The Toast of New Orleans

Mario Lanza's second film bursting with energy and musical talents with Kathryn Grayson in old New Orleans. Mario is discovered by David Niven and teamed up with Kathryn and they are the Toast of New Orleans. Mario is the scruffy seaman and his partner J. Carrol Nash, who provides the comedy. The music includes arias from Aida, Madame Butterfly, and La Boheme, etc. Mario does imitations of various people and this is a delight to all. The glorious voice of Lanza still lingers on!

David Niven discovers Mario Lanza, a Cajun fisherman who leaves the Bayou and falls in love with opera singer, Kathryn Grayson. Lushly photographed in the usual grand MGM manner of gaudy costumes and lots of background color, the simple storyline serves as an excuse to have Lanza belt out some ringing tenor numbers and blend his voice with Grayson for some tuneful arias. Opera fans will love it--others beware!

The humor gets a bit overdone with J. Carrol Naish straining for laughs and there's only a glimpse of Rita Moreno in a dance number. But brimming over with arias from "Carmen", "La Traviata" and "Martha", music lovers should have no complaints. Lanza and Grayson are both in fine voice and one would never suspect that she soon tired of his boorish antics on the set and would later refuse to co-star with him when MGM wanted her to do one more film with Lanza.

Hokey almost beyond belief but also bright and colorful this can be enjoyed in a mindless way. The story is meaningless anyway since the picture serves merely as an excuse to highlight both Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza's voices and on that basis it succeeds well. As for the rest of the movie it provides a very young Rita Moreno one of her first roles of any size as Mario's wharf-side spitfire girl, she performs well and has a nice dance number with James Mitchell. David Niven does what he can to make something out of his nothing role as Kathryn's benefactor and his dignity does much to balance out the overacting hamminess of J. Carrol Naish's Uncle Nicky. The real reason to watch this though is a great deal of good music highlighted by the beautiful Be My Love.

Using the formula that worked so well in "That Midnight Kiss," Mario Lanza, this time one Pepe Duvalle, is again discovered by someone with connections to the opera world while he's singing his heart out doing his normal job. Here he's a bayou fisherman, but after the loss of their boat, Pepe and his Uncle Nicky (J. Carrol Naish) head to New Orleans to look up the opera director (David Niven) who offered Pepe an opportunity after hearing him in the village when Pepe joins his prima donna (Grayson) in song. Pepe finds himself in love with the somewhat cold diva, who is being pursued by Niven.

Lanza is in fine form as a crude, loud, uneducated man who, in order to fit into New Orleans society and the opera world, has to learn manners, as well as how to dance and dress. A natural actor, he makes his complete transformation believable. He sings Jose's aria from "Carmen" beautifully, and this film introduces his hit, "Be My Love" to audiences, which he sings with Grayson. With the diminutive soprano, he also does "Libiamo" from "La Traviata." In the days in which this story is set, a singer like Grayson would have sung "Traviata," though audiences aren't used to hearing a fluttery coloratura sing it any longer. The two perform the love duet from "Madama Butterfly" as well - an absolutely horrid choice for Grayson, calling for a much weightier voice. Obviously the repertoire was chosen with Lanza in mind. Had MGM not used "Lucia" in "That Midnight Kiss," they could have perhaps used it here. Grayson gets to use her high extension in "Je suis Titania," but the rest of the aria suffers from pitch difficulties.

Lanza really helped to commercialize opera in the United States, but he did it without the help of MGM. Is it necessary for Niven to give the wrong explanation for the duet "La ci darem la mano?" And why, during the Butterfly duet, which is total foreplay, does Grayson constantly try to get away from Lanza? No matter her personal feelings, she was on stage playing a role.

Grayson looks lovely in an assortment of magnificent gowns and hats, and if her voice doesn't match Lanza's, it doesn't mean she could not have sung opera, which is often the criticism. There is definitely a place for coloratura sopranos in the opera world - just not singing with spinto tenors.

J. Carrol Naish plays an embarrassing, annoying stereotype as Uncle Nicky; Niven is wonderful, if underused, and his perfect voice and smooth manners are in great juxtaposition to Lanza's bumbling Pepe. James Mitchell, known to soap opera audiences now as Palmer Courtland on "All My Children" has a good featured part as a friend of Pepe's from the bayou, and he and a very young Rita Moreno, who's in love with Pepe, do a spirited dance number.

Lanza's reign at MGM was disappointingly short, and yo-yo dieting and drinking would claim his life nine years after this film. But what years, in which he gifted the world with his fresh, passionate, Italianate sound and thrilled millions of people all over the world.

This is without a doubt the most consistently cheerful of Lanza's movies, and a real hoot. Mario's hitherto unknown comedic skills are a big surprise, and the supporting cast of J Carroll Naish and David Niven is wonderful. I wish I could say the same for co-star Kathryn Grayson, but her shrill coloratura, grating vibrato and minimal acting skills make her a poor match for Lanza.

This is the film that introduced Lanza's signature song, Be My Love. The scene in which the song is first sung (as a duet between Grayson and Lanza) is great fun to watch, with both singers trying to outdo the other. The Madama Butterfly Love Duet scene is even better, as Lanza throws caution to the wind and shows Grayson the true meaning of PASSION.

Were it not for Grayson, the movie would merit the highest evaluation. Despite this one casting flaw, Toast of New Orleans is an excellent vehicle for newcomers to opera. Like the man himself, Lanza's screen character's lusty ways and thorough lack of pretentiousness are a breath of fresh air, and he sings impressively throughout. Highlights include the Libiamo (much better than his commercial recording), a gorgeous Bayou Lullaby and the aforementioned Butterfly Love Duet.

Following this movie, Lanza would go on to star in The Great Caruso, the pinnacle of his movie career and the film that has influenced more singers than any other in cinematic history.