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IMDbPro

Monte Carlo

  • 19301930
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
92,765
11,386
Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)
ComedyMusicalRomance
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.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
92,765
11,386
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Ernst Lubitsch
    • Writers
      • Ernest Vajda(adaptation)
      • Hans Müller(play "The Blue Coast")
      • Booth Tarkington(novel "Monsieur Beaucaire")
    • Stars
      • Jeanette MacDonald
      • Jack Buchanan
      • Claud Allister
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Ernst Lubitsch
    • Writers
      • Ernest Vajda(adaptation)
      • Hans Müller(play "The Blue Coast")
      • Booth Tarkington(novel "Monsieur Beaucaire")
    • Stars
      • Jeanette MacDonald
      • Jack Buchanan
      • Claud Allister
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 32User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos35

    Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)
    Claud Allister and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)
    Monte Carlo (1930)
    Monte Carlo (1930)
    Monte Carlo (1930)
    Jack Buchanan in Monte Carlo (1930)
    Jack Buchanan in Monte Carlo (1930)
    Claud Allister and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)
    Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)
    Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)
    Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)
    Jack Buchanan in Monte Carlo (1930)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jeanette MacDonald
    Jeanette MacDonald
    • Countess Helene Mara
    Jack Buchanan
    Jack Buchanan
    • Count Rudolph Farriere
    Claud Allister
    Claud Allister
    • Duke Otto von Liebenheim
    Zasu Pitts
    Zasu Pitts
    • Bertha
    Tyler Brooke
    Tyler Brooke
    • Armand
    John Roche
    John Roche
    • Paul
    Lionel Belmore
    Lionel Belmore
    • Prince Gustav von Liebenheim
    Albert Conti
    Albert Conti
    • Master of Ceremonies
    Helen Garden
    • Lady Mary
    Donald Novis
    Donald Novis
    • Monsieur Beaucaire
    Erik Bey
    • Lord Winderset
    David Percy
    • Herald
    Max Barwyn
    Max Barwyn
    • Frenchman
    • (uncredited)
    Billy Bevan
    Billy Bevan
    • Train Conductor
    • (uncredited)
    Sidney Bracey
    Sidney Bracey
    • Hunchback at Casino
    • (uncredited)
    John Carroll
    John Carroll
    • Wedding Guest Officer
    • (uncredited)
    Frances Dee
    Frances Dee
    • Receptionist
    • (uncredited)
    Geraldine Dvorak
    Geraldine Dvorak
    • Casino Patron
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ernst Lubitsch
    • Writers
      • Ernest Vajda(adaptation)
      • Hans Müller(play "The Blue Coast")
      • Booth Tarkington(novel "Monsieur Beaucaire")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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 Legends of World Cinema: 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 reviews32

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    "One smile, one word, one thrill"
    The 1930s were the era of the screen partnership. If a duo worked in one picture, the rule was to keep them together, turning out hits until the public got bored. But it wasn't always a rule producers were able to stick to. After the massive success The Love Parade, which united stars Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, producer-director Ernst Lubitsch followed up with Monte Carlo, in which MacDonald had to swap the gallic lothario for English fop Jack Buchanan.

    Really, it was not so much the sundering of Chevalier and MacDonald that was the problem. MacDonald was a good singer and a decent actress, but there was no unique chemistry between her and Chevalier. No, it is Lubitsch who has been calamitously separated from the French entertainer. In his new breed of operettas for the screen, earliest examples of how we now define the movie musical, Lubitsch's Ruritanian settings and sly humour needed the cheeky continental charm of someone like Chevalier. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with Buchanan – he was witty, graceful, and could be outstanding in the right role (especially The Band Wagon, two decades later) – but he simply doesn't convince as a philandering French count. There may have been some thinking that Buchanan was to stereotypical Englishness what Chevalier was to stereotypical Frenchness. This is quite true, only stereotypical Englishness isn't what's required!

    But Lubitsch potters along, honing the formula of the new genre. This time around, the songs are written by Richard A. Whiting and W. Franke Harling. The melodies are neither as sweet nor as memorable as those written by Victor Schertzinger for The Love Parade, the only standout being the popular hit "Beyond the Blue Horizon". However, the lyrics by Leo Robin are great fun, with internal rhyming reminiscent of Lorenz Hart, and a fun and occasionally witty wordplay. What's more Lubitsch and his screenwriter Ernest Vajda have done a more elaborate job of weaving the songs into the story, and the action into the songs. A good example is "Give Me a Moment Please", which is staged as a phone call between MacDonald and Buchanan (funny how Scottish those two sound when their names appear side by side). The song not only relates to the characters and the narrative, but the plot is furthered through the song.

    As for merging action and music, there are some nice touches here which we didn't see in The Love Parade. This is not a dance musical, and yet Lubitsch choreographs dances of ordinary gestures for many of the numbers. Sometimes this is rather blunt and abstract, such as the head turning of the crowd in "She'll love me and like it". Other times it is more subtle and natural, as in "Trimmin' the women". In that song, we see little moves like Buchanan, John Roche and Tyler Brooke all crossing their legs simultaneously, and in the second half of the song making a little dance out of an afternoon tea session. Their movements look natural but also have a musical rhythm to them. This is all important development for the genre.

    Ultimately though, this is a box of few delights. I'm not blaming it all on Mr Buchanan – he is actually delightful here and there, but he is not able to carry the picture, and the lack of an appropriate lead man shows up the rather lacklustre storyline. The screen musical would continue to develop, and during the 30s it would belong chiefly to the reliable stars who could be associated with a certain formula – Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Shirley Temple, Chevalier, MacDonald… stars who were draws in themselves and needed no fine drama or creative direction to make a hit.
    helpful•1
    0
    • Steffi_P
    • Feb 24, 2010

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 27, 1930 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Монте-Карло
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $726,465 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.20 : 1

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