Naughty Marietta (film)

  • Jeanette MacDonald: Princess Marie / Marietta
  • Nelson Eddy: Richard Warrington
  • Frank Morgan: Governor d' Annand
  • Elsa Lanchester: Madame d' Annand
  • Douglass Dumbrille: Prince de la Bonfain
  • Joseph Cawthorne: Mr. Schuman
  • Cecilia Parker: Julie
  • Walter Kingsford: Don Carlos
  • Greta Meyer: Woman Schuman
  • Akim Tamiroff: Rudolpho

Naughty Marietta (OT: Naughty Marietta ) is the screen adaptation of the operetta by Rida Johnson Young and Victor Herbert, directed by WS Van Dyke. The film established the two main characters Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy as canvas pair that, together turned to 1942, seven more films, preferably operettas.

Action

France in the 18th century. The Princess Marie de Namours de la Bonfain, an orphan who lives with her ​​uncle Prince de la Bonfain, denied the planned wedding of King Louis XV with the Spanish nobleman Don Carlos de Braganza. When she hears that her friend Marietta Franini will move to Louisiana, she decides to flee from France. Marietta is too poor to be able to live in Paris. She wants there to marry her boyfriend Giovanni in the French colony. Marie offers Marietta money to take their place on board the ship and so undetected escape. Marietta takes the money, and Marie can embark as Marietta. Shortly thereafter, is made known that Marie qualifies as a refugee. There are exposed to 550 gold pieces for information on her whereabouts.

On the ship, Marie is back among many women who were sent by royal contract to Louisiana to marry unmarried settlers there. She tells Julie, one of the women that they will not do it. With a pirate attack, the ship gets out of control and is stranded on the coast of the colony. Women can leave the ship, but soon kindled a violent battle between the pirates and incoming Yankee soldiers. The pirates are defeated, the commander of the soldiers, Richard Warrington, falls in love with Marie. THe women are brought to New Orleans. The governor and many willing to marry settlers welcomed joyfully. Marie tries to escape through a lie marrying a settler, they can announce that she was an immoral woman. Thus they must now work in a puppet show. Warrington she finds there. He learns of the volatile princess and realizes that Marie is the person. He plans to hide them.

Marie, however, is detected and detained. Julie visits and brings her the news that Richard was banished. In addition, her uncle was on his way to bring it to Don Carlos. Marie's uncle arrives and tells her to reconcile with Don Carlos. You should tell him that their flight on a whim had happened. However, looking at Julie Richard. She explains to him that the governor will punish him if Marie did not bar the orders of the king's order.

Shortly before her departure to visit Marie and her uncle a farewell ball that aligns the Governor. Richard appeared there unexpectedly and brings Marie to flee with him into the wilderness to begin her new life with him undisturbed.

Background

Jeanette MacDonald was taken in 1933 by Louis B. Mayer personally for MGM under contract. The actress was in 1929 at Paramount Pictures easier to become a popular actress, sometimes become frivolous comedies and had repeatedly played and directed by Ernst Lubitsch on the side of Maurice Chevalier. However, MGM promoted rather her singing talent and so turned MacDonald as the first film under the new contract, the musical The Cat and the Fiddle.

MGM had the idea to bring MacDonald with the baritone Nelson Eddy together on the big screen since July 1933. The first project being considered a musical version of The Prisoner of Zenda and when smashed the plans, the operetta I Married an Angel. The end of 1934, the parties finally agreed on the film adaptation of the famous operetta Naughty Marietta by Victor Herbert, who had become a classic on the American stage since its premiere in 1910. Especially the songs Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life and Italian love song became very popular.

The genre of the film operetta was already popular silent film era, and experience einene brush highlight of the early sound film era. But a glut of singing games led to a rapid slackening of public interest. In 1934, confronted both Ernst Lubitsch with his film adaptation of The Merry Widow and One Night of Love Grace Moore once again proves that viewers certainly also accepted more classical music in the film.

Initial plans for the film version of Naughty Marietta with Marion Davies in the title role there was at MGM in 1930, but the project never came beyond some script drafts. And the second start-up was not without problems. Lous B. Mayer initially wanted the singer Allan Jones as a partner of MacDonald, who, however, already was involved in the comeback film of the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera. In the end the choice fell on Nelson Eddy, who a few months earlier in the Joan Crawford film Dancing Lady had given his screen debut. The originally planned director Robert Z. Leonard was immediately after shooting began from the responsibility and the contract was awarded to WS Van Dyke. The script had to be rewritten several times. And some of the original songs were either completely removed or provided with other texts. However, have been retained as the songs of the play, Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life, I'm Falling in Love with Someone, Italian Love Song and Tramp Tramp Tramp and Neath the Southern Moon

Theatrical Release

With production costs of 782,000 U.S. dollars Naughty Marietta was in the upper range for an MGM movie, even if the later films of the two stars should sometimes cost more than 2,000,000 U.S. dollars. In the U.S., the film grossed U.S. $ 1,058,000 with a good, though not a top value. With very high foreign income of 999,000 dollars and a cumulative result of a total of 2.057 million U.S. dollars, however, Naughty Marietta was one of the most successful productions of the year for MGM. The film was a huge financial success that made a plain pair of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, who should still turn seven more films together.

Reviews

The film received consistently good reviews. Marked him Ed Sullivan in the New York Daily News as " fantastic. MacDonald - Eddy are the sensational pair of the film industry. " Richard Watts, Jr. of the New York Herald - Tribune made ​​Nelson Eddy's " brilliant baritone "for the success of the film responsible. According to Andre Mountain Forest of the New York Times WS Van Dyke created a " merry - romantic and melodic film that inspires its composer ." Richard Watts, Jr. of the New York Herald - Tribune blamed Nelson Eddy's " brilliant baritone " for the success of the film.

Only Time Magazine could abgewinnen the film nothing. The film was " ridiculous waste that fits well for the needs of the romantic cinema".

Awards

Academy Awards 1936

More Awards

1935 in film W. S. Van Dyke Screenplay John Lee Mahin Frances Goodrich Albert Hackett Hunt Stromberg Film score Herbert Stothart William H. Daniels Blanche Sewell 8th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Sound Academy Award for Best Picture National Film Registry Winners of the Wilderness Trader Horn (1931 film) Guilty Hands Tarzan the Ape Man (1932 film) Eskimo (Film) Manhattan Melodrama Hide-Out Rose Marie (1936 film) San Francisco (1936 film) Marie Antoinette (1938 film) Sweethearts (1938 film) Bitter Sweet (1940 film)
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