Rose-Marie (Rose Marie) (1936)
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80% of users liked it
(242 ratings)
It was standard operating procedure at MGM to cast their favorite singing team of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald in new versions of old operettas, then retain only the music, drastically altering the plotlines to conform to popular tastes. This was the treatment afforded the Rudolf Friml-Herbert… More It was standard operating procedure at MGM to cast their favorite singing team of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald in new versions of old operettas, then retain only the music, drastically altering the plotlines to conform to popular tastes. This was the treatment afforded the Rudolf Friml-Herbert Stothart-Oscar Hammerstein-Otto Harbach musical Rose Marie--and thank heaven that MGM decided to jettison the original's creaky libretto about a woman who offers her body to the villain to save the hero from a trumped-up murder charge (this chestnut seemed old-fashioned even in 1928, when Joan Crawford starred in the silent version). In lieu of this wearisome storyline, the Eddy-MacDonald version casts MacDonald as a spoiled, temperamental Canadian opera star who learns that her uncontrollable brother (James Stewart), serving a prison sentence, has escaped to a cabin in the North Woods and needs someone to tend his wounds. MacDonald travels to northern Canada incognito, where in a hilarious sequence she tries and fails to pass muster as a dance-hall girl. Upon meeting likeable mountie Nelson Eddy, who unbeknownst to her has been assigned to locate her brother, MacDonald fabricates a story about needing an escort for a rendezvous with her lover. Such latter-day parodies as Dudley Do-Right notwithstanding, the Eddy-MacDonald sequences are often deliberately played for laughs, even when Nelson is uttering such lines as "Heavy? Why, I could carry you for hours!" Gradually, Nelson and MacDonald fall in love, only to fall out of love when Nelson tracks down and captures MacDonald's brother. Despite this rift, a happy--and logical--ending is not long in coming. It might be hard to watch such Eddy-MacDonald duets as "Rose Marie" and "Indian Love Call" with a completely straight face; it is reassuring, however, to find out that the filmmakers knew that "Rose Marie" was ripe for ridicule, and decided to laugh at themselves first in order to disarm the audience. To avoid confusion with the 1955 remake, the 1936 Rose Marie was retitled Indian Love Call for TV showings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- W.S. Van Dyke
- Written By
- Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Alice Duer Miller
- Genres
- Western, Action & Adventure, Romance, Classics, Comedy, Drama, Musical & Performing Arts
G,
- In Theaters
- Feb 1, 1936 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
the movie is primarily for fans of the source material or the stars
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Charming version of the operetta. Perfect of its type.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Jeanette MacDonald
as Marie de Flor
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Nelson Eddy
as Sgt. Bruce
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James Stewart
as John Flower
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Reginald Owen
as Meyerson
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Allan Jones
as Romeo/Mario Cavaradossi
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George Regas
as Boniface
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Alan Mowbray
as Premier
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Robert Greig
as Cafe Manager
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Una O'Connor
as Anna
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Lucien Littlefield
as Storekeeper
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David Niven
as Teddy
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Herman Bing
as Mr. Daniels
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Gilda Gray
as Bella
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Ernie Alexander
as Elevator Operator
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Agostino Borgato
as Opera Fan
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Leonard Carey
as Louis
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Aileen Carlyle
as Susan
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David Clyde
as Doorman
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Jimmy Conlin
as Joe the Piano Player
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Edgar Dearing
as Mounted Policeman
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John George
as Barbly
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Fred Graham
as Corporal
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Dorothy Gray
as Edith
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Sam Harris
as Guest
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Russell Hicks
as Commandant
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Halliwell Hobbes
as Mr. Gordon
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Louis Mercier
as Admirers in Hall
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Milton A. Owen
as Stage Manager
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Lee Phelps
as Barfly
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Paul Porcasi
as Emil the Chef
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Adrian Rosley
as Opera Fan
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Matty Roubert
as Newsboy
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Rolfe Sedan
as Admirer
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Pat West
as Traveling Salesman
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Jack Pennick
as Brawler
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David Robel
as Dancer
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Delos Jewkes
as Butcher at Hotel
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Bert Lindley
as Trapper
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Jim Mason
as Trapper
