SWEETHEARTS
US, 1938, 120 minutes, Colour.
Jeanette Mac Donald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Florence Rice, Mischa Auer, Fay Holden, Reginald Gardiner, Herman Bing, Allyn Joslyn, Raymond Walburn, Lucile Watson, Gene Lockhart.
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke.
Sweethearts was a popular Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Mac Donald vehicle. Filmed in colour (and winning an Oscar for colour photography in 1938), it is not the play written by Victor Herbert, but rather a new screenplay incorporating Victor Herbert's songs. The story is the familiar backstage plot. Eddy and Mac Donald star as stage stars who have spent six years on Broadway in Sweethearts and are being tempted to Hollywood. They plan to go - but a playwright tricks Mac Donald into thinking that Eddy is unfaithful to her. They go on separate road tours of the play, eventually finding out the truth and are reconciled. Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Mac Donald give their usual performances and it was their singing that delighted audiences of the time.
The supporting cast is strong with Frank Morgan as a bumbling agent, Allyn Joslyn as his scheming assistant, Reginald Gardiner as a scout for Hollywood, Mischa Auer as a vain playwright, Herman Bing as a fatuous composer. Gene Lockhart and Lucile Watson appear in the supporting cast as relatives.
The film echoes the attitude of the late '30s as regards Broadway and the superiority of the stage, but also the transition during the '30s for film to become popular and for stage stars to go to the screen. Direction is by W.S. Van Dyke, the director with the reputation of making films quickly and efficiently. The film seems quite dated, very much a part of MGM film-making of the '30s.
1. The popularity of Nelson Eddy- Jeanette Mac Donald musicals in the '30s? Later? The plots, characters, songs?
2. MGM production values, colour photography? New York? Broadway performances? Costume design?
3. The music, Victor Herbert songs? As sung, as dramatised? The title song?
4. The Broadway background, six years of performances? The collage of Broadway hits? Ernest and Gwen as stars? Felix as producer? His assistant? The threat of Hollywood? The parties? The manoeuvres?
5. Ernest and Gwen, on stage, marriage, in love? Songs together? Performance, concerts? Broadcasts? Their families? The attraction of Hollywood, the decision to go, the preparations, Gwen and her wardrobe? Leo and his story, her believing it? The notes, jealousy of Kay? The clash with Ernest? The refusal to go? The separate tours? Variety and the information about the play? The truth, the reconciliation? Gwen and Ernest as personalities?
6. Felix, blustering, Broadway, the clash with Trumpet? His assistant? His tricking Ernest and Gwen, the party, the broadcasts? Going along with the story? The final reconciliation?
7. Leo and his vanity, coming to the microphone, clashing with the composer? Inventing the story, persuading Gwen? His play and his using the plot? The contrast with the composer, conducting, jealousy and vanity?
8. Trumpet and his British style, Hollywood contact, the phone calls from Benjamin Silver? Suave talking?
9. The sequences with the family, their theatre careers, their memories?
10. Romance, comedy, the popular blend of the '30s?
