New Moon (1930)

New Moon is the name of the ship crossing the Caspian Sea. A young Lt. Petroff meets the Princess Tanya and they have a ship board romance. Upon arriving at the port of Krasnov, Petroff ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Oscar Hammerstein II (book), Frank Mandel (book),

Stars:

Lawrence Tibbett, Grace Moore, Adolphe Menjou

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lawrence Tibbett	...	Lieutenant Michael Petroff
Grace Moore	...	Princess Tanya Strogoff
Adolphe Menjou	...	Governor Boris Brusiloff
Roland Young	...	Count Strogoff
Gus Shy	...	Potkin
Emily Fitzroy	...	Countess Anastasia Strogoff

Storyline

New Moon is the name of the ship crossing the Caspian Sea. A young Lt. Petroff meets the Princess Tanya and they have a ship board romance. Upon arriving at the port of Krasnov, Petroff learns that Tanya is engaged to the old Governor Brusiloff. Petroff, disillusioned, crashes the ball to talk with Tanya. Found by Brusiloff, they invent a story about her lost bracelet. To reward him, and remove him, Brusiloff sends Petroff to the remote, and deadly, Fort Darvaz. Soon, the big battle against overwhelming odds will begin.

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Plot Keywords:

ship | fort | princess | governor | battle | 

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Parisian Belle

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When first sold to television in 1957, this film was retitled Parisian Belle in order to avoid confusion with _New Moon_ (1940), which was also in the same package of over 700 MGM titles. However, whereas Parisian Belle would have been an appropriate title for the 1940 version, which followed more closely the original story, it was a misnomer for this 1930 version whose locale had been moved to Russia, and whose heroine, the Parisian Belle of the stage play and 1940 version, had now become a Russian princess. But it was so seldom broadcast at that time that nobody seemed to notice or care.

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Goofs

The credits list "New Moon" as the title of the original operetta, but its title was "The New Moon".

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Connections

Featured in Deep in My Heart (1954)

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Soundtracks

"Stout Hearted Men"
(1928) (uncredited)
Music by Sigmund Romberg
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Sung by Lawrence Tibbett and soldiers at the fort
Reprised by the men returning from the battle

User Reviews

glorious voices, little else

The plot of this Hammerstein-Romberg operetta worked just fine on the Broadway stage in 1928, but for some incomprehensible reason was relocated by the filmmakers from New Orleans during the French Revolution to Tsarist (!) Russia in some undefined fantasy time period, complete with flagrantly anachronistic 1920's automobiles. The lovers, Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore, are vocally superb but physically ill-suited to each other. Although she sings beautifully, Moore looks frumpy, middle-aged and rather sour throughout, and behaves more like her own disapproving aunt than the young princess she is supposed to be playing. It's hard to tell if she is in love with Tibbett or contemptuous of him. Tibbett himself, with his unusually boyish features, nevertheless cuts a commanding figure, making a compelling hero in the military mode. Two of the best-known songs from the piece, "Stouthearted Men" and "Lover Come Back to Me," are given ample screen time. Generally speaking, the tone of the film is light and even tongue-in- cheek, as befits the operetta tradition. But the experience of the Tibbett-Moore duo makes it clear why there was a need for Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The pacing isn't bad (better at the beginning) and the songs occur frequently enough, though after about an hour you just want them to get on with it.