Movies of Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy

The Love Parade 1929 Directed by Ernst Lubitsch Paramount B/W

Jeanette as Queen Louise and Maurice Chevalier as Count Alfred

Oscar nominations....

Best Picture
Best Actor (Chevalier)
Best Director (Lubitsch)
Best Cinematography (Victor Milner)
Best Interior Decoration (Hans Dreier)
Best Sound Recording (Franklin Hansen)

Arabella’s notes:

Jeanette’s first movie literally made her a star. In her role as the sweet Queen Louisa of Sylvania opposite Maurice Chevalier’s charming, philandering Count Alfred, she proved she was as adept a performer in this fledgling medium as she had been on the Broadway stage. Some said even better!

Look for....

....Lupino Lane, the rubbery British comic from a long line of British performers (and Ida Lupino’s second cousin!).
....Lillian Roth, whose later alcohol addiction led to a best selling autobiography and a hit movie “I’ll Cry Tomorrow”.     Susan Hayward played Roth.
....Ben Turpin, the crosseyed comedian.
....Jean Harlow, in an extra part.
....Virginia Bruce.

One Hour With You 1932 Directed by Ernst Lubitsch & George Cukor Paramont Color-toned print

Jeanette as Colette and Maurice Chevalier as Andre

Oscar nomination....

....Best Picture

Arabella’s notes:

This was Jeanette’s third film for Lubitsch and the second with Chevalier. It was also the first movie she
had ever done that was filmed simultaneously with a French supporting cast. But all the critical praise went
to Lubitsch and Chevalier. How could they have been so wrong?

Look for....

....Kent Taylor who became television’s “Boston Blackie”
....In the French version, Lily Damita plays Mitzi. She was the tempestuous first wife of Errol Flynn.
....Charles Ruggles

Nelson's10 seconds of fame

Broadway To Hollywood 1933 Directed by Willard Mack MGM B/W (with one sequence in 2-strip Technicolor)

Arabella’s notes....

This was actually Nelson’s second foray in the world of celluloid. It was preceded by a three minute walk-on
in “Dancing Lady” released later that year. But don’t blink or you will miss him. He had exactly ten seconds
on camera! His song “In the Garden of My Heart” was mostly heard as background music while two other
actors argued on camera!

Look for....

....Frank Morgan (Ted Hackett)
....Jackie Cooper (Ted, Jr as a boy)
....Mickey Rooney (Ted III as a boy)
.... Jimmy Durante (Jimmy)
....May Robson (herself)
....Una Merkel (the flirt)
....Eddie Quillan (Ted Hackett III)
....Ed Brophy (Joe Mannion)

Dancing Lady 1933 Directed by Robert Z. Leonard MGM B/W

Nelson Eddy with Joan Crawford (Janie Barlow)

Arabella’s notes....

Nelson played himself in his first walk-on role. While the movie co-starred Joan Crawford and Clark Gable,
Gable got second billing. Crawford dominated the film. Nelson sang “Rhythm Of The Day”, a Rodgers &
Hart song totally unsuited for his rich baritone voice. He now had two movies under his belt and neither of
them were pleasing to his growing army of fans.

Look for....

....Fred Astaire (as himself)
....Franchot Tone (Tod) who would become the second “Mr. Crawford” the following year.
....Sterling Holloway (Pinky) who become the voice of Winnie the Pooh
....Eve Arden (Marcia)
....Lynn Bari (one of the chorus girls)
....May Robson (Dolly)
....Robert Benchley (Ward King)
....The Three Stooges (Moe and Curly (Jerry) Howard, Larry Fine (Harry)

The Merry Widow 1934 Directed by Ernst Lubitsch MGM B/W

Jeanette as Sonia

Oscar for...

....Best Interior decoration (Cedric Gibbons and Frederic Hope)

Arabella’s notes....

This marked Jeanette’s fourth and last picture with both Lubitsch and Chevalier. MGM’s young wizard,
Irving Thalberg, seduced the trio to jump ship at Paramount using the tantalizing prospect of revitalizing
musicals with a new version of Franz Lehar’s popular operetta. It was also to be simulcast in French (La
Veuve Joyeuse).

Look for....

....Edward Everett Horton (Popoff)
....Una Merkel (Queen Dolores)
....Henry Armetta (Turk)
....George Barbier (King Ahmed)
....Donald Meek (Valet)
....Herman Bing (Zizipoff)
....Leonid Kinsky (Shepherd)
....Billy Gilbert (Lackey)
....Akim Tairoff (Maxim’s Manager)
....Sterling Holloway (Mischka)
....Jason Robards. Sr. (Arresting Officer)
....Katherine Burke (later Virginia Field) (prisoner)

Arabella’s notes.....

Again, Nelson played himself but this time he was given more screen time and a better showcase for his
wealth of talent. The leads in this comedy were Jimmy Durante as “Hank Merman” and Charles Butterworth
as “Professor Lippincott”. The production number was a beautiful bolero “The Carlo” much more suited to
Nelson’s lush baritone.
But his big break was yet to come.

Look for...

....Phil Regan (Bobby Kane)
....Maxine Doyle (Ann Lippincott)
....Douglas Fowley (Mushy)
....Betty Grable (Cayenne)
....Joan Arlen ( later Ann Rutherford) (one of the students)
....Herman Brix (later Bruce Bennett and future Tarzan)(Hercules)
....Monte Blue (Jeff)
....Mischa Auer (Sikh policeman)

Naughty Marietta 1935 Directed by W. S. Van Dyke II MGM B/W

Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life

. Oscar for Best Sound Recording (Douglas Shearer)
. Oscar Nomination for Best Picture
. New York Film Critics voted it one of their “Ten Best pictures of 1935”
. Photoplay’s Gold Medal winner as Best Picture of the Year.

Arabella’s notes....

At last! The film that did what “Merry Widow” promised but never delivered...a revitalization of the American musical. And it also created the most charismatic pairing in cinema history. Shot outdoors without all the pomp
and circumstance of previous MGM productions, this classic fairy tale took on a natural charm and naivete so
sadly needed during the Depression years. The original script was tailored so that Marietta wasn’t quite as
naughty as she was in the original. Instead she was a runaway princess trying to avoid a forced marriage and a decadent French court. Herbert Stothart’s lush arrangements of Victor Herbert’s score added to the total enjoyment. But it was Jeanette and Nelson that captured the world’s attention. They had been long waiting for
this blending of two perfect voices. The critics were ecstatic (a strange condition for them, to be sure). It was inevitable that the public would want much, much more!

Look for....

....Dr. Edouard Lippe (Nelson’s voice teacher)(Landlord)
....Frank Morgan (Governor)
....Elsa Lanchester (the Governor’s wife)
....Douglass Dumbrille (Marietta’s uncle)
....Akim Tamiroff (Rudolpho)
....Cecilia Parker (Julie)
....Ed Brophy (Ezekial)
....Harold Huber (Abraham)

Jeanette and her Mountie take a canoe ride

Rosemarie 1936 Directed by W. S. Van Dyke II MGM B/W

.One of the 25 top grossing pictures of 1935-1936

Arabella’s notes....

Again the original story was overhauled. The backwoods orphan became a successful opera diva with a miscreant brother (Jimmy Stewart, no less) on the lam from the Mounties in the Canadian wilderness. And, of course, it is Nelson on the trail as Sgt. Bruce, the Mountie with no first name. He was to be forever identified by that red suit and
unmistakable pointed hat! The fans thronged to the theaters to see the return of the “singing sweethearts”. The recording of “Indian Love Call” backed by “Sweet Mystery of Life” sold over a million copies. They still wanted more!

Look for....

....Reginald Owen (Myerson)
....Allan Jones (Romeo/Mario in the opera sequences)
....Alan Mowbray (Premier)
....David Nivens (he later dropped the “s”) (Teddy)
....Una O’Connor (Roderick, the maid)
....Herman Bing (Mr. Danielle)
....Russell Hicks (Commandant)
....Bert Lindley (Pop)
....Iron Eyes Cody (one of the Indian Dancers)

.Oscar for Best Sound Recording (Douglas Shearer)

. Oscar Nominations for....Best Picture
Best Actor (Spencer Tracy)
Best Director (W.S.Van Dyke II)
Best Original Story (Robert Hopkins)
Best Assistant Director (Joseph Newman)

. The New York Critics “Ten Best List”

.Photoplay’s Gold Medal Award for Best Picture 1936

.One of 25 top grossing pictures 1935-1936

Arabella’s notes....

In this solo effort, the studio gave Jeanette Gable and Tracy, Woody Van Dyke, and a gigantic earthquake. Then for good measure, they threw in Doug Shearer for sound direction, a great original story by Robert Hopkins, and James Basevi ( forgotten in the credits) who created an earthquake so real that it turns up in documentaries of the period!
With that kind of back-up , what could go wrong?

Look for....

....Walter Huston as one of the “Battle Hymn” singers!
....Doug McPhail
....Charles Judels (Tony)
....Harold Huber (Babe)
....Edgar Kennedy (Sheriff Jim)
....Ted Healy (Matt)
....Jack Holt (Jack Burley)
....Vince Barnett (drunk)
....Dennis O’Keefe (New Year’s celebrant)
....Jason Robards, Sr. (Father)

Maytime 1937 Directed by Robert Z, Leonard MGM B/W

You're an American

.Oscar nomination for...Best Score (Herbert Stothart)
.One of 35 top grossing films for 1937

Arabella’s notes....

Another blockbuster for the “team” but in a year of blockbusters, the concussion was barely heard. Tragedy had struck MGM with the death of the boy genius, Irving Thalberg, at 37. Much of what had been done on the film was scrapped including the script and the color footage. Some insiders said “good riddance” since it was widely agreed
that the original plot was full of holes. The studio decided to go back to black and white with major changes in the storyline. When it was released, the New York Times called it “the most entrancing operetta the screen has given us”. In theater parlance, the movie “had legs”!

Jeanette felt her voice was at its best in ths film and Nelson was intrigued by his very first death scene.For his fans, it was hankies all around. However, the same fans were becoming more irate at the studio for Nelson’s shortage of on-screen time. In “Maytime” he was absent until almost half way through the picture, while John Barrymore
(Nazaroff) was present from the beginning.

Look for....

....Rafaela Ottiano (Ellen) *
....Herman Bing (Archipenko) *
....Tom Brown (Kip)
....Lynne Carver (Barbara)
....Charles Judels (Cabby)
....Billy Gilbert (patron in cafe)
....Harry Davenport (Opera Director)
....Sig Rumann (Fanchon)
....Leonid Kinsky (student in cafe)
....Bobs Watson and Helen Parrish (Merry Month of May singers)
* great supporting performances