BALALAIKA (1939)
Nelson Eddy with Ilona Massey, publicity photo for Balalaika.

Nelson Eddy, Ilona Massey, Frank Morgan, Charles Ruggles.  My favorite for singing--Nelson's.  Ilona Massey is pretty in a small-eyed way and can act OK, but she didn't impress me as singer, no matter how many side characters (or Nelson) say she sings wonderfully.  Lots of funny dialogue, a genuinely touching/interesting perspective on the Bolshevik revolution.  Frank Morgan does a great job with two different aspects of his part as does Nelson, in one of his better parts.  Ruggles is a delight.  The dialogue was deliciousl, in that audacious, pushy, flirtatious way I like so much.  I didn't develop much sympathy for her character, but I had so much for him that I got over it.  For some inexplicable reason they reused the costume from Maytime--don't ask me why.  Nelson never sings better.  Especially favorite music includes "Song of the Volga Boatman" [in Russian], the "Toreador Song," from Carmen and "Silent Night" in German.****   MUST SEE

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