" has changed California in the brief but funny "The West Ain't Wild Anymore."

Trivia: This started out as a hit play by David Belasco in 1905. The play became an opera, La fanciulla del west, in 1910. It was filmed three times before, twice as a silent.

What I Don't Like: Philadelphia natives MacDonald and Eddy are too urban to be believable in a western setting. Eddy did better in his later solo western Let Freedom Ring; his idea of a Mexican accent is ridiculous. Womanly MacDonald is no tomboy, either. I have no idea why they couldn't have retained at least a little of the original opera score, as most of Romberg and Kahn's music is rather dull.

The Big Finale: Ok if you're a fan of MacDonald, Eddy, or the opera; otherwise, nothing you need to go out of your way to see.

Home Media: Easy to find on streaming and on DVD from the Warner Archives.

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Amazon Prime

Election Day Special - Let Freedom Ring

MGM, 1939
Starring Nelson Eddy, Victor McLaughlin, Virginia Bruce, and Lionel Barrymore
Directed by Jack Conway
Music and lyrics by various

While we wait for the election returns to come in, here's an unusual western tale from 1939. Nelson Eddy got his first and only vehicle without a female partner at MGM in this Zorro-esque western. Does it come off as a stirring action-packed adventure, or should it be run out of town? Let's head to the hills with the lovely Maggie Adams (Virginia Bruce) as she contemplates the arrival of the railroad and find out...

The Story: Lawyer Steve Logan (Eddy) returns home from college to discover that railroad baron Jim Knox (Edward Arnold) has been buying up more land than he needs for his tracks and driving out local farmers. His father, Tom Logan (Barrymore), expects him to the the champion for the farmers, but he claims it would be impossible to fight the railroads. Steve is friendly with Knox and his immigrant workers, including head foreman Chris Mulligan (McLaughlin), singing sentimental Irish songs for them. In reality, he poses as the Wasp to kidnap the town's newspaper editor (Raymond Walden) and force him to print the truth about Knox and his workers. When the immigrants read the paper, they start to question Knox and his business practices.

Matters come to a head at the local Election Day celebration. Steve has to convince the workers that they have the right to vote as they choose, convince Mulligan that his boss is a crook, and keep them from destroying his family's farm. It'll take help from the estranged Maggie and his goofy friend "The Mackerel" (Charles Butterworth) to finally prove to the town that the true meaning of liberty is defending our rights...including our right to vote.

The Song and Dance: I'd only heard about this in books on Eddy and his frequent partner Jeanette MacDonald before a few years ago. It's too bad. If you love pulp-y, Lone Ranger-style westerns or are a fan of Eddy, this is quite a bit of fun. Eddy does all of the singing, and he does get to throw his lush tenor into a range of sentimental and popular songs, from "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" to "Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair." There's a nice supporting cast, too, including Arnold as the affably evil railroad man and Barrymore as the strong-willed farmer who is determined to keep his family's land.

Favorite Number: Eddy performs "Love Serenade" at Arnold's request. It had apparently been Steve and Maggie's love song, but the look on her face when he performs it after she believes he's become a coward is pure disgust and disappointment. "Pat, Sez He" becomes a fun dance number at the bar when Steve is trying to convince McLaughlin that he's on the side of the railroad. "Where Else But Here," Steve's rousing number at the Election Day rally, is the only song written directly for the film. Maggie finally gets the crowd's attention - and reminds them that we're all Americans, no matter where we come from - with "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

What I Don't Like: Eddy's not much better with the heavier dramatics than he is in his movies with MacDonald, and his fight scenes with the much larger McLaughlin are far from believable. Bruce is stiff in a dull "love interest" role; her so-so singing ability eliminates any duets.

While the movie has good intentions, all the talk about the rights of Americans to do what they please and the references to educating "foreigners" can come off as a tad condescending and way too preachy. A lot of it probably stems from many people's concerns about the war going on in Europe and Asia at the time.

The Big Finale: If you love Eddy, patriotic stories, or old-fashioned pulp westerns, you'll want to give this unusual operetta gem your vote.

Home Media: Available via the Warner Archives and on several streaming companies.

DVD
Amazon Prime

Maytime

MGM, 1937
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, John Barrymore, and Herman Bing
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Music by Sigmund Romberg, Herbert Stothart, and others

This movie's early May setting makes it perfect to kick off this month. It was the biggest hit of the eight movies Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy made together, and one of the blockbusters of 1937. How does this tale of a spring romance that turns tragic hold up nowadays? Let's go to a small-town May Day celebration around the turn of the century to find out...

The Story: Miss Morrison (MacDonald) has just come back from the town's May Day celebration when she overhears an argument between her young neighbor Barbara (Lynne Carver) and her sweetheart Kip (Tom Brown). Later, Barbara reveals that she wants to go to New York to become a great opera singer, like Marcia Mornay. The older woman reveals that she was Marcia Mornay, who gave up love for her career.

We then flashback to Paris in the 1860's. Her demanding teacher Nazaroff (John Barrymore) has just presented her to Napoleon and his court. She's so dazed from her success with her song there and with the dazzle of the ball and the evening, she unthinkingly accepts Nazaroff's proposal, even though she doesn't love him. She regrets her decision when she goes for a midnight carriage ride and finds herself at a local bar, where handsome music student Paul Allison (Eddy) is singing a rousing drinking song. He's smitten with Marcia right away and convinces her to visit his tiny apartment for lunch with him and his teacher Archipenko (Bing). He manages to get into her most recent opera vehicle and ask her to a May Day fair in the country with him. They attend and have a wonderful time...and fall in love. But Marcia has already promised herself to Nazaroff and doesn't want to give up her music for Paul.

Seven years pass. Marcia has become a beloved opera star, but her marriage with Nazaroff lacks passion and romance. On her debut at the Met, she finds herself paired with up-and-coming baritone Paul. They resist it, but their love too strong to ignore anymore. It makes their debut a smashing success...but it also makes Nazaroff insanely jealous. He's not about to share Marcia and her career with anyone, including a younger man.

The Song and Dance: This is my favorite MacDonald/Eddy vehicle. I'm not normally a fan of sad love stories, but for all the melodrama, this one really works. It was MacDonald's favorite of her movies as well, and she puts in one of her best performances as the diva who gives up love for her career, only to regret it later. Eddy's still a little stiff in the dramatic scenes; he's more at home in the first half of the film, singing in the bar or convincing Bing to help him set up for a very frugal lunch. Barrymore may have been so drunk by this point, he had to read his lines off cue cards, but he's still magnetic in the role of the possessive teacher who doesn't want to give up the woman whose career he's guided.

MGM went all-out on this one. Everyone, men and women, are dressed in acres of ruffles, puffs, lace, bows, and sequins. The black-and-white cinematography and lavish sets, including a nifty montage of Marcia's operatic successes, nicely evokes both small-town America at the turn of the century and the romance of Paris and the French countryside during the reign of Louis Napoleon.

Favorite Number: By far the most famous song from this one is "Sweetheart, Will You Remember?," the only number retained from the original 1917 Broadway show. MacDonald and Eddy sing it just after their day at the fair, as Marcia tells Paul she can't stay with him. It's a beautiful number, passionate and romantic, and it's one of their best duets. They also sing a nice version of "Carry Me Back To Old Virginny" at Paul's apartment after lunch, and their "Czarina" duet towards the end in the opera is equally strong.

Trivia: This was originally supposed to have been filmed in color and feature more songs from the original show. The first version was scrapped and restarted in black and white after producer Irving Thalburg died. MGM would finally film a MacDonald/Eddy vehicle in color a year later, Sweethearts.

The original Broadway show debuted in 1917; there's a story that it was so popular, two different companies ran in New York at the same time.

What I Don't Like: Not for people looking for a more upbeat musical, those who don't like opera or operetta, or who aren't fans of romantic melodrama. Nelson Eddy supposedly didn't share his partner's fondness for this movie. He found it to be a tad too frilly, and many critics then and now echo his sentiments that it's way too campy.

The Big Finale: If you love tragic romances, historical romances, opera, or MacDonald and Eddy, you'll want to spend your own May Day checking this one out.

Home Media: The solo Warner Archives DVD I have is now out of print, but it's available as part of the first MacDonald/Eddy Archives DVD set...and unlike many Archives titles, it can be found on several streaming services.

DVD - MacDonald-Eddy Collection, Volume 1
Amazon Prime

Rose Marie

MGM, 1936
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Regas, and James Stewart
Directed by W.S Van Dyke
Music by Rudolf Frimil; Lyrics by Herbert Stothart

From 1935 to 1942, movie singer and comedienne Jeanette MacDonald and concert singer Nelson Eddy starred in eight operettas for MGM that ran the gamut from melodrama to romantic comedy to western. This was their second movie together, and the one they're probably most associated with today. An operetta is basically a musical with opera-inflected numbers that are more challenging and opera-like, but with lighter stories and more dialogue. That's certainly true of this story of a Canadian Mountie who searches for an escaped convict, but ends up falling in love with his sister. Let's head north to Montreal to find out if this adventure-melodrama is worthy of that "Indian Love Call"...

The Story: Opera diva Marie Del Fleur (MacDonald) drops all her appointments after half-breed native Boniface (Regas) comes to her and tells her that her beloved brother Jack (Stewart), a criminal who has escaped prison, has killed a Mountie and is currently in a cabin in the Canadian wilderness. Marie follows Boniface to a small outpost in northern Canada. There, he steals her money and abandons her, forcing her to look for work. She's too high-toned to earn money as a singer in a low-down bar, but she does attract the attention of Sergeant Bruce (Eddy), the Mountie in charge of finding her brother. Desperate to find Jack (and ignore her growing attraction to Bruce), she lies about not knowing Boniface and goes off with the native when she finds him again. Bruce is hot on her trail, hoping that she'll lead him to his man...but he finds that his duty conflicts with his heart when he realizes how much they've fallen in love.

The Song and Dance: This is MacDonald and Eddy's show all the way. We do get a little bit of a very young James Stewart as Jack, an even younger David Niven as Marie's fiancee Teddy, and Reginald Owen as her flustered manager Myerson, but it's mainly about the stars. There's some nice black-and-white cinematography too, both during the opera sequences and in sun-dappled outside shots.

Favorite Number: "Indian Love Call" is by far the most famous song from this film, and it lives up to its notoriety. The lyrics may be melodramatic and a bit dated, but the music is lush, and MacDonald and Eddy perform it beautifully. The "Rose Marie" canoe sequence is too funny; the reprise when Bruce is attempting to sing under Marie's window may be even better. There's a nice sequence early-on when Marie is entertaining the Premier of Quebec with "Pardon Me, Madame," and everyone gets so into it, the entire hotel and everyone strolling outside ends up singing along. The only chorus number outside of the opera is the amazing (if stereotypical) "Totem Tom Tom" routine at the Native festival.

Trivia: This is the second of three movie versions of the hit 1924 Broadway operetta. A silent film from 1928 starring Joan Crawford that's now lost and a 1954 spectacular with Howard Keel apparently stuck closer to the original show.

While that is the real outdoors Marie and Bruce travel through, they're not in Canada. The movie was actually filmed at Lake Tahoe, between California and Nevada.

MacDonald and Eddy would go on to make eight films together at MGM in the 30's and early 40's, six of them after this one.

What I Don't Like: I do wish Marie had been a little more sensible than to run off with a menacing man she didn't know...and she certainly should have kept her cash with her at all times, no matter how worried she was about her brother.

Neither MacDonald nor Eddy were up to the heavier dramatics later in the film. Stewart's miscast as the runaway criminal, and he still does better than they do. MacDonald is more at home with her comic bits, especially while stranded at the outpost or dealing with Bruce's teasing in the backwoods. Eddy likewise is stiff with everything but some of the lighter moments and his musical numbers.

Frankly, the story is a load of melodrama that collapses completely in a ridiculous and anti-climatic ending. This is another one where I wish they'd kept the original plot with the backwoods girl in love with a trapper who is wrongly pursued by Mounties and more of the original music. Once again, everything but songs for the leads and a chorus routine was deleted. I suspect Marie was an opera singer only because MacDonald badly wanted to sing real opera (and because she was too old at that point to play a backwoods tomboy).

The Big Finale: I know a lot of people consider this to be one of their best films, but "Indian Love Call" aside, the story is too dull to be a favorite of mine. Fans of theirs will definitely want it; casual viewers may be better off starting with Naughty Marietta or Maytime before coming here.

Home Media: As with all the MacDonald-Eddy movies, this one is currently only available via the Warner Archives DVD-on-demand service. (At the very least, while those movies can be pricey, the DVDs are a lot cheaper than they used to be when the Archives first debuted.)

DVD

Rosalie

MGM, 1937
Directed by W.S Van Dyke
Starring Nelson Eddy, Eleanor Powell, Frank Morgan, and Ray Bolger
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

The Story: Dick Thorpe (Eddy) is the Army's biggest football star. He's not as popular with Vassar College student Rosalie (Powell), who finds him to be conceited. She changes her mind when he starts courting her and singing at her window, with the help of his bench warmer buddy Bill Delroy (Bolger). They've barely started dating when Rosalie is called back to her home country of Romanza for its big festival. Turns out that Rosalie is actually the princess of Romanza, and is engaged to marry Prince Paul (Tom Rutherford). No one is happy with the arrangement but the dour Queen (Edna May Oliver). Paul is more interested in the Queen's lady-in-waiting Brenda (Illona Massey), and the King prefers working on his ventriloquist act to ruling a country. Dick takes off when he learns of Rosalie's engagement, but Bill knows he's unhappy. It'll take a revolution - and Rosalie and the King learning to speak for themselves - to finally reunite these lovers back at West Point.

The Song and Dance: Let's get things out of the way first - this movie is BIG. MGM was trying to outdo Warners' Busby Berkley musicals and it's own earlier spectacles, and they succeeded at that. Almost every musical number seems to be accompanied by hundreds of extras and sets that could probably dwarf four of the football field Eddy and Bolger played on early in the film. Only the biggest, most popular movie factory in Hollywood could have put together something like this at the height of the Great Depression.

Eddy's notorious for being rather stiff, but he actually comes off well enough as the dashing quarterback. Bolger's less believable as a football player, but he does get a good solo later in the film and a couple of nice scenes with Eddy and Powell. Morgan and Oliver are really fun as the flustered ruler who would rather be performing, and the haughty queen who just wants him to pay attention to his country.

Trivia: Cole Porter reportedly wrote the title song as a joke when MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer asked him to write a song with a girl's title. Porter came up with the drippiest song he could imagine...then saw Mayer have the last laugh when it became a hit.

Rosalie was originally a Broadway musical in 1928, with music by George Gershwin and Sigmund Romberg and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. While most of the original plot (and Frank Morgan) were retained, the songs were dropped.

According to Richard Barrios in his book A Song In the Dark, this was actually MGM's second try at filming Rosalie. The first was in 1929, with Marion Davies as the title character. William Randolph Hearst finally decided it wasn't working out and pulled the plug, and the studio shelved the script for nearly a decade.

Favorite Number: The second version of the title song is amazing, with literally thousands of extras watching Powell's incredible tap dance on giant drums. It must be seen to be believed. No wonder Eddy looked so amazed. Speaking of Eddy, his "In the Still of the Night" was so darn hot, I'm surprised Powell wasn't a puddle on the soundstage when he finished. His "It's All Over but the Shouting" is also nice, as is another big dance routine for Powell and the chorus late in the film when she's posing as a cadet at West Point.

What I Don't Like: Down-to-Earth Powell is too American to be anyone's idea of a Balkan princess. The story is a rather awkward mix of standard 20's operetta and standard 20's musical comedy, with a fairy-tale kingdom and Eddy's operetta ballads stuffed alongside a college musical with military overtones and Powell's huge tap routines. The movie can be too big at times, to the point of completely overwhelming its fairy-tale story. Critics then and now carped about the lightweight plot collapsing under the sheer size of it all.

The Big Finale: Worth seeing for the "Rosalie" drums number and "In the Still of the Night." Look for it at the Warner Archives and on TCM if you're a fan of the cast or Porter's music and can get around the overblown production.

Closing Credits: DVD