Maytime (1937)

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writers:

Rida Johnson Young (operetta) and
Noel Langley (writer)

Release Date:

26 March 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Forbidden Love...Fatal Consequences

Plot:

An elderly Miss Morrison recounts her life as the once young and beautiful opera singer Marcia Morney-then the toast of Napoleon III's Paris...

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Opera Singer | Jealousy | May Day | Unrequited Love

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Jeanette MacDonald	...	Marcia Mornay
Nelson Eddy	...	Paul Allison
John Barrymore	...	Nicolai Nazaroff
Herman Bing	...	August Archipenko
Tom Brown	...	Kip Stuart
Lynne Carver	...	Barbara Roberts
Rafaela Ottiano	...	Ellen
Charles Judels	...	Cabby
Paul Porcasi	...	Trentini
Sig Ruman	...	Fanchon (as Sig Rumann)
Walter Kingsford	...	Mr. Rudyard
Guy Bates Post	...	Louis Napoleon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bud Murray Children	...	Children at maypole

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #3059)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

One of MGM mogul Irving Thalberg's personal projects, this originally began filming in Technicolor, with Paul Lukas as Nikolai Nazaroff and Frank Morgan as August Archipenko. When Thalberg died, production was halted. When it was able to resume, black and white was selected as a more economical format. Lukas and Morgan were no longer available, so John Barrymore and Herman Bing took over their roles.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Time Flies (1944)

Soundtrack:

Czaritza

A Charming Musical Romance

Springtime in Paris. A beautiful young opera singer, trained under the jealous eye of a maestro much older than she, meets a handsome, lively voice student. Their spontaneous romance, sweetly brief & ultimately tragic, will be remembered with much tenderness every MAYTIME.

This was Jeanette Mac Donald & Nelson Eddy's third film together and it is one of the most beautifully sentimental movies of the 1930's. Enormous care was taken by MGM, right from the opening titles, to make this film special. The sets & costumes are splendid - notice the detail lavished on the two May Day scenes. The music, which carries the passions of the plot along, is never boring.

MacDonald & Eddy once again make an exciting couple and they are in very fine voice, indeed. John Barrymore effectively underplays his role, adding quiet despair to the maestro's descent into madness. Rafaela Ottiano, as Jeanette's maid, & Herman Bing, as Nelson's tutor, lend good support. Look for Billy Gilbert & Harry Davenport in small uncredited roles.

The final opera sequence is based on themes from Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and was written especially for this film.

This is a movie you'll remember every Springtime...Love Time...May.