1h 45min | Musical, Romance, Adventure | 28 June 1940
Directors: Robert Z. Leonard, W.S. Van Dyke (uncredited)
Stars: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Mary Boland
Val Raset ... dances
6th of 8 pairings of JM & NE; we get another this year. This is 1 of 4 that IMDb users rated over 7. My ratings have been well aligned with theirs.
Another enjoyable outing, again where he is heroic, although she is spoiled upper class. But he too is from the aristocracy, in trouble for opposition to the king (the revolution is about to depose him.) His escape was to get himself arrested and deported into bondage under an assumed name.
They sing many songs from Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II. We have one scene where they sit near the slave quarters, observing their songs, then launch into songs of their own. One song from the film, Lover, Come Back to Me is a standard, but not done in the operetta-style of the film, but best as a torch song; the link above should let you listen to Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey, Patti Page, Ella Fitzgerald and Streisand. Contrast JM's solo version in the film.
MGM, dir. Leonard & Van Dyke; 8-
