It's a musical tragedy, of how Schubert, played by Richard Tauber, loves his landlord's daughter, Jane Baxter. Not only does her father say no because he is a nobody, but he sees her marrying better: Count Carl Esmond, whom she loves. There are the usual complications.
Along the way, Schubert has his first concert, and of course, this being a movie, it is a smash success. that's the point of this film: Tauber singing Schubert, and he sings about half a dozen or so pieces, with a beautiful voice and great panache. His acting is not as good, of course. His training was in opera, which calls for different styles of voice, and although he moves well, there's no attempt to disguise the fact that he is a podgy, middle-aged man.
Director Paul L. Stein handles the movie with the clear-eyed nostalgia for Hapsburg Vienna, with its snobbery, social-climbing and gingerbread architecture. He knew his subject. He was born in Vienna in 1890 and made his movie debut as an actor in 1915. He was directing by 1918, in Germany by 1920, and by the end of the 1920s was in Hollywood. With the coming of sound, he made a specialty for fifteen years of operettas. He directed his last movie in 1950 and died the following year.
Along the way, Schubert has his first concert, and of course, this being a movie, it is a smash success. that's the point of this film: Tauber singing Schubert, and he sings about half a dozen or so pieces, with a beautiful voice and great panache. His acting is not as good, of course. His training was in opera, which calls for different styles of voice, and although he moves well, there's no attempt to disguise the fact that he is a podgy, middle-aged man.
Director Paul L. Stein handles the movie with the clear-eyed nostalgia for Hapsburg Vienna, with its snobbery, social-climbing and gingerbread architecture. He knew his subject. He was born in Vienna in 1890 and made his movie debut as an actor in 1915. He was directing by 1918, in Germany by 1920, and by the end of the 1920s was in Hollywood. With the coming of sound, he made a specialty for fifteen years of operettas. He directed his last movie in 1950 and died the following year.