The Lottery Bride (1930)

Director:

Paul L. Stein

Writers:

Horace Jackson (writer)
Howard Emmett Rogers (writer)

Release Date:

28 November 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Romance

Tagline:

All things that spell ENTERTAINMENT for you are crammed into this spectacular dramatic romance!

Plot:

Sundered lovers meet again amid tragic irony at a mining camp in northern Norway.

Plot Keywords:

Operetta | Two Strip Technicolor

Cast

Jeanette MacDonald	...	Jenny Swanson
John Garrick	...	Chris Svenson
Joe E. Brown	...	Hoke Curtis
Zasu Pitts	...	Hilda
Robert Chisholm	...	Olaf Svenson
Joseph Macaulay	...	Alberto
Harry Gribbon	...	Boris
Carroll Nye	...	Nels Swanson

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor) (finale)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone)

Company:

Joseph M. Schenck Productions

Trivia:

Color sequence survives in black and white only.

Quotes:

Hilda: Do you know the meaning of Spring?
Hoke Curtis: Yes. It means...
Hilda: ...Yes??
Hoke Curtis: ...that you can take off your winter underwear.

Soundtrack:

BROTHER LOVE

One Bride for Two Brothers

THE LOTTERY BRIDE (1930), directed by Paul Stein, stars Jeanette MacDonald in her only film for United Artists, and the only movie ever produced by Arthur Hammerstein. She plays Jennie, a young singer in the Yukon Case who must deny her true love, Chris (John Garrick) when she later becomes a lottery bride for his older brother, Olaf (Robert Chisholm).

American Movie Classics premiered this rarely seen antique July 1, 1996, as part of its fourth annual film preservation. Sorry to say this is far from the best movie Jeanette MacDonald ever made. Dialogue is laughable and acting technique, especially from its co-stars, is something right out of the silent film era, overly dramatic with arm waving, etc. Maybe as a silent movie this would have done better, piano score and all. MacDonald sings two songs, a solo, "Yubla," and a duet with Garrick, "The Northern Light." Other songs, including "You're an Angel," "I'll Follow the Trail," sung by others, are also forgettable. Comedy "relief" supplied by Joe E. Brown (on loan from Warner Brothers) and ZaSu Pitts, helps some, but not enough to save it. Theatrically released at 80 minutes, video copies run about 75 minutes length. The AMC copy plays at 65 minutes, eliminating Joe E. Brown and Harry Gribbon's number, "Strong Men," and some other scenes involving Brown and Pitts towards the end. Some sequences were said to have been originally in color, but a black and white print remains.

Also in the cast are Carroll Nye as MacDonald's brother, Nels; with Joseph Macauley and Paul Hurst, with music by Rudolph Friml, J. Kerin Brennan, Carter Desmond, Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz. A real curio for MacDonald fans. In spite of a good premise weakened by song interludes and some inane dialog, I'm glad AMC showed it anyway, though I wish it could have been presented closer to its original length. Availability on video cassette to date has been discontinued, unless one finds an old 1980s Blackhawk Video copy. (**)