Monte Carlo

1930
Passed
1h 30m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)

Comedy Musical Romance

A countess flees to Monte Carlo on the day of her wedding, where she is courted by a count posing as a hairdresser.A countess flees to Monte Carlo on the day of her wedding, where she is courted by a count posing as a hairdresser.A countess flees to Monte Carlo on the day of her wedding, where she is courted by a count posing as a hairdresser.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos35

Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)

Claud Allister and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)

Antonio Filauri, Bess Flowers, Leonid Kinskey, Edgar Norton, Elizabeth Pendleton, and Beatrice Hagen in Monte Carlo (1930)

Claud Allister, Symona Boniface, Jack Buchanan, Antonio Filauri, Jeanette MacDonald, and Beatrice Hagen in Monte Carlo (1930)

Jack Buchanan and Rolfe Sedan in Monte Carlo (1930)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
A silent version was produced for theaters not yet equipped for sound films. This version runs 20 minutes shorter than the sound version. The silent version was long thought lost until 1968. Historian and film preservationist David Shepard donated a copy, along with many other Paramount titles on nitrate film, to the American Film Institute.

Goofs
Jeanette MacDonald is referred to as a blonde early on in the dialogue. She was actually a redhead, and no attempt was made to lighten her hair to make her look blonde. Her hair photographed the dark grey red hair usually reproduced as on the black-and-white film used in 1930.

Quotes
Train Conductor: Are you the lady who jumped on this train after we had started?
Countess Helene Mara: Yes, and I shall complain about it. Trains don't go until I get on them!

Connections
Featured in Legendy mirovogo kino: Jeanette MacDonald

Soundtracks
Beyond The Blue Horizon
(uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting and W. Franke Harling
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by Jeanette MacDonald

User reviews33

Review

Featured review

7/10

Minor Lubitsch, fun at times

Even minor Lubitsch rates a 7. His comedic sensibility was unique in its poetry and effortless sophistication.

One doesn't expect an iron-clad plot in musical comedy, but MONTE CARLO's fails to fulfill even the minimal requirements of the genre. It simply makes no sense and creates no tension, erotic or otherwise. A nobleman falls for a runaway countess, and for absolutely no reason he pretends to be a commoner for the duration of the film.

Lubitsch is normally so good at plot construction, it's surprising that this one is so flat. Zasu Pitts, who can be so delightful, makes no impression here. Even the dialogue discouragingly fails to sparkle.

The film's other problem is the leading man, Jack Buchanan, who simply doesn't come across well on-camera and has absolutely no chemistry with MacDonald. Compared to the robust, lusty Maurice Chevalier in other Lubitsch/MacDonald films, Buchanan here is fey and sexless. MacDonald does her best, though, and acquits herself well.

No Lubitsch film is without its pleasures. It's worth seeing, but it's no MERRY WIDOW.

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