El mundo a sus pies

This is really a wonderful surprise, a charmingly contrived, irresistibly tune-filled operetta, made for RKO in 1936, directed by Leigh Jason. It was intended as a vehicle for its star, Lily Pons, playing the role of a Parisian opera star Nikki Martin that flees her wedding and becomes a stowaway hiding in a ship compartment occupied by an American Jazz band. Nikki meets and falls in love with the band leader Windy McLean (Gene Raymond) and she travels with his band from France to America.

Ms. Pons was a superior opera star of its time and "That Girl From Paris" is all hers, though other players, Jackie Oakie, Gene Raymond, Lucille Ball, Mischa Auer, Hermann Bing are all exceptionally good as well. Tall, willowy, coolly complacent (some would say stand-offish), Ms. Pons was no beauty like Jeanette MacDonald or Grace Moore, but she is endowed with an overpoweringly deep, searing opera voice that would put both Jeanette & Grace to shame. As much as the studio is promoting its opera star, RKO is also including as much classical & jazz music as possible and for this, it succeeds.

Much of the movie's charm & vivacity seems to run out of gas in the last fifteen minutes or so as the filmmakers try to endow the contrived scenario with a happy, forced ending, but everything before it was a sheer delight.

OK movie, but nowhere near as good as "I Dream Too Much" (1935). This one is too messy and the songs selected were not songs the general public could identify with. Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy only hit it big because they did "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life", a popular song that everyone knew. That's what this movie is missing. All the operatic screaming up and down the octaves is not pleasant -- songs that the public knew or ones that had distinct popular melodies would have made her movies top drawer entertainment.

Opera great Lily Pons plays a French singer who flees the altar looking for adventure and true love and ends up joining an American swing band (their hopped up version of "The Blue Danube" is a real treat). As charming as it is silly, the film is memorable for the way Pons bursts into song. Her version of "Una Voce Poco Fa" shows why she was such a magnificent stage presence. It's a shame that charisma did not quite make it on screen in the three movies she make for RKO (the other two being "I Dream Too Much" with Henry Fonda, 1935, and "Hitting a New High" 1937). Also notable is Lucille Ball's funny dance scene in which her character is sabotaged with soaped up dancing shoes, causing her to slip and fall every time she tries to dance; only a well trained dancer could have pulled it off.

Gene Raymond, in a slightly different role....usually, he chases girl, uses trickery to date girl, girl treats him like dirt, and suddenly she can't live without him. Here, girl chases him! This one was oscar nominated, but before you get too excited, it was only for best sound recording. At the opening, french girl Nikki abandons her groom, and drives away, singing like mad. Lily Pons, the famed coloratura, according to her bio on imdb. every couple minutes, she breaks into song, which gets SO annoying, since its so florid and so high. now the whole crowd is singing along, and playing a game where they pass the cork from nose to nose... must be a french thang. This was one of only FOUR acting roles for Pons, as she spent most of her time performing. Jack Oakie is the wacky sidekick. and Jimmy Dorsey is one of the band members, according to the cast list. Lucy is "Claire" ! so much time spent hiding the girl. and more singing at the highest octave possible. ouch. On the plus side, there are some clever gags in here. Lucy does her pratfalls, while the guys try to hide the stow-away, and the restaurant owner cleverly mixes up his english, Marx Brothers style. and a fun song "Our nephew from Nice". I would have preferred more plot and less singing by Pons, but they didn't ask me. It's not bad. Not Great, but not bad. Directed by Leigh Jason. Jason had also directed one of my favorite films "The Bride Walks Out", hilarious film, also with Gene Raymond.

Perhaps it made sense from a commercial standpoint: bringing a great lady of the opera, Lili Pons, to a level at which the public could more easily relate to her - perhaps even to identify with her in some respects. The result, ideally, would have been to create a leading lady in films who sang divinely as she was surrounded by "us." Miss Pons gave it her best try - here and elsewhere - but it just didn't work. Most unfortunately, the filmmakers effort to generate the common touch involved presenting her in the most commonplace outfits, makeup and coiffure, downplaying the "glamour" associated with grand opera. Supporting her with the buffoonery of Jack Oakie and his cohorts, having her hiding under blankets, climbing here and there, etc. doesn't register either. Though no beauty, Lili Pons can radiate elegance and charm (along with her great vocalizing), as she does, in full costume, when she sings "Una voce poco fa" in this picture. Her movies don't give us enough of the Lili Pons that made her a stage presence, and might have made her a screen presence. To have her play against (her own) type - here and elsewhere - was a mistake.