Monte Carlo (1930)

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Hans Müller (play)
Booth Tarkington (novel) ...

Release Date:

27 August 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

As intimate as a lady's boudoir! (original window card poster)

Plot:

Countess Vera von Conti checks into Monte Carlo. She's down to her last 10,000 francs and has fled from her husband-to-be...

Plot Keywords:

Hunchback | Male Female Relationship | Love | Hairdresser | Train Conductor

Cast

Jack Buchanan	...	Count Rudolph Falliere a.k.a. Rudy the hairdresser
Jeanette MacDonald	...	Countess Helene Mara
Claud Allister	...	Prince Otto Von Seibenheim
Zasu Pitts	...	Bertha
Tyler Brooke	...	Armand
John Roche	...	Paul, the 'Real' Hairdresser
Lionel Belmore	...	Duke Gustave von Seibenheim
Albert Conti	...	Prince Otto's Companion / M.C
Helen Garden	...	Lady Mary in Stage Opera
Donald Novis	...	Monsieur Beaucaire in Stage Opera
Erik Bey	...	Lord Windorset
David Percy	...	Herald

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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:

Count Rudolph Falliere a.k.a. Rudy the hairdresser: I have a system that can't miss. If I happened to be standing beside a brunette I bet on red. If I am standing next to a readhead I bet on black.
Armand: But suppose you're standing next to a blonde. What do you do then?
Count Rudolph Falliere a.k.a. Rudy the hairdresser: I ask where she lives.

Soundtrack:

Give Me A Moment Please

Rare Lubitsch dud

Certainly when you look at this film as a 1930 musical, the way that songs are integrated into the plot is a marvel, and it has a fluidity that belies the year it was made. That said, this is rather a chore to sit through, compared to the likes of The Smiling Lieutenant and One Hour With You, and despite the appeal of MacDonald in her early, earthy days, before she became partner to the eunuch Nelson Eddy.

There are three main culprits: first, a plot which just doesn't compare to the comedy-dramas of sexual tension and yearning that Lubitsch's best films offer. The others are fantasies, but this is flat out unbelievable, with too many mistaken identities, arbitrary shifts in attitude by the leading lady, and a lack of tension (since all of MacDonald's romantic choices are stinking rich). It's just impossible to care about. The second is leading man Jack Buchanan. It's not just that you can imagine Maurice Chevalier getting something innocently naughty out of the lines which might actually be charming, but as lightweight as he is, Buchanan seems too smart to believe what a doof-slash-stalker he's playing. Imagine Fred Astaire being replaced in Top Hat by Herbert Marshall, or maybe Paul Muni. And finally... at best the songs are unmemorable ditties cleverly staged. One, however, "Trimmin' the Women," could make the short list of worst movie numbers of the golden age of Hollywood. In short, be glad that Paramount compelled MacDonald and Chevalier (who she apparently disliked) to get back together in time for Love Me Tonight.

NOTE: Since viewing the film I have learned that the reels are misnumbered on nearly all surviving prints-- a fact which explains the otherwise baffling scene in the movie where Buchanan, who has already met MacDonald (IF you've seen it out of order), goes to work for her and she has no idea who he is. I'm not saying the movie would be radically better if it was in the correct order, but it would undoubtedly make somewhat more sense.