ROSE MARIE (INDIAN LOVE CALL)

US, 1936, 113 minutes, Black and white.
Nelson Eddy, Jeanette Mac Donald, James Stewart, Reginald Owen, Allan Jones, Gilda Gray, George Regas, Alan Mowbray, Una O' Connor, David Niven, Herman Bing.
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke.

Rose Marie (Indian Love Call) was one of Jeanette Mac Donald's and Nelson Eddy's earliest films together. It is not the Victor Herbert operetta but a variation on the plot. Jeanette Mac Donald is an opera star (with opportunities for arias - Romeo and Juliet). Nelson Eddy is, of course, the Mountie. Jeanette goes in search of her brother who has escaped from parole. She encounters difficulties, especially with a scout in a frontier town. She also fails to entertain the men in the bar with her singing. She is helped by Nelson Eddy. She also leads him to her brother. However, there is a wonderful (to the melody of 'Indian Love Call') resolution.

The film was directed by W. S. Van Dyke who directed many of the Mac Donald-Eddy? vehicles. Of interest to film buffs is the role of the brother, an early James Stewart performance. David Niven is glimpsed as Jeanette's beau at the beginning of the film. It is an M.G.M. operetta with all its gloss - but, of course, now seems rather dated.