rayban Posted December 22, 2017 Why spend a fortune on renovating an operetta - starring Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas - and not employ first-rate musical talent for the leads? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sukhov Posted December 22, 2017 I agree. They should have gotten actors who could sing better. It's probably my least favorite movie version of the operetta. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TopBilled Posted December 22, 2017 It's an interesting entry in the catalogue of MGM films. Especially since Dore Schary was heading the studio and he prided himself on realism in dramas. So why not realism in musicals too? LOL It's a perfect example of putting star power first and sacrificing authenticity (with dubbing). They also did this again in 1955 when they hired Eleanor Parker to play an opera singer in INTERRUPTED MELODY. She earned an Oscar nomination, because she gave a great dramatic performance. But they dubbed her with the actual singer she was portraying; so there's this jarring contrast between the high-pitched musical numbers and Parker's husky speaking voice. Very unrealistic. They should have just brought someone like Jeanette MacDonald back, or hired Irene Dunne. Where it was more believable that the person we are watching on screen can actually sing. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayban Posted December 22, 2017 Turner cannot really play the light-heartedness of the material. She tries, but tends toward turgid melodrama. She can't sing, either - although she is given a few lines of sung dialogue. Lamas tries hard and does a lot of singing - is it him? it sounds like him. - but somehow he seems much too "inauthentic". The result - the supporting case takes over and saves the day. Richard Hayden wins out, though, as again one of the great "flamers" of the silver screen. He doesn't hold back - he hits you right in the face. He's stylish and funny and is just what this material needs. Ironically, he was always in demand - reaching his zenith, of course, in "Sitting Pretty" in which he had a field day alongside Clifton Webb. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TopBilled Posted December 22, 2017 1 hour ago, rayban said: Turner cannot really play the light-heartedness of the material. She tries, but tends toward turgid melodrama. She can't sing, either - although she is given a few lines of sung dialogue. Lamas tries hard and does a lot of singing - is it him? it sounds like him. - but somehow he seems much too "inauthentic". The result - the supporting case takes over and saves the day. Richard Hayden wins out, though, as again one of the great "flamers" of the silver screen. He doesn't hold back - he hits you right in the face. He's stylish and funny and is just what this material needs. Ironically, he was always in demand - reaching his zenith, of course, in "Sitting Pretty" in which he had a field day alongside Clifton Webb. Lamas did sing. He was in a musical with Ethel Merman on Broadway ('Happy Hunting'). And he made a musical film with Rosalind Russell called THE GIRL RUSH. Haydn also was a director. He directed MR. MUSIC at Paramount starring Bing Crosby, plus several other productions. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sukhov Posted December 22, 2017 1 hour ago, TopBilled said: It's an interesting entry in the catalogue of MGM films. Especially since Dore Schary was heading the studio and he prided himself on realism in dramas. So why not realism in musicals too? LOL It's a perfect example of putting star power first and sacrificing authenticity (with dubbing). They also did this again in 1955 when they hired Eleanor Parker to play an opera singer in INTERRUPTED MELODY. She earned an Oscar nomination, because she gave a great dramatic performance. But they dubbed her with the actual singer she was portraying; so there's this jarring contrast between the high-pitched musical numbers and Parker's husky speaking voice. Very unrealistic. They should have just brought someone like Jeanette MacDonald back, or hired Irene Dunne. Where it was more believable that the person we are watching on screen can actually sing. MacDonald was good in the 1934 film and her soprano training really worked out well. I'm surprised they never had Nelson Eddy do a film version as a he was a classically trained lyric baritone. It would have been a perfect role for him. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sukhov Posted December 22, 2017 1 hour ago, rayban said: Turner cannot really play the light-heartedness of the material. She tries, but tends toward turgid melodrama. She can't sing, either - although she is given a few lines of sung dialogue. Lamas tries hard and does a lot of singing - is it him? it sounds like him. - but somehow he seems much too "inauthentic". The result - the supporting case takes over and saves the day. Richard Hayden wins out, though, as again one of the great "flamers" of the silver screen. He doesn't hold back - he hits you right in the face. He's stylish and funny and is just what this material needs. Ironically, he was always in demand - reaching his zenith, of course, in "Sitting Pretty" in which he had a field day alongside Clifton Webb. As I said above the film really falls flat without a good baritone like Eddy or maybe Girogio Tozzi (who sang bass in South Pacific but probably could have handled a baritone role in Lustige Witwe ). 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayban Posted December 22, 2017 What kind of a voice did Fernando Lamas have? It sounded - not trained or used? He was willing, though. He did try. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TopBilled Posted December 22, 2017 5 hours ago, rayban said: What kind of a voice did Fernando Lamas have? It sounded - not trained or used? He was willing, though. He did try. He branched out into directing later. He wanted to be more than just a matinee idol...wanted to prove he was a versatile talent. Perhaps those efforts weren't always successful, but he certainly did try. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayban Posted December 23, 2017 The young Lana Turner is almost unrecognisable from the later Lana Turner. As she grew older, beauty and glamour seemed to be her primary concerns. If she was capable of giving a performance, there was very little evidence of it. But she did last 18 years at MGM. That kind of success is impressive. As for Fernando Lamas, he was much better in "Rosemarie" with Ann Blyth. Somehow, he did fit into the woodsy atmosphere. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TopBilled Posted December 23, 2017 2 hours ago, rayban said: The young Lana Turner is almost unrecognisable from the later Lana Turner. As she grew older, beauty and glamour seemed to be her primary concerns. If she was capable of giving a performance, there was very little evidence of it. But she did last 18 years at MGM. That kind of success is impressive. As for Fernando Lamas, he was much better in "Rosemarie" with Ann Blyth. Somehow, he did fit into the woodsy atmosphere. I prefer the action films he made at Paramount. JIVARO is particularly good. So is SANGAREE. He also appeared in 20th Century Fox's THE LOST WORLD in 1960. For some reason he worked better in material with outdoor settings. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayban Posted December 23, 2017 15 minutes ago, TopBilled said: I prefer the action films he made at Paramount. JIVARO is particularly good. So is SANGAREE. He also appeared in 20th Century Fox's THE LOST WORLD in 1960. For some reason he worked better in material with outdoor settings. Yes, Esther Williams has said that he was her only male lead who could actually swim. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TopBilled Posted December 23, 2017 3 minutes ago, rayban said: Yes, Esther Williams has said that he was her only male lead who could actually swim. Doesn't surprise me. He seems more athletic than other MGM leading men. There are some good horse riding scenes with him in THE LAW AND THE LADY. He wasn't the world's best actor but he had a sort of dexterity that made his scenes work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayban Posted December 23, 2017 8 minutes ago, TopBilled said: Doesn't surprise me. He seems more athletic than other MGM leading men. There are some good horse riding scenes with him in THE LAW AND THE LADY. He wasn't the world's best actor but he had a sort of dexterity that made his scenes work. What's so winning about him in "The Merry Widow" - a film for which he is not suited - is that he tries so hard that he almost makes himself "work" in the film. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cinemaspeak59 Posted January 18, 2018 I think Jane Powell would have been a good choice. Deanna Durbin was retired, but she certainly had musical talent. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaragon Posted January 18, 2018 Turner and Lamas made a gorgeous couple which I guess is what MGM wanted 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DougieB Posted January 21, 2018 On 1/18/2018 at 6:51 PM, jaragon said: Turner and Lamas made a gorgeous couple which I guess is what MGM wanted Turner and Lamas were also pretty hot and heavy off-screen, which added to the onscreen heat. They were set to do Latin Lovers next but apparently had a very public brawl, so Lamas was out and Ricardo Montalban was in (the movie, that is). I think Lana also benefitted by being paired with an old pro like Una Merkel, who had at least as many scenes with Lana as Lamas did. She did some comic heavy lifting and made Lana look good by association. Lana's self-awareness worked against her in comedy and she relied heavily on co-stars to help put herself across. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayban Posted January 24, 2018 Ernst Lubitsch's handling of this same material in 1934 was "magical". His film version is perfect and it "floats" on air. Although Jeanette McDonald and Maurice Chevalier were hardly the same kind of singer - they did work well together. She's operatic and he's popular - but, sometimes, her voice is so high that she cannot be understood well - and he, of course, has that thick French accent. But Lubitsch weaves them into a whirling mass that never stops moving. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaragon Posted January 25, 2018 On 12/23/2017 at 11:27 AM, TopBilled said: I prefer the action films he made at Paramount. JIVARO is particularly good. So is SANGAREE. He also appeared in 20th Century Fox's THE LOST WORLD in 1960. For some reason he worked better in material with outdoor settings. It gave Lamas a chance to display his manly physique- and look marvelous 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TopBilled Posted January 25, 2018 6 minutes ago, jaragon said: It gave Lamas a chance to display his manly physique- and look marvelous Don't you mean mah-velous....? Like Billy Crystal used to say when lampooning Lamas on SNL: 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaragon Posted January 26, 2018 1 hour ago, TopBilled said: Don't you mean mah-velous....? Like Billy Crystal used to say when lampooning Lamas on SNL: Yes I do- 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewSchone Posted May 29, 2018 On 12/22/2017 at 5:23 AM, rayban said: Turner cannot really play the light-heartedness of the material. She tries, but tends toward turgid melodrama. She can't sing, either - although she is given a few lines of sung dialogue. Lamas tries hard and does a lot of singing - is it him? it sounds like him. - but somehow he seems much too "inauthentic". The result - the supporting case takes over and saves the day. Richard Hayden wins out, though, as again one of the great "flamers" of the silver screen. He doesn't hold back - he hits you right in the face. He's stylish and funny and is just what this material needs. Ironically, he was always in demand - reaching his zenith, of course, in "Sitting Pretty" in which he had a field day alongside Clifton Webb. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewSchone Posted May 29, 2018 Lamas was a good singer. I read once that MGM originally signed him to be the singing voice of their already established Latin lover, Ricardo Montalban. Then they realized he was leading man material in his own right. He sings in "Dangerous When Wet", which I think is the best Ester Williams musical. It's really him singing in The Merry Widow. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayban Posted May 29, 2018 6 hours ago, AndrewSchone said: Lamas was a good singer. I read once that MGM originally signed him to be the singing voice of their already established Latin lover, Ricardo Montalban. Then they realized he was leading man material in his own right. He sings in "Dangerous When Wet", which I think is the best Ester Williams musical. It's really him singing in The Merry Widow. Yes, Williams and Lamas were a great combo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sukhov Posted June 7, 2018 On 1/24/2018 at 9:21 AM, rayban said: Ernst Lubitsch's handling of this same material in 1934 was "magical". His film version is perfect and it "floats" on air. Although Jeanette McDonald and Maurice Chevalier were hardly the same kind of singer - they did work well together. She's operatic and he's popular - but, sometimes, her voice is so high that she cannot be understood well - and he, of course, has that thick French accent. But Lubitsch weaves them into a whirling mass that never stops moving. Speaking of which, I wonder if TCM has ever played the French version of the movie that was produced alongside the English one (similar to the Spanish and English Draculas also made at the time.) If they haven't, it would make a great TCM Import as I'm very interested in seeing it. There's only a few clips on YouTube though. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
