I have to admit that I've never understood even a scintilla of why the Nelson Eddy/Janette MacDonald films were so popular. My disdain bothers me, because I have some musical training, I've studied some opera, and I'm devoted to the Freed films and many others as well. But these guys... The only thing I can imagine is that this was the sole way for people in small towns to see and hear artists with such fine voices. But question 2 grabs me:
If you have seen either or both of these actors in other films or television shows, please share your perceptions about them.
Janette MacDonald is simply wonderful in San Francisco, with Gable and Tracy. It's decidedly NOT a musical, but there are some slam dunk songs, this time framed as nightclub performances. MacDonald, I think, it perfectly positioned as an innocent ingenue who is drawn into Gable's more earthy and sordid world, and in the context of the film, while he draws her down, she (and Tracy) lift him up. It's not so much about the music of course, but 82 years after the film was made, the rousing rendition of the title song still rocks the house, and Ms. MacDonald makes a pretty darned good torch singer! It fascinates me that both films were directed by "Woody" VanDyke because the styles seem so incredibly different.
DAILY DOSE OF DELIGHT #2 (From Rose Marie)
in MAD ABOUT MUSICALS: THE HISTORY OF THE HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS
Posted
I have to admit that I've never understood even a scintilla of why the Nelson Eddy/Janette MacDonald films were so popular. My disdain bothers me, because I have some musical training, I've studied some opera, and I'm devoted to the Freed films and many others as well. But these guys... The only thing I can imagine is that this was the sole way for people in small towns to see and hear artists with such fine voices. But question 2 grabs me:
If you have seen either or both of these actors in other films or television shows, please share your perceptions about them.
Janette MacDonald is simply wonderful in San Francisco, with Gable and Tracy. It's decidedly NOT a musical, but there are some slam dunk songs, this time framed as nightclub performances. MacDonald, I think, it perfectly positioned as an innocent ingenue who is drawn into Gable's more earthy and sordid world, and in the context of the film, while he draws her down, she (and Tracy) lift him up. It's not so much about the music of course, but 82 years after the film was made, the rousing rendition of the title song still rocks the house, and Ms. MacDonald makes a pretty darned good torch singer! It fascinates me that both films were directed by "Woody" VanDyke because the styles seem so incredibly different.