The Cat and the Fiddle

Jeanette MacDonald's first for Metro is a loose adaptation of the hit Kern-Harbach operetta co- starring Ramon Novarro and Frank Morgan, and alas, she's already becoming MGM Jeanette. A smart, suggestive comedienne at Paramount in things like "One Hour With You" and "Love Me Tonight" (to these eyes, the greatest movie musical ever), she really became a household word at Metro, in operettas, usually opposite Nelson Eddy, that increasingly encouraged her diva- hood. Here, as an American pop composer in Brussels, she's already losing her deliciously risqué sense of humor and indulging in great-lady sentimentality. Fun Jeanette isn't entirely gone, though, and she works well with Ramon, who has an attractive tenor and a good deal more acting skill than some of MacDonald's subsequent leading men. The screenplay, by the Spewacks, runs far afield of the Broadway original but makes room for most of the sublime score. And there's also a good glimpse of Vivienne Segal, a legendary Broadway soprano who'd been playing Jeanette-style leads just a few years back, at the dawn of sound. Charles Butterworth--no stranger to Kern, having supported Helen Morgan on Broadway in "Sweet Adeline"--has some funny bits, and there's a pleasing finale in early three-strip Technicolor. Jeanette followed this one up with "The Merry Widow," where, aided by Chevalier and Lubitsch, she was more her old self. Witness this one for some lovely Kern and for Novarro, but watching Jeanette trade comic finesse for prima donna respectability isn't pretty.

Reading the description for this, my expectations were pretty low, due to the silly plot, (and it IS !) but what a fun collection of stars. The Wizard (Frank Morgan), five years before he was the wizard. Jeanette MacDonald, singing. Charles Butterworth is HILARIOUS in this one. Didn't really play a major role, but was there for laughs. He died so young in a questionable car accident. He always looked older in his roles, (make-up ?) but died at 49. Ramon Navarro, who DID make the jump from silents to talkies. A treasure trove of fun stars. The plot... oh that. Navarro is Victor, a composer, trying to get his big break. MacDonald is Shirley, the singer. They get together, but for some reason, can't seem to make it big while they are together. They separate, try to hit it big, and may or may not get back together. Victor is finally putting on his big show, and everything that can go wrong is going wrong. Fun short bit as they scheduled singer seems to be drinking the "mouthwash". The plot is fluff, but totally entertaining, and the "show within a show" is in color. Catch it on Turner Classics!

This is a delightful, free-spirited musical gem from MGM. It has the feel of the risque Paramount musicals of the era. Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro are lovers who co-habitat (not an issue here!) and nurture each other in their respective musical careers. Jerome Kern's score is wonderful -- the kind of tunes that stay with you, "Try to Forget", "The Night Was Made For Love", "She Didn't Say Yes". Great dialogue and comic relief and a few emotional snarls give the film some complexity. The musical numbers are innovative and interestingly filmed -- they compliment the score. The atmosphere in Brussels is highlighted by a variety of characters in the arts community. The film has a musical fluidity. Other than the stilted staging of the 3-strip Technicolor ending, this film deserves more attention.

Notable for three things - the MGM debut of the lovely Jeanette MacDonald; the musical ability of Ramon Novarro, at this time on his way out of films as his star began to wane; and the Technicolour finale.

'The Cat and the Fiddle' comes to the screen from the Broadway operetta, retaining most of the already-dated songs, and a plot designed to make the most of familiar character actors of the time (Charles Butterworth, Joseph Cawthorn, Jean Hersholt).

It is definitely minor league stuff when you consider the musical legacy of the MGM studios, but definitely worth watching. The leads are good together and in excellent voice, and the film is funny, sparkling, and very much of its time.

A European songwriter with classical pretensions meets an American songwriter interested in popular music. He falls madly and impetuously in love with her, while neglecting his private audience before an impresario who could give him his Big Chance. He eventually plays before him, but the older man is more interested in the girl friend. Complications ensue. The girl's song becomes a big hit, and the young man has to make his mark on his own. For a time he seems to have the help of an Older Woman, but she chooses not to ruffle her husband's feathers. A stage performance of his musical is saved by the American's intervention, performing the lead role. He wins the girl's love, after all, despite many disruptions and her last minute spurning of her older benefactor who is by now her official fiancé.

This is a painful movie to watch. Novarro plays a very annoying, very stupid character. How any woman can fall in love with him strains belief. Even a casual moralist might have trouble with the empty headed antics of the major figures. This movie may have been made before the Hays Office censors forced cuts, for the movie makers wanted to be naughty or salacious in the story line.

As for the actors, Ramon Novarro may have been able to sing, but he is not a Nelson Eddy, much less akin to any of Eddy's successors on screen (Allan Jones, Tony Martin, Howard Keel, John Raitt, etc.).

Jeanette Macdonald is wonderful. She has been a favorite of mine since I saw her on stage at Kansas City's Starlight Theater (an outdoor stage in KC's Swope Park), playing the Gertrude Lawrence role in THE KING AND I sometime in the early '50's. The music is really only so-so. "The Night was Made for Love" is the big hit, and it's laughable. Jerome Kern gets the credit for the score, but Cole Porter and Irving Berlin composed better screen music overall.