Singing good, acting bad
Added 1/13/2009
First opera has very little place in the land of Zydeco, Jazz and the blues.
It is kind of like taking a heathen idle into a Christian Church?
A Prima donna who is really snooty steals the heart of a lowly French fisherman Pepe, so that his uncle gets no blessing on his boat and it sinks in a storm.
They go to New Orleans to earn a new boat by Pepe's singing.
The love aware is playing at fire, but the acting in contrast to the singing is very bad ( there is no passion in their playing at love).
It seems clear that Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza didn't much like each other?
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JUAN SULLIVAN
Added 9/28/2004
What a match! Grayson, the beautiful physiognomy, clothes-model, and concert-quality singer was the best of her time (see her in "Kiss Me Kate"); and Mario has a magnificent voice. It was unfortunate that Mario was too out-of-condition to play "The Student Prince". Instead, the role went to Edmund Purdom. Also, Mario was made for the musical Carousel! None sings "If I Loved You" so well.
But, we are happy to have the video tapes and recordings of these
perfect performances available in the market place.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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a melodious feast for Lanza fans
Added 6/15/2004
Mario Lanza fans will love this musical souffle which was released a year before "The Great Caruso"; Lanza is in top form and even dances with a young Rita Moreno, and hardly five minutes goes by in the film without a song.
The skimpy plot consists of opera director Niven discovering bayou bumpkin Lanza and turning him into an opera star, where of course he tries to win the heart of soprano Grayson.The music is fabulous, with original songs by Nicholas Brodszky and Sammy Cahn, including the Lanza hit and Oscar nominated "Be My Love"; others are "Tina Lina", "I'll Never Love You", "The Toast of New Orleans", "Song of the Bayou", and "Boom Biddy Boom Boom".
The operatic selections are what make the film for me, and include a terrific "La fleur que tu m'avais jetee" (from Bizet's "Carmen"), "O paradissortide l'onde" (Mayerbeer/"L'africaine"), "Je suis Titania" (Thomas/"Mignon"). "Libiamo, libiamo ne' lieti calici" (Verdi/"La Traviata"), and my favorite scene in the film, "Viene la sera" from Puccini's "Madame Butterfly". The cast surrounding Lanza is great, with Kathryn Grayson excellent as Suzette the soprano and love interest, David Niven smooth and classy as Jacques the director, J. Carrol Naish as Uncle Nicky, and some humorous scenes belong to Clinton Sundberg as he tries to teach Lanza "social graces".
This lighthearted frothy film is delightful, and a must for Lanza fans. Total running time is 97 minutes.
9 out of 9 people found this helpful.
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Toast of New Orleans
Added 5/11/2004
I recently watched this video and found it one of the most entertaining that I have recently seen. I had forgotten just how lovely Mario Lanza's voice was, not having heard it very much since the 1950's. The plot was a little weak in parts but mostly amusing with some farcical moments. I loved the way in which Lanza played his character, sometime tough and sometimes vulnerable. The combination of voices was wonderful, and what a treat to hear the arias from various operas. Kathryn Grayson is so pretty and her singing and acting were perfect for the part she played. David Niven was his usual suave self, and suited his part perfectly.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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great film!
Added 5/5/2003
"Toast of New Orleans," is a wonderful musical and Mario Lanza and Katheryn Grayson are a lovely and beautiful couple very wonderful and romantic story. The costumes alone are worth seeing it. The acting is greta and Mario and Katheryn's song selection is wonderful. It's a must see film.
4 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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My first favorite tenor!!
Added 8/2/2009
Toast of New Orleans
I had heard "Be My Love" for 20 years before I got the video. As a pre teen this voice was the most fantastic sound I has ever heard. It was several years later I got into opera and could appreciate the other things he sang. Italian songs are pretty melancholy for a kid.
Finally with the advent of video I got to see this delightful movie. Well supported with Niven, Nash, Rita Moreno and other character actors....and a marvelous dance sequence, the story bounces along enjoyably. The highlight for me was the Butterfly duet, as Pinkerton was one of only 2 operatic roles he sang, the other being Fenton.
That Midnight Kiss is not quite as well crafted and could use more Lanza singing.
The movie Serenade has some very good opera stagings of arias.
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Musical DVD
Added 4/7/2009
It was just what i wanted and was a new DVD in a plastic cover.
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Thank you Warner Brothers!!!!!!
Added 12/30/2008
Personally, I got the movies for Mario Lanza's voice. However, I was pleasantly surprised with a few things.
1. The scripts are better than I thought they would be, and the stories are simply delightful.
2. I wasn't much of a fan of Kathryn Grayson, and she isn't necessarily an operatic soprano, but she does some things with her voice that are unbelievable.
However, I must ask Warner Brothers to do the same thing with some later Lanza films: 'The Great Caruso,' 'Serenade,' and 'For the First Time' are some examples.
This is a must-have.
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