Poor Mario Lanza. I say this because his awful screen career was what did him in. A noted Opera singer who was in The Great Caruso observed that all Mr Lanza wanted to do was sing. MGM did him a disservice and his manager did a greater blame for filling the young singers head when he should have been taking more singing lessons and more engagements like the Hollywood Bowl concert. And should have stayed far away from the siren song of MGM. Mr Lanza had a great voice but alas it was, as he was, undisciplined, he only had 18 minutes of voice. He could not sustain it in a full scale opera. Of course, when MGM had a contract you were at their mercy, and when Mr Lanza's antics became even too much for the great studio they dropped him as quickly as they signed him. And left him for the sharks to devour. And I mean the "boy,s". Pay up now! There was no threat of breaking his legs, they just pulled the plug on him on night. And that was that. Still, it was nice that Warner Bros gave him a chance to sing. And that's why I like Serenade. They really gave him the great chance. Who cares about the plot, Hollywood was always buying James M Cains books and the ignoring the real plots, look at Mildred Pierce, Veda was an Opera singer but in the film she ended up singing some silly ditty called Oceana Roll. Anyway, the original plot to Serenade was too hot for movies at that time. Mario Lanza's life was a real American tragedy and I hope that someday someone will really film his life story - wart's and all - Now, that would be something. Serenade. Thank you Mario Lanza, you showed us what you might have become in that film Too bad for the ending.
Review of Serenade
