I Married an Angel (1942) User Reviews

"Hey Butcher, Hey Baker, Love's Landed a Real Haymaker"

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 15 March 2006]

It was not planned that way, but as it turns out the film adaption of the Rodgers&Hart Broadway musical I Married an Angel turned out to be the last pairing of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Nelson in fact left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after this film and bought his own contract out for $250,000.00 according to a recently published book about the pair by Sheryl Rich.

They are in good voice and the songs of Rodgers&Hart never got a better treatment. Unfortunately the film ran into some censorship problems about celestial creatures doing some very earthly things. Rodgers&Hart were busy on Broadway and couldn't help. Two very big shows for them, Pal Joey and By Jupiter kept them occupied.

Nelson is a happy carefree Hungarian playboy who's grandfather started the Bank of Budapest. But Nelson would rather spend his time with wine, women, and song and since it's Nelson Eddy, song doesn't take third place to the other two. At his birthday party he's taken by a little known to him employee at the bank in an angel costume. Guess who that is? Feeling a little the worse for wear from the revelry, Nelson takes a little snooze.

During the dream Jeanette appears to him as a real angel and Nelson is smitten. He asks her to marry him and she agrees. She's without a dishonest bone in her heavenly body.

Unfortunately her time in heaven has not prepared her to deal with certain earthly hypocrisies. It's one wild celestial ride that Jeanette gives Nelson.

The title song, I'll Tell the Man in the Street, and Spring is Here are the big hit numbers from the Broadway show and the stars do them well. The satire comes off far better here than it did for Jeanette and Nelson in Bittersweet, but still censorship really crippled some of the best lines from Broadway.

Binnie Barnes, Reginald Owen, Edward Everett Horton and Douglass Dumbrille give good support to the singing sweethearts. Barnes practically steals the show as the wisecracking earthly friend of MacDonald who sets out to teach her worldly ways.

I think fans of MacDonald and Eddy and others who do knock this film ought to give it a second look. It's not as bad as some would make it out to be.

Nelson and Jeanette's last film together

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 20 March 2010]

Based on the Broadway musical, "I Married an Angel" is a fantasy that takes place in Budapest. Released in 1942, it proved to be the last film for Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, as Eddy bought out his contract and left MGM.

The story concerns a secretary, Anna (again MacDonald) who is in love with the her playboy banker boss, Count Pilaffi (Eddy), and has been invited to his birthday party. Because it's a costume party, a jealous girlfriend of the Count's (Mona Maris) makes sure that Anna is in a cheap makeshift angel costume, complete with aluminum wings, one of which falls off, and a halo that hits the Count in the face when he tries to dance with her. After being hit one too many times, the Count excuses himself and goes upstairs, where he falls asleep.

He dreams that an angel, Brigitta (MacDonald again) comes down from heaven to be his wife. She seems perfect, except that she's not used to the ways of the world - polite social talk, for instance - so she tells it like it is, thereby insulting a lot of important people. She gets some lessons from an earthy earth woman (Binnie Barnes) and manages to save the day for her husband.

This film is often criticized by MacDonald-Eddy fans. In truth, MacDonald was never more beautiful, sings well, and Eddy is in fabulous voice. The title song is the big one, along with "Spring is Here." Granted the plot is paper thin, but the couple wasn't known for making heavy movies. Lovely singing, pretty music, a not overly long film, "I Married An Angel" doesn't try to be anything but what it is - light entertainment. Take it on that level, and you won't be disappointed.

Nelson and Jeanette's swan-song and their weakest collaboration

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 25 August 2013]

That is not to say at all that I Married an Angel is a complete catastrophe because it isn't. If the songs are good and Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald sing well then things are already raised up a few notches. And that is the case with I Married an Angel. Unfortunately it does have a lot of things that didn't come off well. The story was paper-thin, then again that was expected as the stories in Nelson and Jeanette's films are far from the strongest aspects, but doesn't come across very well despite that. The first half did come across as too sickly sweet, and the plotting does get very clumsy and difficult to follow(it really showed how censorship chopped the story to bits) complete with a surreal dream sequence that went on for too long and was weird even for a sequence that was intended to be surreal.

Some of the fantasy/romantic moments are charming though and heart-warming and there are a few witty quips from Jeanette MacDonald and Edward Everett Horton throughout the film. Scripting-wise, I Married an Angel could have benefited from a lighter and more satirical touch, it has its moments but if censorship hadn't reared its ugly head then the film would have felt less heavy and much sharper. Again like the story it has moments but they aren't enough. And as great as Nelson Eddy's singing is and his personal charm and handsome looks are, he did seem too stiff in his role, there are also a couple of unforgiving camera angles which suggests that he was also a little too old.

Things are definitely made up for though by the lavish costumes and sets as well as the crisp photography. The songs are just lovely, especially the title number, A Twinkle in Your Eye and Spring Is Here. The choreography has its charm and energy too, the Jitterbug number between MacDonald and Binnie Barnes is a lot of fun and they seemed to be having fun too, which is a pleasure to see. Edward Everett Horton(though his roles Fred and Ginger films serve his talents better), Reginald Owen and Binnie Barnes delight in supporting roles, making the most of their material despite it not being the best to work with. Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald's pairing and singing are the best thing about I Married an Angel.

While Eddy has been much better dramatically, he still has that wonderful baritone voice- the most beautiful of its type on film, those Howard Keel comes close- and he has the songs to show it off with, it sounds very rich, supple, beautiful and robust with a touch of sensitivity as well. MacDonald was always the superior actress and she is incredibly beautiful and sassy, and he sounds lovely too, singing delicately and with sweet understated tone in Spring is Here. Though maybe the Jitterbug number was not the right style for her and did seem like the sort of song that needed a bigger voice but she still sings the heck out of it. The two work really well together, and blend beautifully in their duets.

All in all, the weakest of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald's collaborations, but from a personal perspective while flawed it was not as bad as heard. If it weren't for the censorship though, I Married an Angel might have been a different and better film. If you want to see a film more than worthy for this duo look to Maytime or New Moon. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Better and better!

[dereuff · 19 March 2011]

This movie improves with every viewing! Because it's a fantasy, every time you see it, you notice different things going on in the background. I used to mind the occasional cut-aways to Willie asleep on the couch, but I realize that even now---perhaps especially now---audiences need to be reminded that it is a dream they're watching. If some parts of the narrative are disconcerting, it seems that several scenes were cut before release, scenes that explain things like the crowd in the street in front of the Palaffi Bank when Willie arrives for work, Peter's sudden appearance and instant dislike of Anna, and how "all of a sudden" Peggy becomes Anna's best friend. But it is a delightful film with beautiful singing, memorable songs, and sly satire that works on several levels. A real treat: watch it! (Regarding Anna's wings at the party: Foil-covered cardboard and a costume made ofbed linen are jealous Marika's attempt to make Anna look foolish.)

Not a Worthy Vehicle for Eddy and MacDonald

[AmyLouise · 6/10 · 25 February 2007]

This film starts out promisingly, with some witty and sophisticated dialogue, but it deteriorates towards the end, when the joke has worn thin.

The birthday party scene, with Jeanette in her tacky little angel costume, was delightful, as was the following segment where Nelson falls asleep and is visited in his dreams by a real angel, also played by Jeanette. The scenes where she slowly learns the art of being insincere and how to skirt around the truth are also a lot of fun.

But the joke goes on for too long, and musically also the film takes a downward slide towards the end. Musically, both stars were capable of handling much better material than they were given in this film, and it's a shame that, while there are some pretty little songs in the early part, there is not one really memorable musical number that allowed them to shine as only they could.

But the pair handle the inferior material as well as anyone could, and there is still a special magic between them.

Just a pity about the heavy censorship of the Hayes Office, and the lack of a really good score.

Delightful Rodgers and Hart outing

[bbmtwist · 7/10 · 26 March 2015]

Although only five songs are retained from the original Broadway production, they are wonderful and wonderfully performed by the entire cast. They are: I Married An Angel, Spring Is Here, I'll Tell The Man In The Street, A Twinkle In Your Eye, and La La Tira Lira La.

The social satire and sarcasm of the script still goes over a lot of critics' heads, but I think it's a fun movie and the only one we have with MacDonald and Eddy that is not an operetta. They are both delightful in their last outing together.

The production values are stunning. I believe it deserved, but did not receive, Oscar nominations in the categories of Art Direction, Scoring, and Costume Design. Especially in the latter area with costumes contributed by Broadway's Motley. The costumes for the ball early on are amazing in and of themselves, but the women's stylish outfits throughout the film are equally marvelous. Granted there was no Costume Design category at the Oscars in 1942, but still…

I kept thinking I was seeing Celeste Holm as one of Willie's girl friends, but realize now it was Anne Jeffreys in an early role. They do look amazingly alike in the cheekbones.

I recommend this as a sprightly, fun and clever take on the deceit required to make it in fashionable society.

Last Dance for Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 28 September 2011]

In old Budapest, spinsterish secretary Jeanette MacDonald (as Anna Zador) adores playboy banker boss Nelson Eddy (as William "Willie" Pallaffi). Attending a costume party, cheaply-dressed angel Ms. MacDonald makes an impression on Mr. Eddy when they dance. After downing two drinks, he passes out and dreams MacDonald is an angel arriving to end his bachelorhood. On their wedding night, she loses her wings - which is about as clever as the script gets. MGM put some production magic into this last "MacDonald-Eddy" co-starring vehicle, but they fail to cast much of a spell. MacDonald has fun with a couple of the naughtier numbers, late in the running time. The riskier Broadway show and several of its Rogers & Hart songs were hits in 1938.

**** I Married an Angel (7/9/42) W.S. Van Dyke ~ Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Edward Everett Horton, Binnie Barnes

A whole lotta singing.....ain't that a big surprise?!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 15 July 2021]

The setting for "I Married an Angel" is odd, as it's set in Hungary...and during WWII Hungary was a member of the Axis...our enemy! Despite that, MGM decided to STILL set the film in Budapest despite the fact American soldiers were fighting Hungarians (along with rest of the Axis powers). Truly unusual, that's for sure!

The film is a vehicle for Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy...a very popular musical team of the 30s and early 40s. This is final film together and, as usual, there's a LOT of operetta style singing as well as romance.

When the story begins, Count Count Palaffi (Eddy) is a rich playboy who runs a bank....but mostly spends his time chasing women and being chased. When his birthday party arrives, he's going to have a costume party....and his second in command at the bank (Reginald Owen) insists a secretary, Anna (MacDonald), is invited along with all of Palaffi's rich friends.

When the pair meet at the party, Palaffi is quite smitten with her, as she's dressed as a cute little angel. But he's also exhausted and soon falls asleep...and dreams that Anna is a REAL angel who has come to Earth to marry him. Lots of singing and romance ensue...but mostly a lot of singing! What's next? Obviously Anna is NOT the woman of Palaffi's dream...or at least not quite like that woman. In some ways, that's terrific...especially as the angelic Anna is a bit clumsy when it comes to compliments!

The first half of the film was pretty good. The second half had its moments (I enjoyed seeing the angel insulting everyone) but it also was song-heavy....too many operetta-like tunes. I think it actually slowed down the story and this style of singing is definitely dated. Overall, still worth watching despite the very slow second half.

Staggeringly awful piece of angel cake...this is the pits...

[Doylenf · 4/10 · 27 March 2006]

I'll say one thing for Jeanette and Nelson--even when stranded in a mirthless, witless, painfully inept musical like this, there's still that twinkle in their eyes. Yes, the chemistry between the famous duo is there even when the material is paper thin. Even when the score is practically a throwaway, non-existent one depending on just a couple of catchy tunes. And even when the circumstances are so unbelievable--yes, even for a fantasy.

Truth to tell, she has more chemistry with Nelson than with her own real-life husband Gene Raymond in SMILIN' THROUGH, which, nonetheless, was a considerably better film.

Sorry, I love Jeanette and Nelson as much as the next fan, but this is the bottom of the heap. Jeanette is more than embarrassing in her one "hep" number with Binnie Barnes--and Nelson can only come up with a blank stare when faced with the most ludicrous situations.

One can only wonder what this was like on Broadway in 1938. Surely, it must have had more wit and style than is evident in this weak MGM production. Edward Everett Horton fizzles in an unfunny role and none of the supporting players can breathe any semblance of life into this mess. It's like amateur night at the studio even with the few professionals sprinkled among the supporting cast.

Summing up: Painfully clumsy rendering of a Rodgers and Hart musical. Can't recommend it, even for fans of MacDonald and Eddy. And even if Jeanette's close-ups still glow with her gossamer beauty, this film is jaw-droppingly bad.

Flawed But Worth Watching

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 8 March 2018]

This is one of the more difficult films to grade. Plagued by editing that makes an already strange story even more disjointed, "I Married an Angel" is an ambitious project that deserves points just for its audacity.

The bulk of the story is a dream sequence. As such, it is not subject to limitations of reality or reason. Count Palaffi (Nelson Eddy), the dreamer, is visited by an angel who intends to marry him. His unconscious mind tries to resolve the difficulties that could result from such a spirit-mortal pairing. These scenes are, like dreams, whimsical and sometimes irrational. Non sequiturs abound.

The film is fortunate to feature a couple of standards by Rodgers and Hart. It also includes many beautiful women and some wonderful fashions, though in B&W. Jeanette MacDonald, as the angel, is the highlight of the film. She demonstrates a variety of talents, including jitterbugging and some comedic turns that remind one of Gracie Allen. On the other hand, her voice is not ideally suited to some more modern (less classical) tunes.

Great production values and stages filled with performers cannot totally save this film. Jeanette appears to have a ball, but Nelson seems awkwardly out of place. The early scenes nearly convinced me to stop watching, but its campiness and the pure chutzpah of its ambitions partially won me over.

Painfully Weak (SPOILER)

[RogerRmjet · 4/10 · 13 April 2006]

I just finished reading a book on Anita Loos' work and the photo in TCM Magazine of MacDonald in her angel costume looked great (impressive wings), so I thought I'd watch this movie. I'd never heard of the film before, so I had no preconceived notions about it whatsoever. Thought it got off to a cute start with Eddy as the playboy and MacDonald as the secretary he doesn't know exists. The scene where she shows up at the costume party in her simple angel outfit with an uncooperative halo and wings that won't stay on was really endearing. I was even with the film when Eddy goes to sleep and imagines her as a real angel. But after a while it just started to fall apart for me. Eddy stays "asleep" for the entire rest of movie, so it's all a dream. Whatever happens from there on doesn't really matter, because he's just dreaming. The rest of it was pretty much plot less and pointless. I had to force myself to stick with it. And the final number where MacDonald goes from musical number to musical number in some mad hallucination was just plain freaky.

Had Eddy "woken" a sooner and the original story continued, or had he really married an angel, I think it would have been a lot more interesting. I wanted to see more of her real character.

There weren't really enough musical numbers to call it a musical. The first few songs were good, but the jitterbug number that MacDonald performs was like nails on a chalkboard. Completely wrong for her operatic voice. Even so, Eddy and MacDonald still manage to shine, showing what true stars they were.

A Charming Fantasy

[PeterPangloss · 10/10 · 29 March 2006]

It appears that there's no middle ground on this movie! Most of it takes place in a dream and, like most dreams, it's often foolish and illogical. It's also a gorgeous production with some great songs and fine performances, especially by our angel.

Jeanette's deadpan, unknowing insults and various other faux pas at the dream reception are hilarious, and her jitterbug with Binnie Barnes is a surprise and a delight. At one point, she gets to sing a snippet from Carmen, followed by the final trio of Faust (holding a lapdog, for some strange reason), then "Aloha Oe" on the beach!

It's a surreal comedy--tremendously entertaining if you can get into the groove.

Last Pairing of MacDonald and Eddy

[LeonardKniffel · 6/10 · 9 April 2020]

This whimsical black-and-white film marked the eighth and last film pairing of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. As the most eligible bachelor in Budapest, Count Palaffi grows weary of scheming women and dreams of a beautiful escape, a dream that yields opportunities to pair the count, played by Eddy, with a singing angel, MacDonald. The title tune is by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, who preceded Oscar Hammerstein II as Rogers' writing partner, and "I'll Tell the Man in the Street" is also one of their best. "Tira Lira La," or "We're the Girls Who Want to Marry Willie" is pretty amusing, as the set is a costume party with wonderfully outlandish outfits on a bevy of babes, and one cannot miss the racist overtones of the three little black children who are given a few brief lines in the number. Mostly this movie is a good example of how toned down so many film treatments of clever plays were because of the censorious Hays Code.

Pretty Weak

[chinaskee · 3/10 · 25 June 2001]

The final pairing of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald is basically a complete misfire.The script is weak and has been presented badly.The film just has no life in it.Eddy and MacDonald would have been better off just making a filmed concert for their final pairing.There's nothing wrong with their singing,its just everything else in this turkey thats overcooked.

A racy musical comedy about how an angel looses her wings.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 10 May 2014]

I guess in Hollywood's mind, when an angel commits the pleasures of the flesh (if that is possible), then they are going to loose their wings. And in the case of Jeanette MacDonald's angel here, she looses her wings twice: one a cardboard costume piece, the other one a feathered version which appears to be the real thing. MacDonald is a secretary in the bank run by wealthy Nelson Eddy who is invited to his birthday party and given a cheap looking costume obviously meant to embarrass her for giving fresh flowers to him every day by his jealous head secretary. She makes an awkward entrance to hoards of laughter by the snobbish ladies all decked out in their finery, but her innocence is bound to capture the handsome Eddy who for some reason dreams of her appearing to him as a real angel rather than the more sophisticated females who made fun of the lady.

The opening of the party sequence is highlighted by a lavish "Ziegeld Follies" style production number where all of the wanna-be brides of the very single Eddy sing and dance in order to get his attention. Then, his sister (an outrageous Binnie Barnes) makes her entrance, and you see where the film intends to move into tongue-in-cheek in the dream sequence. This is fluff of the highest nature, and MGM goes overboard to give its war weary audiences something to sink their eyes into so they can forget about the issues of the day.

An angel cannot tell a lie, we hear, and MacDonald's is no different than any other every day ordinary angel. "My husband and I are arguing over whether or not this dress makes me look fat", a stout party guest tells her. "The dress doesn't make you look fat. You are fat.", she tells the guest, turning the woman's smile into a shocked sneer. That's just the beginning as she reveals certain infidelities and other secrets that only an angel would know. This gains the amusement of one of Eddy's biggest stockholders (Douglas Dumbrille) and sets up the film for its only really serious plot as Eddy and MacDonald are separated as his bank is put in jeopardy by Dumbrille's threats to destroy him.

Probably the lightest in atmosphere for the MacDonald/Eddy pairings, this is an underrated finale to their 7 year teaming. The chance to hear MacDonald singing a bit from "Carmen" is the highlight of a sequence where Eddy witnesses MacDonald heading all over the world with the scoundrel Dumbrille and realizes just what she has come to mean to him. W.S. Van Dyke, as with previous entries in the series, presents a lavish atmosphere, yet made more lighthearted with the comical storyline that is all fluff and yet delicious to look at.

The MacDonald-Eddy Formula, at the Bottom of the Empty Glass

[nycritic · 3/10 · 17 March 2006]

When anyone comes into a film of this type of film it's not without saying that an overdose of that great over-the-counter brain-medicine, Suspension of Disbelief, comes in mighty handy.

Jeanette MacDonald plays two roles: Anna/Brigitta, the woman who Nelson Eddy has ignored since the beginning of time, but who also is -- an angel sent to Earth.

My reaction when I saw this was a mute gasp of "Hunh?" Where have I seen this before? It turns out, I have seen it before, but in a movie made much later than this one. DATE WITH AN ANGEL, a forgettable pile of dreck made in 1987, cashed in on the ethereal beauty of one Emmanuelle Beart who had no speaking lines, also wore a blond wig, and made life hell for soap-actor Michael Knight. Much worse in every conceivable angle with ultra-low 80s values but more than likely an updated version of this 1942 turkey.

Anyway, not to elaborate, this is not a memorable film and stands as a doorstop of information because it was the last time MacDonald and Eddy, neither very good actors but terrific singers, would be together playing up the "innocence" and "clean-cut" romance that they were known for. After that you may need a cold shower, not because there are any steamy scenes here, but to get rid of the memory.

Heaven on Earth

[lugonian · 5/10 · 31 March 2019]

I MARRIED AN ANGEL (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1942) directed by W.S. Van Dyke, marks the eighth and final screen collaboration of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, one of Hollywood's beloved love teams. While memorably paired in such operatic classics as NAUGHTY MARIETTA (1935), ROSE MARIE (1936) and what many regard their best film together, MAYTIME (1937), MacDonald and Eddy continued romancing and singing to the delight of their fans with THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST (1938), SWEETHEARTS (1938), NEW MOON (1940) and BITTERSWEET (1940). Though they are best remembered for their singing against European period backdrops, somehow MacDonald and Eddy found their way into something quite different - a modern-day musical-comedy fantasy based on a successful Broadway play starring Dennis King, Vera Zorina, Vivienne Segal and Walter Slezak. Though these actors might have starred in the film version of the play, as it turned out, casting stronger marque names as MacDonald and Eddy cast against type were selected. What might have proved something different and favorable actually had fans and critics of the day labeling I MARRIED AN ANGEL to be their biggest mistake.

Set in "Budapest in the gay days of not so long ago," the down-to-earth story introduces Anna Zador (Jeanette MacDonald) coming to work riding her bicycle. A stenographer at the Palaffi Bank for six years, Anna silently loves its owner, a wealthy playboy, Count Willie Palaffi (Nelson Eddy). Palaffi hardly notices Anna, who spends his carefree days partying with other women and flirting with bank secretaries. In his absence, he has Herman Rothbart (Reginald Owen), affectionately called "Whiskers," the family business associate, to assume bank responsibilities instead of him. Invited to his upcoming birthday party with guests coming in costumes, Marika (Mona Maris), at the advise of "Whiskers," has Anna invited to attend dressed as an Angel with wings and halo. With Whiskers feeling the 35-year-old Willie should be married by now, he finds Anna would be a good influence on him. After dancing with Anna at his costume party, Willie, who feels Anna not to his liking, excuses himself to his upstairs room where he falls asleep, dreaming of himself marrying Brigitta, an angel in the image of Anna, and finding out what it's like having her as his wife.

Seen in the supporting cast are Edward Everett Horton (Peter); Binnie Barnes (Peggy from Paris); Douglass Dumbrille (Baron Szigetti); with Gino Corrado, Leonid Kinskey, Maude Eburne and Gertrude Hoffman in smaller roles. The songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart include: "There Comes a Time," "Tira Lira La," "An Angel Appears," "I Married an Angel," "I'll Tell the Man in the Street," "Hey, Butcher!" "Spring is Here," "Vallaneile," "To Count Palaffi," "I Married an Angel," "May I Present the Girl," "Tira Lira La," "I Married an Angel," "But What of Truth?" Surreal operatic montage of "Margarita," with Hawaiian dance of "Aloha Oe"; "I Married an Angel," and "Spring is Here." Of its bright scoring, the title tune comes off best.

Had I MARRIED AN ANGEL been produced ten years earlier by Paramount under its direction by Ernst Lubitsch, and featuring Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Edward Everett Horton, with Kay Francis and Genevieve Tobin in the Maris and Barnes roles, chances are this might have been as delightful as the other Chevalier and MacDonald's actual musicals of ONE HOUR WITH YOU or Rouben Mamoulian's LOVE ME TONIGHT (both 1932). Coming a decade later proved ill-timed for the team, especially with changing tastes is audience acceptance of film noir mysteries or World War II dramas high in box-office receipts at the time. The MGM 1942 treatment of I MARRIED AN ANGEL starts off amusingly well, even resembling that of an Ernst Lubitsch musical of a decade ago, down to Lubitsch stock players as Robert Greig and Tyler Brooke in minor support, along with cast members participating in recitations and songs. In fact, the song interludes prove better than the story material provided. Regardless of how the cast tries hard to make the situations work, at least Horton and Barnes manage to brighten up the proceedings with their humorous individual support. And what other movie can one find the sophisticated MacDonald becoming hip by 1940s standards doing a jitterbug-dance to swing music opposite Binnie Barnes.

I MARRIED AN ANGEL shows MacDonald and Eddy can do comedy, but somehow the weakness falls mostly during its dream sequence. Though highlighted by MacDonald's Angel insulting guests unintentionally by telling the truth (since Angels never tell lies), it lessens the mood as the truthful Angel becomes a woman of the world lying her way back into the confidence of those she earlier insulted. The movie in general should have worked, but really doesn't fit MacDonald and Eddy screen personas. As it turned out, I MARRIED AN ANGEL ended their on-screen relationship. Though MacDonald starred in three more MGM productions until her retirement in 1948, Eddy's long association with the studio came to an end with this film. A pity because I MARRIED AN ANGEL had fine potential. Interestingly, a similar titled-comedy, I MARRIED A WITCH (United Artists, 1942), starring Fredric March and Veronica Lake, proved so much better.

Being the least discussed or televised of the MacDonald-Eddy musicals over the years, I MARRIED AN ANGEL available on video cassette (in 1989) and later DVD, often appears on cable television's Turner Classic Movies along with other MacDonald and Eddy angel cake delights. (** harps)

Filled with Great Music, an Unusual Story, Great Singing

[cemcphee · 10/10 · 17 May 2006]

The movie is a fantasy. The story line is thin but serves as the structure upon which some wonderful songs are sung and sung beautifully. (I still cannot believe that such handsome and attractive people could sing this well.) Some of the dialog is wonderfully clever. The costumes made me feel as though I was watching a haute couture fashion show from 1942.

Movies are designed to serve various purposes. This one is designed to entertain and it certainly does. If I have one negative comment it would be that Nelson Eddy was a little too old to be the handsome dashing Count. Some of the closeups made me uncomfortable. But he could still sing and sing magnificently. However, Jeanette MacDonald was just as dazzling as ever. She makes a spectacular angel.

This genre is well before my time, and I an new to the Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy films and related conversation. The music in this movie is beautiful. As much as I love the classic rock music which fills most modern movies, there is no question in my mind that this music is simply and clearly more memorable, more delightful, better constructed. The stars in this movie are more talented than the stars I see in the movie theaters today. And Jeanette MacDonald, without the benefit of Beverly Hills plastic surgeons, was more beautiful than the stars I see today. I am unclear as to why so many other posters are apologetic about liking this movie and more generally this group of movies. They say it is dated and try to explain why it is the way it is. And those that do not like it say that it is not very good but compared to what? I think this movie will doubtless still be entertaining people when so many other movie are long forgotten. There is just too much quality in every way in this movie for it not to be remembered and enjoyed. I recommend this movie without reservation to anyone who appreciates great talent, great beauty and great music.

Surreal Delight

[williamejacks · 10/10 · 17 March 2004]

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy star in this "modern" musical that showcases MacDonald's comic abilities. Surreal 40s musical seem to be making fun of 40s fashions even as they were in current vogue. Eye-popping costumes and sets (yes B&W) add to the surreal, dreamlike quality of the entire film. Several good songs enliven the film, with the "Twinkle in Your Eye" number a total highlight, including a fun jitterbug number between MacDonald and Binnie Barnes. Also in the HUGE cast are Edward Everett Horton, Reginal Owen, Mona Maris, Douglas Dumbrille and Anne Jeffreys. Also to been seen in extended bit parts are Esther Dale, Almira Sessions, Grace Hayle, Gertrude Hoffman, Rafaela Ottiano, Odette Myrtile, Cecil Cunningham and many others.

Great fun and nice to see the wonderful MacDonald in her jitterbug/vamp routines. She could do it all.

Such a cute movie...

[laurak23 · 10/10 · 11 August 2002]

I know a lot of people don't like this movie, but I just think it is adorable. There's not much I can say, but the movie is a feel-good movie I guess. The songs are beautiful, the costumes are beautiful, the voices are beautiful, and there are a lot of funny lines in the movie, especially as Briggitta learns about the do's and don't's of society. If you like musicals, I'd say you'd like this one!

A Very interesting Failure

[Dyscolius · 10/10 · 11 September 2007]

One used to say, concerning Nathaniel Hawthorne, that his failures were more interesting than his successes. I believe that the same remark could suit to McDonald-Eddy's pictures. And especially this one.

It apparently possesses many characteristics of a failed movie: it's kitsch, the script, because of censorship, sounds inconsistent… Yet, this movie gets also some good points: good Rodgers-Hart's music ("I married an angel", "Tira tira tira la"), good acting with E.E.Horton and Reginald Owen.

Anyway, if you may dislike it, you can't forget it. This strange movie actually leaves a very strong, dreamlike, impression, and you are very likely to keep it in mind for days, maybe for weeks. Why? In the thirties and the beginning of the forties, movies didn't have the same mean than today: it aimed, like a dream, to divert the public in order to make it forget a difficult reality. Of all the the dream-movies that was made, in that time, this one stands as particularly powerful.

In short, let's say that the better way to appreciate this movie, is to watch it without wondering whether it's good or bad. To watch it, like you would watch a dream.

Loved it.

[gkeith_1 · 10/10 · 18 March 2010]

My observations: vamp outfit at end is ravishing and wonderful, exotic and fantastic. Jeanette wore it well, and got even with naive Nelson. Boat crashing into his balcony served him right. Costume outfits of his female mafia were designed surprisingly well, especially by today's standards. 1942 costume designer did great job. Main song theme just lovely.

Caution to negative posters: 1942 was time of WW II; Pearl Harbor happened year before. U.S. just coming out of Great Depression; needed to get out and spend that hard earned money on diversion of singing, dance and yes, fantastic fantasy. Despotic dictators were trying to rule out there in RL, snuffing out freedoms. Thank goodness the public had these fantastic plot line movies to attend. Movie going was a privileged treat, in those depressing times. When you, negative posters, become actors or even movie stars, then YOU have room to talk and criticize. Jeanette's and Nelson's movies stand the test of time.

Angel wings wonderful, on the real angel. RL wings at costume party not so hot, but great on Jeanette considering the SL.

Beautiful singing by Jeanette and Nelson, as always. Jeanette dancing was a pure delight.

15/10

This Film Deserves a Reassessment

[nmaoloni-801-602863 · 8/10 · 20 July 2021]

This movie is a wonderful fantasy to watch! The MacDonald-Eddy team step outside of their usual plot formulas and into something very different but still entertaining. Several of the scenes (e.g., the Tira-Lira-Loo costume ball sequence) have the look and feel of the Emerald City of OZ, which is perfect for the whimsical plot. Too bad the movie wasn't filmed in Technicolor because the costuming, sets and musical numbers are all well done.

The stars and character support actors all appear well-suited to their roles and the storyline is quite unique and perhaps ahead of its time.

Too bad the film was released at the start of America's entry into World War II, because most audiences were probably more in a mood for something patriotic than whimsy.

I'm guessing L. B. Mayer did little to promote the film because he hated Nelson Eddy and probably wanted to end his successful teaming with Jeanette MacDonald.

If released in another era, this film may have returned a profit and enabled Nelson and Jeanette to continue their movie operetta careers together! Give it a look.

Jeanette Does The Hula

[museumofdave · 8/10 · 8 December 2017]

For MacDonald/Eddy fans who expected a traditional operetta with the usual give and take romance that typifies the genre, this nutty weirdness from MGM has got to give them the heebie-jeebies. For others open to something different, filled with studio style, glorious costumes, nonsense worthy of a Marx brothers film, this film can be good fun. There are some scenes not far removed from a classy burlesque show, with Binnie Barnes engaging Jeannette in some sort of jitterbug--and who is the sweetie who jumps into the crowd scene and starts leading nobody in particular?

First and foremost, Jeanette's singing remains glorious, and unlike most of her films, she doesn't need to maintain soprano dignity at all times, but is given the opportunity to say a good many things she doubtless wanted to say in some of the other films--this was 1942, after all, and there was a good deal of censorship. But this was also based on a late Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical, and spicy situations were inherent in the script, though tamped down.

This is lavish in a way only MGM could manage, but has a whiff of Paramount in it's sophisticated treatment of romance and setting. And also because it is from MGM who advertised "more stars than there are in Heaven," it's provides an opportunity to see dozens of character actors, however briefly, especially in a banquet scene that turns into a very weird version of musical chairs.

It's too bad that some of the end scenes with MacDonald appearing in Carmen and in Faust (what's she doing with that moth-eaten terrier?) weren't of ample length, so her voice could be showcased even more than it was in the glorious over-blown scene where "Angel" Jeanette is surrounded with harps.

If a viewer wants straight operetta romance with the usual formula--New Moon, Naughty Marietta, or Maytime (one of their very best!) this off-the- wall effort is not it. But if a viewer seeks something that director Major W.S. Van Dyke let fly for fun, you may find this as amusing as I did.

McDonald and Eddy are Pitch Perfect; McDonald Effervescent in Her Appearance

[tr-83495 · 10/10 · 30 March 2019]

Much of this film is a surrealistic dream sequence, which the movie may not have made clear enough. Watching this a second time usually brings clarity to plot development, although this one will never win on plot points.

The strength of I Married An Angel is in the leading actors. Jeannette McDonald is exuberant beyond words here and Nelson Eddy fits as the object of her affections. Their songs, as usual, are pop songs (add a beat and many of these would be rock and roll), but the natural way McDonald and Eddy approach their musical roles is magical everytime they do it. Their movies in the 1930s saved MGM from bankruptcy; even in this lesser known vehicle, we can see and hear why. This is musical heaven.

To a boy who was born decades later and raised on rock n roll, this music just fills my entire body with warmth and happiness. That is the gift of McDonald. It's extremely unfortunate Louie B. Mayer could not handle McDonald and Eddy better, but this is a topic in MGM and Mayer biographies. McDonald and Eddy deserved better movies with higher production values; this would have paid off in great measure for the studio. The two wonderful songs in this film are worth the perfect rating I'm giving it.