That Midnight Kiss is a good, solid feature film debut for Lanza, though he went on to do better afterwards. Lanza and classical music/opera fans will find much to love, as an overall film it's good, solid fun but didn't bowl me over.
Lanza is the best thing about That Midnight Kiss. One wishes that he had more to sing and that the studio could have been a little bolder with some of the song choices(understandable though because it was a debut, and he was very young at the time, and they didn't want to tax him too early), but all the songs in the film suit him brilliantly, especially They Didn't Believe Me and Una Furtiva Lagrima(he does quite well too with Celeste Aida). He also sounds sensational, one of the loveliest and most distinctive of all tenor voices, singing with warmth, emotion and generous style, and while inexperience(again understandably) occasionally shows, his feature film debut is dashing and truly charming.
Kathryn Grayson radiates on screen and sings like an angel, there was the worry that Caro Nome was too big for her but she manages the colouratura well. After hearing mixed opinions on Lanza and Grayson's chemistry, I'm of the opinion that they have a good natural chemistry together. Ethel Barrymore brings incandescent class to her role, looking positively regal and giving her dialogue a witty edge and classy delivery. Keenan Wynn is a lot of fun and Jules Munshin is even funnier. Thomas Gomez fares the best in the comedy department, this said, the best of his comic timing is hilarious. That Midnight Kiss also looks great, with colourful costumes and sets and glowing photography.
The other great thing about That Midnight Kiss is the music and songs. There are some operatic favourites here, for soprano and tenor, and they're still fabulous, and They Didn't Believe Me is the highlight of the film. Love is Music is a little sappy though, not the melody seeing as it is based on one of Tchaikovsky's most beautiful melodies but the rather cloying lyric writing. One mustn't also forget about Jose Iturbi, who gets the opportunity to play piano pieces by Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Chopin and does so simply thrillingly, the performance of the Chopin Revolutionary Etude comes off particularly well. The film is also efficiently paced, more than competently directed and has a mostly winning script with a lot of heart and genuinely funny humour, if occasionally laying it a little thick with the schmaltz and once or twice the comedy is ever so slightly overplayed.
Coming off the least well is the story. It's not a disaster as it knows what tone it wanted to be, light and fun, and sticks to it without jumping around or changing tone discordantly. It is however as thin as a wafer, which is true of a lot of MGM musicals at this time, and does feel at times on the too silly and too frothy side, you can also painfully and correctly predict what is going to happen next.
All in all, a good feature film debut for Lanza, who along with the music is the film's selling point. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Lanza is the best thing about That Midnight Kiss. One wishes that he had more to sing and that the studio could have been a little bolder with some of the song choices(understandable though because it was a debut, and he was very young at the time, and they didn't want to tax him too early), but all the songs in the film suit him brilliantly, especially They Didn't Believe Me and Una Furtiva Lagrima(he does quite well too with Celeste Aida). He also sounds sensational, one of the loveliest and most distinctive of all tenor voices, singing with warmth, emotion and generous style, and while inexperience(again understandably) occasionally shows, his feature film debut is dashing and truly charming.
Kathryn Grayson radiates on screen and sings like an angel, there was the worry that Caro Nome was too big for her but she manages the colouratura well. After hearing mixed opinions on Lanza and Grayson's chemistry, I'm of the opinion that they have a good natural chemistry together. Ethel Barrymore brings incandescent class to her role, looking positively regal and giving her dialogue a witty edge and classy delivery. Keenan Wynn is a lot of fun and Jules Munshin is even funnier. Thomas Gomez fares the best in the comedy department, this said, the best of his comic timing is hilarious. That Midnight Kiss also looks great, with colourful costumes and sets and glowing photography.
The other great thing about That Midnight Kiss is the music and songs. There are some operatic favourites here, for soprano and tenor, and they're still fabulous, and They Didn't Believe Me is the highlight of the film. Love is Music is a little sappy though, not the melody seeing as it is based on one of Tchaikovsky's most beautiful melodies but the rather cloying lyric writing. One mustn't also forget about Jose Iturbi, who gets the opportunity to play piano pieces by Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Chopin and does so simply thrillingly, the performance of the Chopin Revolutionary Etude comes off particularly well. The film is also efficiently paced, more than competently directed and has a mostly winning script with a lot of heart and genuinely funny humour, if occasionally laying it a little thick with the schmaltz and once or twice the comedy is ever so slightly overplayed.
Coming off the least well is the story. It's not a disaster as it knows what tone it wanted to be, light and fun, and sticks to it without jumping around or changing tone discordantly. It is however as thin as a wafer, which is true of a lot of MGM musicals at this time, and does feel at times on the too silly and too frothy side, you can also painfully and correctly predict what is going to happen next.
All in all, a good feature film debut for Lanza, who along with the music is the film's selling point. 7/10 Bethany Cox