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Serenade (1956)
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Overview
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Director:
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Release Date:
23 March 1956 (USA)
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Tagline:
The most thrilling story-with-music ever made is Mario Lanza in 'Serenade.' All the quivering excitement of James M. Cain's best-seller...The story of a farm hand who won fame as a singer and almost lost his soul as a man! more
Plot:
Damon Vincenti, a young vineyard worker, has a beautiful tenor voice and dreams of becoming a great opera singer...
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User Comments:
Lanza's first film away from MGM was one of his worst!
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Cast
(Credited cast) | Mario Lanza | ... | Damon Vincenti |
 | Joan Fontaine | ... | Kendall Hale |
 | Sara Montiel | ... | Juana Montes (as Sarita Montiel) |
 | Vincent Price | ... | Charles Winthrop |
| Joseph Calleia | ... | Maestro Marcatello |
| Harry Bellaver | ... | Monte |
| Vince Edwards | ... | Marco Roselli |
| Silvio Minciotti | ... | Lardelli |
| Frank Puglia | ... | Manuel Montes |
 | Edward Platt | ... | Everett Carter |
| Licia Albanese | ... | Soprano |
| Jean Fenn | ... | Soprano |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
121 min
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Language:
Color:
Color (Warnercolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
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Fun Stuff
Movie Connections:
Remade as Kirik plak (1959)
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Soundtrack:
Otello, Act IV (excerpt)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Serenade (1956)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Mom's Fave | plwblj |
| Serenade, the Novel | jim-862 |
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Apart from Mario Lanza's singing, which is, as always, wonderful, and Vincent Price's performance as a somewhat less than ethical music critic, there is really very little to recommend about "Serenade." Lanza had been a big fan of the original James M. Cain ("Double Indemnity," et. al.) novel for years, and was always pushing to make it while he was at MGM. After he was fired from MGM, he signed with Warners as part of a three-picture deal, with the provision that "Serenade" be filmed first. Jack Warner, who'd been trying to snag Lanza for years, readily agreed.
The script, by the otherwise excellent Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, is a highly bowdlerized version of the book, retaining not much more than the title and character names. The film almost relentlessly exposes Lanza's considerable weaknesses as an actor in a way MGM never did. His singing, by contrast, is some of his best, especially in the scenes from Verdi's "Otello" with Metropolitan Opera great Licia Albanese as his Desdemona, a role she sang often at the Met.
As was his wont, Lanza's increasingly irresponsible, unpredictable behavior cost him the other two pictures in his Warners contract, even though "Serenade" was a box-office success. Apparently, Jack Warner was no more patient with him than Dore Schary had been. How ironic, then, that his last two films, made independently in Italy, were released in America by none other than MGM!