Rose-Marie (1936)

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

Frances Goodrich (writer)
Albert Hackett (writer)

Release Date:

1 February 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Romance | Adventure | Drama | Western

Tagline:

An opera star. A mountie. The Canadian Rockies.

Plot:

Opera singer (Marie de Flor) seeks out fugitive brother in the Canadian wilderness. During her trek...

Plot Keywords:

Canada | Mounted Police Officer | Sergeant | Operetta | Hyphen In Title

Cast

Jeanette MacDonald	...	Marie de Flor
Nelson Eddy	...	Sgt. Bruce
Reginald Owen	...	Myerson
Allan Jones	...	Tenor in 'Romeo et Juliette' and 'Tosca'
James Stewart	...	Brother to rose
Alan Mowbray	...	Premier
Gilda Gray	...	Bella
George Regas	...	Boniface
Robert Greig	...	Cafe manager
Una O'Connor	...	Anna
Lucien Littlefield	...	Storekeeper
Herman Bing	...	Mr. Daniells
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Niven	...	Teddy (as David Nivens)

Also Known As:

Indian Love Call (USA) (TV title)
Rose Marie (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1871)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

As publicity for this movie, MGM offered $2,000 to the first woman that year to name their twin daughters Rose and Marie. The prize went to Mrs. Esker R. Owens of Fort Smith, Arizona.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Sgt. returns to the room to find Rose Marie gone, he wakes the manager for entry, when the manager enters the room he has a noticeably different night shirt on than before he entered, one has vertical stripes the other horizontal.

Quotes:

Marie de Flor: That's the worst orchestra and the worst conductor I've ever sung with!
[To the tenor]
Marie de Flor: And what was the idea of holding every high A longer than I did?!?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)

Soundtrack:

Some of These Days

OoooooH.OOOOh...OOOH.."Rose Marie"shallow,vapid, No Way!

The characters fulfil the usual requirements for a formula story. Rose Marie begins as a vitriolic,hire-fire personality;Serjeant Bruce does his job,but not without misgivings."It isn't always pleasant.The sad thing (or paraphrase)is when it hurts those you love." And he is wooden and stiff. Of course,he is! He's a policeman! This film offers quite a lot besides: operas from Gounod and Puccini, and Bruce,quoting "This our life,exempt from public haunt,finds sermons in stones,books in the running brooks..." from "As you like it"...hardly the stern Mountie who appears in the song. Leading up to this song,"The Mounties," there is a particularly robust,vigorous show of horsemanship---jumping brooks,hurdles,in a specially virile setting.And in the formula, their characters alter by the ending. Eddy is in excellent voice, probably at his best,hitting a high G in "Just for you", and I would challenge any baritone to accomplish, from head to chest tone, the portamento or change from F to lower A flat in "Indian Love Call". One criticism is that Eddy's moods change with very little transition,and there are many things not PC or legal these days. A socially oriented dialog occurs when she exclaims"I thought all this (the Nature) would make you more merciful". Bruce:"Don't ever think that Nature is merciful.Nature is the cruelest policeman.When an animal sickens, the others turn on him and kill him"

There are good supporting roles for Reginal Owens as Myerson,Regas as the guide,and Una O'Connor as Rose Marie's maid. In all this is very good entertainment and beats much that one sees or hears these days.