Serenade (1956)

Damon Vincenti, a young vineyard worker, has a beautiful tenor voice and dreams of becoming a great opera singer. He debuts at Lardelli's Italian restaurant in San Francisco, where he is ... See full summary »

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Ivan Goff (screenplay), Ben Roberts (screenplay),

Stars:

Mario Lanza, Joan Fontaine, Sara Montiel

Cast

Cast overview:
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	...	Tonio
Vince Edwards	...	Marco Roselli
Silvio Minciotti	...	Lardelli
Frank Puglia	...	Manuel Montes
Edward Platt	...	Everett Carter
Licia Albanese	...	Desdemona in 'Otello'
Jean Fenn	...	Soprano in San Francisco

Storyline

Damon Vincenti, a young vineyard worker, has a beautiful tenor voice and dreams of becoming a great opera singer. He debuts at Lardelli's Italian restaurant in San Francisco, where he is spotted by Kendall Hale, a society girl who enjoys launching young artists while making them her lovers before dumping them after use. Damon is no exception to the rule: he becomes famous but Kendall leaves him abruptly. He feels so affected that he must give up singing. In Mexico, where he has got back in touch with his inner self, Damon meets Juana Montès.They are happy and get married. But Kendall is still around...

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Plot Keywords:

tenor | opera singer | farm worker | based on novel

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Taglines:

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!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Serenata

Filming Locations:

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remade as The Broken Disk (1959)

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Soundtracks

"O Paradiso"
(uncredited)
from "L'Africaine"
Music by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Libretto by Eugène Scribe
Performed by Mario Lanza

User Reviews

Mario Lanza's greatest Movie!

Some might say that Mario Lanza was overweight and not in his best voice for this Movie, but that would be judging him by those factors alone. This in my opinion ironically is Lanza's best Movie ever! Serenade is a very dramatic Movie with great performances from the likes of Joan Fontaine and in particular Sarita Montiel who really makes this Picture. Add this to the beautiful colourful backdrops and a haunting and dramatic score in the use of 'Serenade', and what you have is a cocktail for a fabulous Movie! For a two hour Film this could have been 'over-long' but in fact the two hours fly by as the whole is so absorbing.

This lush Masterpiece from 1956 is so under-rated as to never have been released on either Video or DVD in the United Kingdom - and only on Video for a limited period in the USA. If you want to own this Movie you're going to have to be patient and hunt madly, but it will be well worth the time spent! And for those who've already seen it, they will want to own it also, and so you'll have some pretty stiff competition in obtaining one of those scarce copies! If you haven't seen it, then book yourself a night in when it is next shown on TV for a great piece of entertainment, and have the chocolates and wine at the ready for a good quality night's viewing!

This is a superb production - oh, and don't forget the tissues!

Simply magic!