In the golden west

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Movie
German title In the golden west
Original title The Girl of the Golden West
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1938
length 102 minutes
Rod
Director Robert Z. Leonard
script Isobel Dawn
production William Anthony McGuire
for MGM
music Sigmund Romberg
camera Oliver T. Marsh
cut W. Donn Hayes
occupation

In the Golden West (OT: The Girl of the Golden West ) is an American film operetta from 1938 and the fifth collaboration between the popular screen couple Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy . The direction of the film, which takes vague borrowings from the play of the same name by David Belasco and was enhanced with songs by Sigmund Romberg , was directed by Robert Z. Leonard . Financially, the Golden West fell short of expectations and the studio did not release another MacDonald / Eddy film until mid-1940. However, the couple would never regain their former popularity.

action

Mary Robbins runs The Poker, a saloon in the Wild West. As the only woman in town, Mary is swarmed around by a number of admirers, including Sheriff Jack Rance. On the way to a charity concert, Mary's stagecoach is ambushed by the notorious outlaw Ramerez. He falls in love with Mary and follows her under the pseudonym Lt. Johnson. At the concert he flirts with the not averse Mary. After a number of entanglements, both finally find happiness.

background

David Belasco celebrated worldwide success with his play The Girl from the Golden West in 1905. The melodramatic story of a courageous woman and a bandit was put into an operatic version by Giacomo Puccini as La fanciulla del West in 1910, which was also successful.

There have already been three film versions of the subject, most recently a film adaptation with Ann Harding in 1930 , when MGM decided in mid-1936 to bring the material in front of the camera again. Louis B. Mayer saw the story as the ideal story for the popular screen couple Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, who had achieved worldwide popularity since 1934. At the same time, the idea of ​​using Puccini's music for the film was discarded and a completely new score by Sigmund Romberg and Gus Kahn was used instead. Filming did not go as smoothly as usual, especially since MacDonald reportedly preferred to have Allan Jones, her costar from Tarantella , by her side. The actress was also convinced that the plot was out of date and the cast of Nelson Eddy as a masked bandit would not be believable. In the end, the film proved to be an artistic and financial disappointment.

Theatrical release

With a production cost of $ 1,680,000, In the Golden West was over $ 500,000 cheaper than May Time . In the USA, the film lagged significantly behind the previous results of the screen couple and, at 1,597,000 US dollars, brought in a respectable, but not a top sum. In addition, another US $ 1,285,000 came from abroad. With a cumulative total profit of $ 2,882,000 and a meager profit of $ 246,000, the high expectations were not met and it would take over two years for the studio to release a film with the two singers again.

music

As expected by the fans, the film was sung often and extensively. The entire repertoire from popular to classic was covered.

Most of the pieces were composed for the film by Sigmund Romberg - music - and Gus Kahn - text.

  • Sun-Up to Sun Down
  • Shadows On The Moon
  • Soldiers Of Fortune
  • The Wind In The Trees
  • Señorita
  • Mariache
  • The West Ain't Wild Anymore

In addition, the following pieces will be performed.

criticism

Most of the critics were reluctant at best. The general consensus was that the two stars were simply wrongly cast.

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