Love dance (1934)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Love dance |
| Original title | Music in the Air |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1934 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Joe May |
| script |
Harold I. Young Billie Wilder Robert Liebmann (anonymous) |
| production | Erich Pommer for Fox Film Corporation |
| music |
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein , edited by Franz Wachsmann |
| camera | Ernest Palmer |
| occupation | |
| |
Liebesreigen is an American film adaptation of a musical based on the musical Music in the Air by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II . The film is considered one of the first German-influenced emigrant films in Hollywood. Joe May directed this film, produced by Erich Pommer and co-written by Billy Wilder and Robert Liebmann . For the main role, the former silent film star Gloria Swanson could be won, who had been somewhat forgotten in previous years.
action
Karl Roder and Walter Lessing are two hobby composers who are based in the rural Bavarian town of Edendorff. In his main job, Karl earns his living as a village school teacher, while Walter teaches as a music teacher. His daughter Sieglinde is also Karl's queen of hearts. One day he goes to Munich, where Karl meets Ernst Weber again, who comes from the same village and has had some success in the big city as an artist agent in the entertainment industry. Weber takes a liking to the composition presented by the two villagers and plans to bring it out at the Munich Opera. One day Karl met the vocal diva Frieda Hotzfelt in Weber's office, a famous opera singer who was arguing loudly about one of his musical texts with her librettist Bruno Mahler, with whom she had an extraordinarily stormy relationship.
Frieda is quite taken with Karl, while Bruno brazenly courted Sieglinde who was traveling with them. At first he likes his advertising, and she also likes to be ensnared by the woman-understanding lyricist and charmer. While Weber decided to bring out Walter Lessing's composition with Frieda, the prima donna suddenly steadfastly refused to sing it. Instead, she only has eyes for Karl and suggests that he run away with her. Karl, however, is attached to Sieglinde and is soon tired of the capricious lady's capriciousness. Sieglinde explains to Karl that she could play her father's arias on stage instead of Frieda. Karl makes it clear to Sieglinde that a warble at the Edendorff village festival is something different from professional singing on a big city stage of high profile and he suggests leaving Munich again. The encounter with the bird dealer Cornelius, who sprayed wisdom in the Munich zoo, made him rethink. He said that two lovely country eggs like Karl and Sieglinde in the "wicked" and "sinful" city were on a losing streak and could not be happy.
But Sieglinde is not at all convinced of this and refuses to go away with Karl. Instead, she wants to accept Bruno's offer to appear in Frieda's place. During a rehearsal, however, Weber, the conductor Hans Uppmann and the opera director Kirschner have to acknowledge that Sieglinde's singing and performing arts are very manageable. Frieda is fed up with this whole circus and wants to leave for Berlin, where a new film role is waiting for her. But first she takes Karl aside and warns him that Mahler will push away the Sieglinde who is hanging on his lips at the next opportunity if he gets tired of her. And so it happens: When the painter realizes that the new piece with Sieglinde can only be a failure, he drops the same as the hot potato of the same name. The young people have learned their lesson and return to their village disaffected and following the advice of the bird seller. The new piece, which is broadcast on the radio and can therefore also be heard in Edendorff, will be a great success, thanks to Frieda's art, which has now given in and has still taken on the role, and thanks to the music of two hobby composers from a Bavarian mountain village. Karl and Sieglinde also find each other again.
Production notes
Liebesreigen was filmed from July 23 to August 24, 1934 at Fox Movietone Studios in Los Angeles and premiered on December 13, 1934 at Radio City Music Hall , New York. As expected, given the strong participation of German-Jewish artists in “ Music in the Air ”, this film was banned from showing in the Reich of Adolf Hitler. In Austria, however, the film ran under the title “ Liebesreigen ” on August 16, 1935 in cinemas.
In addition to May, Pommer and Wilder, who was still operating here with his first name “Billie”, which was established in German film, among the filmmakers who worked in Germany until 1933 were René Hubert , who designed the costumes, Robert Liebmann , who worked on the screenplay, and the German-Jewish film composer Franz Wachsmann , who also fled from the National Socialists and who edited the original musical composition by Jerome Kern , was involved in this film.
William S. Darling designed the film structures, Hugo Friedhofer, unnamed, took care of the orchestration of the music.
The original ran as a theater musical from November 8, 1932 to September 16, 1933 en suite on Broadway.
This film was Billy Wilder's first encounter with Gloria Swanson. 15 years later, he was to stage his dramatic masterpiece Boulevard of Twilight with her in the lead role .
Reviews
"Mild operetta with a class appeal that limits success at the box office."
“The film edition of the piece of music by Kern and Hammerstein is a skillfully photographed work that… contains some outstanding melodies from this cinema season. From the screen of the Music Hall as well as from the throats of John Boles and Gloria Swanson, 'Music in the Air' sounds a generous cavalcade of happy, tender and eerily romantic texts that once warmed the cold heart of Broadway gamblers in the winter of 1932. (…) The film as a whole is always panting a step or two behind the music, but since it manages to avoid the pitfalls of operetta-like entertainment, we should perhaps be grateful for its numerous virtues. (...) Joe May, the German [sic!] Director of 'Music in the Air', tells this musical story in a witty way ... Miss Swanson makes an acceptable return to the screen as prima donna. The years have not affected her loveliness and, moreover, she has a pleasant voice and a talent for light comedy. June Lang in her film debut reveals a pretty face and convinces as an innocent girl from the country. John Boles has the neatest voice in the company, and he is also able to move through the comic episodes with considerable success. "
Paimann's film lists summed up: “A not extensive story that takes place in Bavaria loses its ability to translate the footer texts adequately due to its dialogue, which contrasts with the otherwise tolerably drawn milieu. The director lets the actors sing to them and starts the perfectly acceptable music abruptly. (...) Passable medium film. "
"A predictable story that was nicely prepared (...) Good Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein music increases the ease of production."
"Sluggish, light entertainment."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Liebesreigen in Paimann's film lists ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- Love dance in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Love dance at filmportal.de
- extensive review in the New York Times