1h 34min | Drama, Musical, Romance | 8 November 1940 | Color
Director: W.S. Van Dyke (as W.S. Van Dyke II)
Stars: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Sanders
Official release, but color frame mis-matching blurs somewhat.
Yes, IMDb lists songs written by Noel Coward in 1929 (with some lyrics by Gus Kahn).
The plot summary continues:
In Vienna, they struggle to make a living by making music. Carl writes an operetta and tries to get it produced. They are helped along by Viennese Baron, but his intentions are not honorable. He kills Carl in a sword fight. A big producer does put on the operetta, with Sari in the lead -- but without her husband, it is a bittersweet victory. Written by John Oswalt
The Viennese baron is played by George Sanders. There's an Englishman (Ian Hunter) involved too, a gambling mate of the Baron, and I thought HE had connected the couple to the restaurateur (weird that the n is missing from the correct spelling) who employs the couple. They both show up there, and when GS makes an aggressive pass at JM, NE steps in, and the duel begins immediately (no demanding satisfaction and seconds arranging a duel at dawn,) After the successful opening of NE's operetta, JM goes back to their 5th floor walkup garret, and sings to him in heaven.
The lack of color restoration is worse in some reels than others, and is distracting. But the plot itself is uneven: I watched multiple times to try to capture it (falling asleep each time), and still couldn't get the whole thing. The music is also uninspiring (and of course unfamiliar). And while JM admires NE for his talent, this doesn't have the heroic sweep of their best stories.
MGM, dir. Van Dyke; 6
