Rosalie (1937)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

William Anthony McGuire (play) and
Guy Bolton (play) ...

Release Date:

24 December 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Musical

Plot:

West Point cadet Dick Thorpe falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a princess from an European kingdom. |

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Mythical Kingdom | Deception | Europe | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Nelson Eddy	...	Dick Thorpe
Eleanor Powell	...	Princess Rosalie Romanikov
Frank Morgan	...	King Fredrick Romanikov
Edna May Oliver	...	Queen of Romanza
Ray Bolger	...	Bill Delroy
Ilona Massey	...	Countess Brenda
Billy Gilbert	...	Oloff (airport officer #1)
Reginald Owen	...	Chancellor of Romanza
Tom Rutherford	...	Prince Paul (Chancellor's son)
Clay Clement	...	Capt. Banner
Virginia Grey	...	Mary Callahan (Delroy's girl)
George Zucco	...	Gen. Maroff of Romanza
Oscar O'Shea	...	Mr. Callahan (Mary's father)
Jerry Colonna	...	Joseph (airport officer #2)
Janet Beecher	...	Miss Baker (Vassar dorm supervisor)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #3837)

Filming Locations:

United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The electricity bill for the Drum Dance scene was, according to some rumours in the region of $30,000. According to some sources 1,500 extras were used in the Drum Dance scene, making the costumes for them took almost a month.

Quotes:

[at the football game]
Brenda: Why are cheering so loud?
Rosalie: We're in America. We have to act like the Americans do. Besides, I like it. Come on, NAVY!

Movie Connections:

Featured in MGM Greatest Moments: A Video Sampler (1987) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Stars and Stripes Forever

How did this happen?

Take a major studio studio (MGM) celebrated for its musicals. Take a top director (Woody Van Dyke) known for his breezy direction of films like THE THIN MAN, SAN FRANCISCO and NAUGHTY MARIETTA, among many others. Take a handsome singing star (Nelson Eddy) who was the studio's biggest matinee idol at the time, getting more fan mail than Clark Gable. Take a charming young tap-dancing star (Eleanor Powell). Take a score by Cole Porter written especially for the picture, including `In the Still of the Night.' Add some popular supporting actors like Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, and Edna May Oliver, and, for those few who find a professional sneezer amusing, Billy Gilbert.

Take all these elements, spend a small fortune on sets and costumes, and turn out a picture which is among the worst ever made. It's inexplicable. The full-throated Eddy has been turned into a crooner, playing the world's oldest (36) West Point Cadet. Powell's dancing is sprightly but the big centerpiece number, danced on a series of huge drums, can only be called bizarre, Poor Frank Morgan is forced to do most of his performing with a ventriloquist's dummy. There are one or two cute scenes---Powell and Eddy obviously like each other---but mainly this picture is simply awful. What a waste.