MartinHafer
In many ways this is a very strange film. After all, three expatriates who escaped Europe due to the rise of Hitler all were major factors in creating this film. Joe May, Erich Pommer and Billy Wilder all worked to direct, produce and write this film...a film which brings us an incredibly idealized and Hitler-free version of Bavaria! In this fairy tale land, everyone is happy, there's no repression and militarization simply doesn't exist. I wonder how these three men felt about this. Was this their homage to the Germany they used to love or did they feel a bit dirty for producing such a pasteurized view of modern Germany? Who knows...all I know is that having these three men being responsible for bringing the play to the big screen is interesting.As for the film, it has LOTS of music...lots and lots. And it's not necessarily the enjoyable type by today's standards--being the operatic style popularized by Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy. Still, the main song is very hummable and the plot slight, but enjoyable. Plus, while her voice was not brilliant, I was surprised because Gloria Swansen appeared to actually be singing in the film...competently. Overall, a silly but enjoyable piece of fluff that is a nice time passer about folks learning to accept their lots in life. I can see why this film did nothing to help the career of Erich Plommer, as it wasn't a bad film but an easy one for the studios to ignore...as well as his subsequent efforts.
georgestrum
This was an excellent adaptation to film from the stage hit by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The opening Alpine scene reminds you of a later film, "Sound of Music". A strong screenplay by Howard Young and Billy Wilder that avoided becoming too saccharine.Gloria Swanson was given top billing as a tempestuous German Prima Donna and she did all her own singing which was quite good. She really was a hoot in her role and she really was a natural for comedy. John Boles plays the show's lyric writer and is suave as ever and sung on his own rather well too. Douglas Montgomery is fun to watch. He's a little bit on the goofy side and his songs were dubbed by a James O'Brien. June Lang played the heroine trying to break into show business but fails. Her vocals were dubbed as well by a Betty Hiestand. Ms. Lang showed great effort but like her character she played, doesn't quite cut it. Perhaps she took the same advice and went home. We never heard from her again. Al Shean is also a classic act as the Poppa.
arneblaze
This is a lightweight piece of musical fluff- very stagebound from the Broadway hit as it is transferred to early musical film. The libretto isn't much and only one of the seven songs became a hit - I'VE TOLD EVERY LITTLE STAR. However, it is the star personalities that make this a delightful romp.Gloria Swanson and John Boles are the protypes for Fred and Lili Graham, the feuding husband and wife leads in KISS ME KATE. Here they perfectly assess the comedic and vocal requirements of their roles and play them to the hilt. As the young male lead Douglass Montgomery gives one of his finest performances, full of joy and innocence. June Lang fares somewhat less as the ingenue support, registering neither talent nor personality. Al Shean does his usual Charles-Winniger want to be turn as the old song writer. Marjorie Main has a silent role as Swanson's maid.The score contains two dances and the songs: SCHOOL PRAYER; BEYOND THE HILL; WE BELONG TOGETHER; I'M COMING HOME; ALL ALONE; ONE MORE DANCE; and the hit I'VE TOLD EVERY LITTLE STAR.A must-see for Swanson fans - after seeing this and TONIGHT OR NEVER, it stll baffles me why she wasn't a big talkies star - she could do anything - drama, comedy, musical - with flair and inventiveness. It was certainly our loss.
tashman
Here we find various famous talents converging at the height of their fame and appeal. Where has this film been all these years? This was a big Depression stage hit for the Master, Jerome Kern, and one of his equally accomplished partners, Oscar Hammerstein II, and transferred to the screen with much of the original delight intact. Definitely a slight tale from a much more innocent era, the story is literally a competition between a team of singing divas each latching onto an attractive, naive, and somewhat star-struck fan visiting from a small Tyrolean mountain village. If it weren't so well done, you might call it all "kitschy," but the result is so sincere that one gets swept up. There are marvelous moments, but surprisingly, not too many involving the famous star, Gloria Swanson, and her handsome sparring partner John Boles. Nothing wrong with their singing, which is, well, glorious! It's the "Diva" act. Although they just skirt going over-the-top on many occasions, there is an overall lack of punch, with too many blasts sailing over their targets. There's a lot of layered shouting, as if everyone were struggling to "work the screwball angle." The best moments are enjoyed during the lush and enchanting music, and in the scenes involving the village, particularly the school-room sequences with teacher and leading bucolic Douglass Montomerey, who turns in the best performance I've seen him give, with not a hint of that namby-pamby, self-pitying, "gloomy Gus" he specialized in. Here he is robust, cheerful, positive, and often found wearing the complete Tyrolean mountain-climbing uniform, which he definitely had the legs to wear. Indeed, he, along with his fellow villagers June Lang and Al Shean, make an energetic, thoroughly entertaining lot, much better at mining the script than their more sophisticated counterparts. The settings are impressive, the period detail attractive, and the costuming, particularly Miss Swanson's wardrobe (although Mr. Boles is decked out to the nines as well), is sensational throughout. Director Joe May pulled off an impressive feat, bringing together unlikely, if somewhat battered giants like Kern, Fox, and Swanson, and making them work so beautifully together. I believe if you enjoy Lubitsch, or European flavor musicals of that era, you'll certainly appreciate this picture.
