Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald, Frank Morgan, Herman Byng.  MGM's first technicolor film (and it can be seen by the film quality).  At first, I didn't care for this movie very much.  Jeanette and Nelson play people good-natured to a fault, but I learned to love them, particularly, of course, Eddy, who is one of the only two guiltless people in the whole film.  However, they have charm and humor and the screenplay (co-written by Dorothy Parker, but not dismal) is very funny.  Some of the humor is subtle and killer (the ignorance of these born-and-bread theater people to the real world, for instance).  This is actually the acting I think Jeanette does as well as in any film she was in.  There are few standout songs for me (although Nelson sings well uniformly), but the music is generally good.  "Pretty as a Picture" is a cute scene.  You might note the understudies.  They actually were a married couple, but never quite were a success in real life.  Unfortunately, the man committed suicide in his thirties or forties.  Frank Morgan is another genuinely funny fellow, though this isn't his best role.  The kid in this is the same who played Tiny Tim in one of the better known versions of "A Christmas Carol".  The painting used as a prop during the montage ("Pretty as a Picture") was painted by Nelson Eddy.  I always like Nelson in tails.****    MUST SEE

Back to Films...