Sweethearts (1938)

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Movie
Original title Sweethearts
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1938
length 115 minutes
Rod
Director WS Van Dyke
script Dorothy Parker
Alan Campbell
production Hunt Stromberg
for MGM
music Victor Herbert ,
Herbert Stothart
camera Oliver T. Marsh ,
Allen M. Davey
cut Robert Kern
occupation

Sweethearts is an American film operetta from 1938 and the first full-length feature film from MGM in the newly developed 3-color Technicolor . The popular screen couple Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy play the leading roles . The direction in which produced at considerable expense film almost exclusively songs from the eponymous operetta by Victor Herbert uses, led WS Van Dyke . Sweethearts became one of the most financially successful films for the studio in 1938.

action

The new production of Victor Herbert's operetta Sweethearts with the two stars Gwen Marlowe and Ernest Lane has been going on for several years. The main characters are also a couple in private and plan to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary with a lot of effort. Everything could be perfect if the two weren't getting tired of the hardships of life on stage. The lucrative offer to make a career in Hollywood flutters into the house. However, the plan is sabotaged by relatives, acquaintances and above all the producer of the stage show, Felix Lehman. The intrigues go so far as to induce the couple to separate in order to bring Hollywood's interest to a standstill. In the end, after a number of entanglements, a failed film debut and many songs together, Gwen and Ernest are back where they belong: on the stage in a revival of Sweethearts .

background

The color film did not fulfill the hopes of the film producers, who expected an innovation boost comparable to the introduction of the sound film . The high investments have not yet been rewarded by an increased number of paying viewers. In this respect, it was understandable when MGM only began planning the first feature film in the newly developed 3-color Technicolor after a long period of hesitation . The other major film studios were already familiar with the technology. Becky Sharp , The Garden of Allah and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine were released in 1935/36 without any particular commercial success. It was only the outstanding financial success of The Adventures of Robin Hood , which was released in mid-1938, that convinced the studio managers to take advantage of the trend. After work on the first color project, the adventure film Northwest Passage , failed due to technical difficulties, the filming of Sweethearts , the fifth joint film by the popular screen couple Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, was stopped after a few days and started again as a color film. WS Van Dyke , who initially directed Northwest Passage , has now been hired for the production of Sweethearts .

Theatrical release

With a production cost of $ 1,966,000, Sweethearts was one of the most expensive MGM films to date. In the USA the film grossed the very high sum of 2,017,000 US dollars, to which another 1,230,000 US dollars came from abroad. With a cumulative total of $ 3,196,000, Sweethearts became one of MGM's top hits of the year.

music

The soundtrack of the film contains numerous pieces by Victor Herbert, preferably from the operetta of the same name

  • Wooden shoes
  • Every Lover Must Meet His Fate
  • Happy day
  • Sweethearts
  • Pretty as a picture
  • The Game of Love
  • The Message of the Violet (from the operetta The Prince of Pilsen by Frank Pixley)
  • Keep It Dark (also from The Prince of Pilsen )
  • Badinage
  • On parade
  • Every Lover Must Meet His Fate / Sweethearts
  • Little Gray Home in the West

criticism

Most of the critics found the film to be too long and without any real drive. It was also criticized that, despite the contemporary background, the stars would only play their now stereotypical roles.

The Time magazine said because even laconically:

"Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy stay the same, despite modern costumes and technicolor."

Awards

At the Academy Awards in 1939 , the film received nominations in the following categories:

  • Best film score
  • Best tone

An honorary Oscar ("[for] its contributions in successfully bringing three-color feature production to the screen") was given to cameramen Oliver T. Marsh and Allen M. Davey.

literature

  • Edward Baron Turk: Hollywood Diva: A Biography of Jeanette MacDonald . University of California Press, 1998, ISBN 0-520-21202-9 , pp. 226ff.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy unchanged by modern clothes and Technicolor.