The film has two Cole Porter songs -- "Rosalie" and "In the Still of the Night." For several bars of the latter, we see the back of Nelson Eddy as he sings to the back of Eleanor Powell. This daring shot is superb, because we can feel the effect of the song on both. Eddy is stiff, except when he sings. That stiffness is partly in the role as West Point cadet, but it's mostly Nelson. Powell has a great production number in her native Romanza, to which the unsuspecting Eddy has pursued her. Powell's best moments, though, occur as she commands a crack West Point drill team to the strains of "The Stars and Stripes Forever." The Souza march changes from 4/4 to waltz time for a Powell solo. The drill is an imaginative sequence that takes advantage of Powell's incredible skills. After all these years, you still say "Wow!" Frank Morgan is endearing as a king with an eye for the girls, while Edna May Oliver is completely convincing as his forever-angry wife. A couple of good moments occur when Morgan's puppet insults the Queen, speaking, as it were, for its puppeteer. Ray Bolger is completely wasted as Eddy's friend and Billy Gilbert's scenes, in which he sneezes over all bystanders, should have tasted the cutting room floor. But for its several great moments, this one is worth watching.
23 Reviews
give the stars their due
blanche-213 August 2015
Eleanor Powell stars with Nelson Eddy, Ray Bolger, Edna May Oliver, and Frank Morgan in "Rosalie" from 1937.
The original music by Romberg and Gershwin was scrapped, and a new score was written by Cole Porter, which is very nice with the title song and "In the Still of the Night" the major songs that come out of it.
The plot is nothing unusual. A Princess (Powell) comes to America, where she hides her identity. She falls for a football playing cadet Dick Thorpe (Nelson Eddy, probably 15 years too old). Then she has to return to her country, Romanza, where she is betrothed to another. Dick follows her there along with his friend Bill (Bolger) whose girlfriend has dumped him.
I have to say that for me, this was Nelson Eddy's best singing - he showed more of his higher range and also demonstrated the ability to sing a high tessitura - I'm not trying to be a snob, that just means that even if music is consistently high, he can sing it. Not everyone can. This movie really made me wonder if there might have been a heldentenor lurking there someplace. Acting-wise he was pretty wooden. I never cared, not with that voice.
Eleanor Powell was delightful, both in her acting and great dancing.
Edna May Oliver is the domineering queen and Morgan is the bumbling King. Truthfully I really only was interested in the singing and dancing. And there was plenty of it, and some amazing sets.
The original music by Romberg and Gershwin was scrapped, and a new score was written by Cole Porter, which is very nice with the title song and "In the Still of the Night" the major songs that come out of it.
The plot is nothing unusual. A Princess (Powell) comes to America, where she hides her identity. She falls for a football playing cadet Dick Thorpe (Nelson Eddy, probably 15 years too old). Then she has to return to her country, Romanza, where she is betrothed to another. Dick follows her there along with his friend Bill (Bolger) whose girlfriend has dumped him.
I have to say that for me, this was Nelson Eddy's best singing - he showed more of his higher range and also demonstrated the ability to sing a high tessitura - I'm not trying to be a snob, that just means that even if music is consistently high, he can sing it. Not everyone can. This movie really made me wonder if there might have been a heldentenor lurking there someplace. Acting-wise he was pretty wooden. I never cared, not with that voice.
Eleanor Powell was delightful, both in her acting and great dancing.
Edna May Oliver is the domineering queen and Morgan is the bumbling King. Truthfully I really only was interested in the singing and dancing. And there was plenty of it, and some amazing sets.
A Mixed Bag
B2414 March 2006
Writing comments about a movie like this one is difficult. The plot and dialogue are atrocious, but the score and visuals are first rate. So one splits the difference and gives it a "5." As some of the few comments thus far have implied, it is a formulaic comedy with loads of prominent character actors of the time reprising roles already played in other movies and on the radio. Audiences in 1937 were for the most part captive to that sort of thing. Diversity of tastes like that of today just did not exist, and everyone going to the movies in small-town America was inclined to go along with the gag mainly because it was literally the only show in town.
When as a lad I paid my 9 cents admission at the box office, I knew I was going to sit through anything they threw at me, including the newsreel at the beginning, the same old cartoons, a dumb serial episode with someone falling off a moving train at the end -- to be continued -- and a main feature in black-and-white that depended more on stock characters and situations than on anything new or scandalous.
Now I watch these same features on Turner Classic Movies with moody nostalgia and total suspension of disbelief. So what if Nelson Eddy at nearly 40 was playing a cadet of half that age? And what about my now knowing that his off-screen person was 180 degrees off the roles he played? His singing is still mesmerizing, an operetta voice the likes of which disappeared ages ago -- indeed a relic of the Nineteenth Century. Even an uncharacteristically inferior Porter tune like "Rosalie" gets a high-class treatment.
Sure, there are better musicals from the 30's, but this one is a piece of history as well as a minor work of art.
When as a lad I paid my 9 cents admission at the box office, I knew I was going to sit through anything they threw at me, including the newsreel at the beginning, the same old cartoons, a dumb serial episode with someone falling off a moving train at the end -- to be continued -- and a main feature in black-and-white that depended more on stock characters and situations than on anything new or scandalous.
Now I watch these same features on Turner Classic Movies with moody nostalgia and total suspension of disbelief. So what if Nelson Eddy at nearly 40 was playing a cadet of half that age? And what about my now knowing that his off-screen person was 180 degrees off the roles he played? His singing is still mesmerizing, an operetta voice the likes of which disappeared ages ago -- indeed a relic of the Nineteenth Century. Even an uncharacteristically inferior Porter tune like "Rosalie" gets a high-class treatment.
Sure, there are better musicals from the 30's, but this one is a piece of history as well as a minor work of art.
Zany
thephonzy8 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Rosalie has to be the most zany musical ever produced!!! The Plot was all right but the chemistry between Eleanor and Nelson is just bland. Eleanor Powell's dancing in this musical was as best as ever. It was a routine which was performed on a tier of giant drums taking Eleanor Powell 2 weeks to rehearse it. It was a very different routine with its desperation in both the music and movements of Eleanor but the end result was a beautiful yet powerful performance by the Queen of Taps!!!!! Ray Bolger and Frank Morgan manage to supply the film with some great humour. Eleanor Powell's West Point Cadet Routine is very likable.
Much lovely music, some nice comedy but an artificial plot.
Art-2222 October 2002
I'm not much of a fan of Eleanor Powell even though she's a marvelous tap dancer. She always struck me as a cold fish - and there's very little chemistry between her and Nelson Eddy (who is in fine voice) so the romance between them seems totally artificial. So is the plot, which involves her being an incognito princess of a small European country, falling in love with football player Eddy, who follows her to her country when she leaves the States to marry a prince. If it weren't for the score by Cole Porter, it would have been a total bust for me. Although the film is vaguely based on the 1928 show of the same name, MGM head Louis B. Mayer opted to have Porter write a completely new score, supplanting the Sigmond Romberg-George Gershwin score of the original. The music is the best part of the movie, with the hauntingly beautiful "In the Still of the Night" a standout. There is some enjoyable comedy provided by Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger and Billy Gilbert, all of whom I enjoyed more than the leads. A bit long at 123 minutes, but worth a look mostly for the music.
Cole Porter reportedly hated the title song, but Louis B. Mayer loved it, and he was the man with the money, so it stayed. With its opulent sets and numerous extras, this was one of the most expensive films made up to that time, but it was also a huge hit.
Cole Porter reportedly hated the title song, but Louis B. Mayer loved it, and he was the man with the money, so it stayed. With its opulent sets and numerous extras, this was one of the most expensive films made up to that time, but it was also a huge hit.
An over-the-top confection of a wedding cake that is delightfully silly.
mark.waltz6 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
MGM really went all out when they put together this adaption of the 1920's Broadway musical, even bringing in a new composer for new songs (Cole Porter) and an odd teaming with Eleanor Powell and Nelson Eddy to basically out-do what Warner Brothers had done with Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell in "Flirtation Walk" and "Shipmates Forever". Since the great W.S. Van Dyke had just scored with the movie version of "The Great Ziegfeld", why not have him top that with one of the largest dance sets and collection of extras, and that is just what you get in "Rosalie".
Eleanor Powell is Rosalie, a European princess incognito who is an exchange student at an American college. Nelson Eddy is a naval cadet who falls in love with her and later finds out her true identity when he visits her country for a Mardi Gras type fiesta. Ventriloquist king Frank Morgan and his imperious wife Edna May Oliver have different ideals of how to run the country (and their daughter), and thanks to the domineering Oliver, Powell is engaged to a member of the nobility (Tom Rutherford) who doesn't love her. Ilona Massey, Powell's companion, is the one he is in love with. This leads to the possibility of the king losing his throne, especially when Powell declares her love for Eddy.
While the story is undoubtedly one of the silliest of operetta plot lines, you can't help but adore this movie because it is so campy. There's the lavish title song which takes place on a drummed set so huge with thousands of extras (their faces pretty much blurred out because there are so many), Eddy's rendering of the Porter standard "In the Still of the Night", and a tap dancing sequence with Powell in naval cadet drag being anything but masculine in her attempts to fool the other cadets she's doing a precision march with. Ray Bolger also gets to dance a bit, and even shares a few scenes with his future "The Wizard of Oz" co-star Frank Morgan. Billy Gilbert has an amusing small role as a sneezing inn keeper.
So forget about the silly story, overlook the lengthy run, and simply delight in the lavish photography, gorgeous sets, and delightful songs. "Rosalie" may not have overtaken "The Great Ziegfeld" as one of MGM's best musicals, but it certainly ranks as one that you won't soon forget.
Eleanor Powell is Rosalie, a European princess incognito who is an exchange student at an American college. Nelson Eddy is a naval cadet who falls in love with her and later finds out her true identity when he visits her country for a Mardi Gras type fiesta. Ventriloquist king Frank Morgan and his imperious wife Edna May Oliver have different ideals of how to run the country (and their daughter), and thanks to the domineering Oliver, Powell is engaged to a member of the nobility (Tom Rutherford) who doesn't love her. Ilona Massey, Powell's companion, is the one he is in love with. This leads to the possibility of the king losing his throne, especially when Powell declares her love for Eddy.
While the story is undoubtedly one of the silliest of operetta plot lines, you can't help but adore this movie because it is so campy. There's the lavish title song which takes place on a drummed set so huge with thousands of extras (their faces pretty much blurred out because there are so many), Eddy's rendering of the Porter standard "In the Still of the Night", and a tap dancing sequence with Powell in naval cadet drag being anything but masculine in her attempts to fool the other cadets she's doing a precision march with. Ray Bolger also gets to dance a bit, and even shares a few scenes with his future "The Wizard of Oz" co-star Frank Morgan. Billy Gilbert has an amusing small role as a sneezing inn keeper.
So forget about the silly story, overlook the lengthy run, and simply delight in the lavish photography, gorgeous sets, and delightful songs. "Rosalie" may not have overtaken "The Great Ziegfeld" as one of MGM's best musicals, but it certainly ranks as one that you won't soon forget.
How did this happen?
alice-3416 July 2003
Take a major studio studio (MGM) celebrated for its musicals. Take a top director (Woody Van Dyke) known for his breezy direction of films like THE THIN MAN, SAN FRANCISCO and NAUGHTY MARIETTA, among many others. Take a handsome singing star (Nelson Eddy) who was the studio's biggest matinee idol at the time, getting more fan mail than Clark Gable. Take a charming young tap-dancing star (Eleanor Powell). Take a score by Cole Porter written especially for the picture, including `In the Still of the Night.' Add some popular supporting actors like Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, and Edna May Oliver, and, for those few who find a professional sneezer amusing, Billy Gilbert.
Take all these elements, spend a small fortune on sets and costumes, and turn out a picture which is among the worst ever made. It's inexplicable. The full-throated Eddy has been turned into a crooner, playing the world's oldest (36) West Point Cadet. Powell's dancing is sprightly but the big centerpiece number, danced on a series of huge drums, can only be called bizarre, Poor Frank Morgan is forced to do most of his performing with a ventriloquist's dummy. There are one or two cute scenes---Powell and Eddy obviously like each other---but mainly this picture is simply awful. What a waste.
Take all these elements, spend a small fortune on sets and costumes, and turn out a picture which is among the worst ever made. It's inexplicable. The full-throated Eddy has been turned into a crooner, playing the world's oldest (36) West Point Cadet. Powell's dancing is sprightly but the big centerpiece number, danced on a series of huge drums, can only be called bizarre, Poor Frank Morgan is forced to do most of his performing with a ventriloquist's dummy. There are one or two cute scenes---Powell and Eddy obviously like each other---but mainly this picture is simply awful. What a waste.
It Took Ten Years To Make This
boblipton13 June 2021
Nelson Eddy is a singing, football-playing West Point cadet, who falls in love with Eleanor Powell and she with him. Her father, King and ventriloquist Frank Morgan, orders her back home to marry Prince Tom Rutherford. She goes, but tells Eddy, who is now a flier, that if he shows up at the spring festival, she will dance with him. He does, and so forth and so forth and so forth.
If that sounds like 1920s musical nonsense, that's because it was: a Marilyn Miller vehicle produced by Ziegfeld. MGM bought it and over the next decade, it evolved from a Marion Davies vehicle to the finished product. They threw out a score by George Gershwin and Sigmund Romberg -- mostly unmemorable, but including "How Long Has This Been Going On?" -- for a mostly mediocre set of songs by Cole Porter, whom Mayer badgered into writing, on the fifth try, "In The Still Of The Night." Then he had to badger Eddy into singing it.
It's one of those movies that halts so Billy Gilbert can do his sneezing routine, or Ray Bolger a lightning eccentric tap routine. The flimsiness of the plot encourages it with a style of musical that had not yet fully differentiated the book musical from the revue. Ten years later, MGM hadn't gotten the word, so Miss Powell's big dance number is a farrago that relates to nothing but the immense and varied set she dances through. The revue bits are good, and director Woody Van Dyke and DP Oliver Marsh make sure everything gets on screen, but if they had cut the plot and left the revue, it would have been better.
Oh well. "How Long Has This Been Going On?" was a trunk song anyway.
If that sounds like 1920s musical nonsense, that's because it was: a Marilyn Miller vehicle produced by Ziegfeld. MGM bought it and over the next decade, it evolved from a Marion Davies vehicle to the finished product. They threw out a score by George Gershwin and Sigmund Romberg -- mostly unmemorable, but including "How Long Has This Been Going On?" -- for a mostly mediocre set of songs by Cole Porter, whom Mayer badgered into writing, on the fifth try, "In The Still Of The Night." Then he had to badger Eddy into singing it.
It's one of those movies that halts so Billy Gilbert can do his sneezing routine, or Ray Bolger a lightning eccentric tap routine. The flimsiness of the plot encourages it with a style of musical that had not yet fully differentiated the book musical from the revue. Ten years later, MGM hadn't gotten the word, so Miss Powell's big dance number is a farrago that relates to nothing but the immense and varied set she dances through. The revue bits are good, and director Woody Van Dyke and DP Oliver Marsh make sure everything gets on screen, but if they had cut the plot and left the revue, it would have been better.
Oh well. "How Long Has This Been Going On?" was a trunk song anyway.
Half good; half bad
ccthemovieman-116 November 2005
The first half of this classic movie musical is good. The second half was a big disappointment.
The first half is interesting with likable characters and a couple of good song- and-dance numbers. The second half features a sappy romance and drags on too long.
Frank Morgan doesn't help things. His "bumbling king" character simply gets irritating after awhile. Eleanor Powell is miscast as a romantic "princess" lead. She just isn't that pretty or convincing as an actress. As everyone knows, she was a far better dancer than an actor
Nelson Eddy's singing is okay but, boy, does it sound corny and dated nowadays. Ray Bolger's comedy isn't funny; it's stupid.
On the positive side, some of the elaborate Busby Berkeley-type dance sets are elaborate and astounding. It's amazing to view. Powell's tap dancing is always entertaining, although I've seen better numbers from her in the Broadway Melody series.
The first half is interesting with likable characters and a couple of good song- and-dance numbers. The second half features a sappy romance and drags on too long.
Frank Morgan doesn't help things. His "bumbling king" character simply gets irritating after awhile. Eleanor Powell is miscast as a romantic "princess" lead. She just isn't that pretty or convincing as an actress. As everyone knows, she was a far better dancer than an actor
Nelson Eddy's singing is okay but, boy, does it sound corny and dated nowadays. Ray Bolger's comedy isn't funny; it's stupid.
On the positive side, some of the elaborate Busby Berkeley-type dance sets are elaborate and astounding. It's amazing to view. Powell's tap dancing is always entertaining, although I've seen better numbers from her in the Broadway Melody series.
Needs trimming, but what and how?
JohnHowardReid28 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
A super-expensive movie with a huge amount of money tied up in the most elaborate sets – all designed by Merrill Pye without any input whatever by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's reigning art director, Cedric Gibbons. As head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's art department, Gibbons contract specified that he be credited as art director on all Metro's productions, irrespective of whether he had or had not made any contributions. Gibbons protested loud and long when Pye was given a solo credit for Dancing Lady. To get around this problem, the studio made up the credit, "musical presentation", even though Pye had nothing whatever to do with the music. It simply means that Pye was the art director and that he designed the sets for most of the film, particularly – but not limited to – its musical numbers. Pye had an assistant, of course, and for this film his top assistant was Joseph C. Wright who even designed a few of the sets such as the airport control room himself without any input from Pye. Well, I've spent a lot of space discussing the sets and you might come away with the impression that the sets are one of the most important features of the movie. They are! They're really fabulous. The story, however, is a lightweight which not only positively creaks under the welcome load of song and dance but collapses altogether from the strain of supporting an incredibly lightweight but extremely heavy- handed plot. Nelson Eddy sinks under the strain, Ray Bolger really out-stays his welcome, and the juvenile kid who plays such a large part in the plot is not welcome at all. Neither, surprisingly is Edna May Oliver, who seems right out of her depth here. Maybe she was just having a bad day. The same might also be said of Frank Morgan, although he does play half his scenes quite ably. I'd like to get my hands on a print of Rosalie, and edit out the bloopers – particularly Mr. Bolger and Master Bond (who figures way, way down the cast list for some reason, despite the size of his role). Nelson Eddy's scenes could also stand a little trimming. He's also given far too many synthetic close-ups, but there's little we can about that as it would mean scissoring Cole Porter's superb score. Available on an excellent Warner DVD.
Not very easy to rate
TheLittleSongbird16 September 2013
A film with the likes of Frank Morgan in support, a wonderful tap dancer such as Eleanor Powell and Nelson Eddy who possessed perhaps the most beautiful baritone voice on film does promise a fair bit. Sadly this promise is not exactly lived up to and it is one of those films that is difficult to rate. There are some definite good things. It is a very sumptuous film in the costumes and sets and it's beautifully shot. The music features a pleasant score from Cole Porter and the song In the Still of the Night is a catchy and beautiful song, while the choreography dazzles in energy(very like how Ilona Massey dazzles in her beauty)- especially in the title number- providing the film's best moments. Eddy sings divinely and Powell's tap dancing is equally a wonder, in support Frank Morgan is amusingly bumbling and Edna May Oliver is her usual solid self. Ray Bolger is however wasted and not funny at all, agreed that stupid is more like it, and Billy Gilbert's shtick here comes across as crass. While Eddy is on top form vocally, he is stiff and looks miserable, not showing much chemistry with Powell excepting some cute moments. The script is lacking in wit, sometimes soppy, sometimes crass and veers on bizarre. And while the story has great song and dance numbers and nice likable moments in the first half, it is mostly dull, predictable and the second half(not helped by an overly-sappy and underdeveloped romance) just doesn't engage. All in all, a mixture of good and bad, not easy to rate. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Rosalie of Romanza
bkoganbing14 December 2004
Rosalie marked Nelson Eddy's first starring film without Jeanette MacDonald. That being the case MGM certainly didn't want Mr. Eddy to wander too far afield. If Nelson couldn't swap high notes with his co-star Eleanor Powell than at least all the kittenish banter that also characterized the Eddy-MacDonald movies was certainly left in tact.
MGM obviously bought this property after looking at the success Warner Brothers was having with Dick Powell in Flirtation Walk and Shipmates Forever. Powell was in his mid 30s when he did those roles as a cadet and midshipman respectively. Nelson Eddy was also in his 30s, in fact three years older than Dick Powell. But he looks like a man in his 30s and doesn't quite come off believably as a cadet.
That being said, movie audiences came to hear Nelson Eddy sing and MGM which scrapped the original score which was done by both Sigmund Romberg and George Gershwin, got Cole Porter to write a new one. And it's a good one. The title song Rosalie became a big hit, recorded by a number of artists and the classic In the Still of the Night is from this film. Oddly enough, probably because Nelson Eddy was so identified with operetta, these two Cole Porter songs never became identified with him per se.
Nelson also got the infinitely more talented Eleanor Powell as a co-star where Powell had Ruby Keeler for both his movies. MGM went whole hog on glamour with her numbers, probably the most spectacular she ever did on screen. She's also far more believable as a princess than Eddy as a cadet.
Supporting Eddy as his best friend and fellow cadet was Ray Bolger who has one dance number near a crate of fireworks which he accidentally sets off and sets off an revolution. Movies never knew quite what to do with Bolger. He certainly didn't have the look of a hero and most of his film roles were comedic supporting parts. On Broadway he was a big star and was the lead in such great hits as On Your Toes, By Jupiter, Charley's Aunt and The All American, only Charley's Aunt of which he did on screen.
Of course no one can talk about the supporting cast without mentioning two of the great players in studio era Hollywood. Frank Morgan and Edna May Oliver played off each other beautifully as Eleanor Powell's parents, the King and Queen of Romanza. Horsefaced faced Edna May Oliver played so many harridans in her career she practically took a patent out on those parts. That was one formidable lady on screen.
Complementing her completely was Frank Morgan's also copyrighted picture of befuddlement. Having read enough history to know that a whole lot of monarchs WERE as confused and befuddled as Morgan, lends a ring of authenticity to his role. He appeared almost exclusively for MGM in his career and was never bad in anything he did.
Rosalie was a prime example of the delightful nonsense that Hollywood used to do so well.
MGM obviously bought this property after looking at the success Warner Brothers was having with Dick Powell in Flirtation Walk and Shipmates Forever. Powell was in his mid 30s when he did those roles as a cadet and midshipman respectively. Nelson Eddy was also in his 30s, in fact three years older than Dick Powell. But he looks like a man in his 30s and doesn't quite come off believably as a cadet.
That being said, movie audiences came to hear Nelson Eddy sing and MGM which scrapped the original score which was done by both Sigmund Romberg and George Gershwin, got Cole Porter to write a new one. And it's a good one. The title song Rosalie became a big hit, recorded by a number of artists and the classic In the Still of the Night is from this film. Oddly enough, probably because Nelson Eddy was so identified with operetta, these two Cole Porter songs never became identified with him per se.
Nelson also got the infinitely more talented Eleanor Powell as a co-star where Powell had Ruby Keeler for both his movies. MGM went whole hog on glamour with her numbers, probably the most spectacular she ever did on screen. She's also far more believable as a princess than Eddy as a cadet.
Supporting Eddy as his best friend and fellow cadet was Ray Bolger who has one dance number near a crate of fireworks which he accidentally sets off and sets off an revolution. Movies never knew quite what to do with Bolger. He certainly didn't have the look of a hero and most of his film roles were comedic supporting parts. On Broadway he was a big star and was the lead in such great hits as On Your Toes, By Jupiter, Charley's Aunt and The All American, only Charley's Aunt of which he did on screen.
Of course no one can talk about the supporting cast without mentioning two of the great players in studio era Hollywood. Frank Morgan and Edna May Oliver played off each other beautifully as Eleanor Powell's parents, the King and Queen of Romanza. Horsefaced faced Edna May Oliver played so many harridans in her career she practically took a patent out on those parts. That was one formidable lady on screen.
Complementing her completely was Frank Morgan's also copyrighted picture of befuddlement. Having read enough history to know that a whole lot of monarchs WERE as confused and befuddled as Morgan, lends a ring of authenticity to his role. He appeared almost exclusively for MGM in his career and was never bad in anything he did.
Rosalie was a prime example of the delightful nonsense that Hollywood used to do so well.
"I love Dick. That's why I'm crying."
utgard1423 November 2014
West Point cadet Dick (Nelson Eddy) falls for foreign princess Rosalie (Eleanor Powell). He doesn't know she's a princess, though (they never do in movies). Rosalie is called back to her country to marry another guy. Dick follows along to win her heart. When he finds out who she is and that she's engaged, he heads back to America. Then the movie ends with everybody miserable. Just kidding.
36 year-old Nelson Eddy as a West Point cadet is a stretch but we'll overlook that. He does fine and better than fine when singing. Eleanor Powell smiles her way through the whole picture but it's such a pretty smile that I doubt anybody minds. There's some funny parts, such as the airport guys and the ventriloquist bits. Great supporting cast includes Edna May Oliver, George Zucco, Virginia Grey, Reginald Owen, and future Oz costars Ray Bolger and Frank Morgan. Thickly-accented Ilona Massey plays Powell's friend. She's lovely to look at but hard to understand. With a cast like this and such good production values, it really should have been a classic. Unfortunately, there are some problems with it. For one, it's overlong. A movie with such a banal plot has no business being over two hours long. Also, the two leads have little romantic chemistry. They're both likable but there's just no spark.
It's a musical with Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell so, it stands to reason, most of us will watch for the singing and dancing. The Cole Porter songs are sung well. "In the Still of the Night" is the stand-out tune. As is usually the case with her movies, Powell's dancing is the highlight of the film. She gets three tap numbers, including an impressive routine on big drums. All three numbers are fantastic. Watching Powell dance is always a treat and you should watch the movie for that, if nothing else.
36 year-old Nelson Eddy as a West Point cadet is a stretch but we'll overlook that. He does fine and better than fine when singing. Eleanor Powell smiles her way through the whole picture but it's such a pretty smile that I doubt anybody minds. There's some funny parts, such as the airport guys and the ventriloquist bits. Great supporting cast includes Edna May Oliver, George Zucco, Virginia Grey, Reginald Owen, and future Oz costars Ray Bolger and Frank Morgan. Thickly-accented Ilona Massey plays Powell's friend. She's lovely to look at but hard to understand. With a cast like this and such good production values, it really should have been a classic. Unfortunately, there are some problems with it. For one, it's overlong. A movie with such a banal plot has no business being over two hours long. Also, the two leads have little romantic chemistry. They're both likable but there's just no spark.
It's a musical with Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell so, it stands to reason, most of us will watch for the singing and dancing. The Cole Porter songs are sung well. "In the Still of the Night" is the stand-out tune. As is usually the case with her movies, Powell's dancing is the highlight of the film. She gets three tap numbers, including an impressive routine on big drums. All three numbers are fantastic. Watching Powell dance is always a treat and you should watch the movie for that, if nothing else.
His Majesty Love
lugonian25 July 2015
ROSALIE (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937), directed by W.S. Van Dyke II, is a super duper-duper production based on the Florenz Ziegfeld stage musical of the same name starring Marilyn Miller. Rather than reproduction of the 1928 play with the George Gershwin songs intact, MGM retains much of the scenario, substituting its original score with new ones by Cole Porter. In true Hollywood fashion, especially when MGM is concerned, there's little or nothing recognizable from its transition from stage to screen. Coming at a time where single name movie titles were hitting the musical screen, ROBERTA (RKO, 1935), and COLLEEN (Warners, 1936) being among them, ROSALIE follows in that category. In fact, ROSALIE in title can easily be mistaken for MGM's previous success of ROSE-MARIE, considering how both sound alike and each featuring baritone singer Nelson Eddy, whose name comes ahead its title character, the BORN TO DANCE dancing sensation of Eleanor Powell. Rather than an operetta-based production in the scale of Eddy's previous works, NAUGHTY MARIETTA (1935), ROSE-MARIE (1936) and MAYTIME (1937), all opposite his most famous partner, Jeanette MacDonald, ROSALIE is contemporary at best, mixing modern songs with a dose of opera performed by newcomer, the Hungarian born Ilona Massey.
Opening at a football stadium with Army vs. the Navy, Dick Thorpe (Nelson Eddy), a All-American Army West Point cadet halfback, scores a winning touchdown for his team. Along with his best friend, Bill Delroy (Ray Bolger) and fellow cadets, the team marches over to a night club for a victory party. While there, Dick is introduced to Rosalie Callahan (Eleanor Powell) of Vassar college, and her best friend, Brenda (Ilona Massey). After becoming acquainted on the dance floor, Rosalie finds Dick conceded and the sort of guy who "wouldn't go a block to see any girl." When Rosalie, actually the Princess Romanikoff of Romanza, and Brenda, her lady-in-waiting, through the king's command by messenger, General Maroff (George Zucco), are to return to their country. Rosalie does so unhappily as she's to marry Prince Paul (Tom Rutherford), a man of her Queen mother's choice. Unable to forge Rosalie, Dick proves her wrong by going the extra 4,000 miles via airplane to her country, unaware she's of royal blood related to the Queen (Edna May Oliver) and her ventriloquist husband, King Frederic (Frank Morgan). Unforeseen circumstances occur having Dick return to West Point, with Rosalie and her royal family not very far behind.
Somewhat comparable to First National's earlier success of FLIRTATION WALK (1934), particularly during its West Point segments as Nelson Eddy does a Dick Powell, Eleanor Powell as his Ruby Keeler, and Ray Bolger in the physical sense of Ross Alexander. As much as Eddy and Powell do their best complimenting each other in style and performance, there's little contrast between them. ROSALIE starts off fine and dandy in high level of entertainment. Once it shifts over to Romanza, it loses something in the translation, weakened by some overlong comedy by the sneezing Billy Gilbert and Jerry Colonna, and moments involving Frank Morgan with his hideous looking dummy that should have been either shortened or scrapped altogether. Had ROSALIE been theatrically released at most 105 rather than at 123 minutes, it might have succeeded. Eleanor Powell playing a princess of foreign origin doesn't fit in with her personality. Her character introduction at the football stadium has her speaking with an accent, an accent she immediately disappears soon after-wards. The accented Ilona Massey would have been a better fit, though she wasn't a big enough name to carry an entire story.
With MGM scrapping songs from the play, the writers should have changed the story having Powell cast as a Boston heiress whose snobbish parents forbid her goal as a dancer on Broadway. The Romanza segment, which passes for the Land of Oz through portions through its orchestration, should have played as a dream sequence for the Eddy character considering all the unbelievability and lavish scale settings with cast of thousands that might have been acceptable for some viewers. Other members of the cast include Reginald Owen; Virginia Grey (Mary, Delroy's love interest); William Demarest; Al Shean, Janet Beecher, and the uncredited Tommy Bond in a sizable role as Mickey, the mascot.
While FLIRTATION WALK offers little as opposed to ROSALIE's over abundance of music, the motion picture soundtrack is as follows: "One Brave Old Army Team," "The Caissons Go Rolling Along," "Anchor's Aweigh," "Who Knows?" "Who Knows?" (reprise); "I've Got a Strange New Rhythm in My Heart," "Rosalie," "Why Should I Care?" "M'Apparicah Sopures" from MARTHA by Frederick Von Froth; "Spring Love is in the Air," "The Polovetsian Dance," "Rosalie," "In the Still of the Night," "Addio," "It's All Over But the Shouting," "To Love or Not to Love," John Phillip Souse Medley: "The Washington Post March," El Capitan," and "Stars and Stripes Forever," (mixed with "Who knows?)" "In the Still of the Night," Felix Mendelsson's "The Wedding March"; "Oh, Promise Me," and "Rosalie." Best moments are Nelson Eddy's introduction to a classic Cole Porter song, "In the Heat of the Night," along with Powell's tap-dancing solo on top of giant drums at the festivities, along with a personal favorite of she leading the cadet ensemble to marching band music, which might have been better suited as part of a West Point military show rather than part of the fantasized story.
Distributed to video cassette in 1986 through MGM/UA, and years later onto the DVD format, this million dollar movie can be seen on occasion on Turner Classic Movies. With so much to offer except Technicolor, ROSALIE is further evidence that big is not necessarily better. Then again, "Who knows?" (***)
Opening at a football stadium with Army vs. the Navy, Dick Thorpe (Nelson Eddy), a All-American Army West Point cadet halfback, scores a winning touchdown for his team. Along with his best friend, Bill Delroy (Ray Bolger) and fellow cadets, the team marches over to a night club for a victory party. While there, Dick is introduced to Rosalie Callahan (Eleanor Powell) of Vassar college, and her best friend, Brenda (Ilona Massey). After becoming acquainted on the dance floor, Rosalie finds Dick conceded and the sort of guy who "wouldn't go a block to see any girl." When Rosalie, actually the Princess Romanikoff of Romanza, and Brenda, her lady-in-waiting, through the king's command by messenger, General Maroff (George Zucco), are to return to their country. Rosalie does so unhappily as she's to marry Prince Paul (Tom Rutherford), a man of her Queen mother's choice. Unable to forge Rosalie, Dick proves her wrong by going the extra 4,000 miles via airplane to her country, unaware she's of royal blood related to the Queen (Edna May Oliver) and her ventriloquist husband, King Frederic (Frank Morgan). Unforeseen circumstances occur having Dick return to West Point, with Rosalie and her royal family not very far behind.
Somewhat comparable to First National's earlier success of FLIRTATION WALK (1934), particularly during its West Point segments as Nelson Eddy does a Dick Powell, Eleanor Powell as his Ruby Keeler, and Ray Bolger in the physical sense of Ross Alexander. As much as Eddy and Powell do their best complimenting each other in style and performance, there's little contrast between them. ROSALIE starts off fine and dandy in high level of entertainment. Once it shifts over to Romanza, it loses something in the translation, weakened by some overlong comedy by the sneezing Billy Gilbert and Jerry Colonna, and moments involving Frank Morgan with his hideous looking dummy that should have been either shortened or scrapped altogether. Had ROSALIE been theatrically released at most 105 rather than at 123 minutes, it might have succeeded. Eleanor Powell playing a princess of foreign origin doesn't fit in with her personality. Her character introduction at the football stadium has her speaking with an accent, an accent she immediately disappears soon after-wards. The accented Ilona Massey would have been a better fit, though she wasn't a big enough name to carry an entire story.
With MGM scrapping songs from the play, the writers should have changed the story having Powell cast as a Boston heiress whose snobbish parents forbid her goal as a dancer on Broadway. The Romanza segment, which passes for the Land of Oz through portions through its orchestration, should have played as a dream sequence for the Eddy character considering all the unbelievability and lavish scale settings with cast of thousands that might have been acceptable for some viewers. Other members of the cast include Reginald Owen; Virginia Grey (Mary, Delroy's love interest); William Demarest; Al Shean, Janet Beecher, and the uncredited Tommy Bond in a sizable role as Mickey, the mascot.
While FLIRTATION WALK offers little as opposed to ROSALIE's over abundance of music, the motion picture soundtrack is as follows: "One Brave Old Army Team," "The Caissons Go Rolling Along," "Anchor's Aweigh," "Who Knows?" "Who Knows?" (reprise); "I've Got a Strange New Rhythm in My Heart," "Rosalie," "Why Should I Care?" "M'Apparicah Sopures" from MARTHA by Frederick Von Froth; "Spring Love is in the Air," "The Polovetsian Dance," "Rosalie," "In the Still of the Night," "Addio," "It's All Over But the Shouting," "To Love or Not to Love," John Phillip Souse Medley: "The Washington Post March," El Capitan," and "Stars and Stripes Forever," (mixed with "Who knows?)" "In the Still of the Night," Felix Mendelsson's "The Wedding March"; "Oh, Promise Me," and "Rosalie." Best moments are Nelson Eddy's introduction to a classic Cole Porter song, "In the Heat of the Night," along with Powell's tap-dancing solo on top of giant drums at the festivities, along with a personal favorite of she leading the cadet ensemble to marching band music, which might have been better suited as part of a West Point military show rather than part of the fantasized story.
Distributed to video cassette in 1986 through MGM/UA, and years later onto the DVD format, this million dollar movie can be seen on occasion on Turner Classic Movies. With so much to offer except Technicolor, ROSALIE is further evidence that big is not necessarily better. Then again, "Who knows?" (***)
Eleanor Powell in uniform!
wetcircuit29 June 2007
Fans of Eleanor Powell will wonder how she detoured into this Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy overblown costume piece -- and in the role of Jeanette MacDonald no less! Whereas delicate Jeanette would have floated through this pageant with an air of fluttering dignity, pants-wearing Ellie delivers too much punch for a princess. She barks most of her lines and unfortunately comes off as a bitch. A more delicate actress would have softened the barrage of "womanly" insults laid on Nelson Eddy and we would know this meant she was smitten. But with the confidant and athletic Powell delivering the insults you really start to wonder if wooden Eddy is a masochist or just extremely submissive. It's an electric energy that cost Powell her spotlight, and didn't fit with MGM's idea of what a feminine leading lady should be.
Those who are fascinated by Ellie's unusual (at least on film) gender-play will be thrilled to see her "go all the way" and dress as a man to sneak into a military academy where she leads the cadets in a marching drill in front of a phallic war memorial. While Powell is hardly mannish (and here with Jeanette's wardrobe and make-up budget she never looked prettier) the production plays with her "masculinity" and dresses her in all extremes of buttoned-downed marching band jackets and crisp uniforms, interspersed with overly feminine gowns with frou-frou puffy sleeves and Jeanette's corkscrew curls. It's an inconsistent and mostly unsuccessful gender dichotomy -- especially when compared to her smart wardrobe play and winning charisma in the Broadway Melody films.
Her tap numbers are too few and too short -- a Pieroette "ballet" on giant drums is an weird jumble of inconsistent imagery, and a brief scene with Ray Bolger makes you wish they'd shared a competitive dance of lightning legwork rather than the time-wasting dialog in the script. Other supporting players are also underused: as the Queen Edna May Oliver appears briefly in a tiered nightgown that exaggerates her Olive Oil frame, and Frank Morgan does his best to keep the banter rolling as a befuddled monarch with a ventriloquist dummy, but there isn't enough comedy here to entertain. A sudden accidental revolution in the tiny Balkan monarchy has potential, but is dropped just as quickly. Even the production numbers are too short, following the pattern of the other MacDonald/Eddy films where actual choreography and musical style are ignored for lots and lots of extras arranged in expensive costumes and plenty of operetta bombast from Eddy.
Other than seeing Eleanor Powell in one of her few starring roles this is a forgettable film that shows no one to advantage, except possibly MGM's costume department. I can see how this was originally a vehicle for Marion Davies because the sets are jaw-droppingly huge.
Those who are fascinated by Ellie's unusual (at least on film) gender-play will be thrilled to see her "go all the way" and dress as a man to sneak into a military academy where she leads the cadets in a marching drill in front of a phallic war memorial. While Powell is hardly mannish (and here with Jeanette's wardrobe and make-up budget she never looked prettier) the production plays with her "masculinity" and dresses her in all extremes of buttoned-downed marching band jackets and crisp uniforms, interspersed with overly feminine gowns with frou-frou puffy sleeves and Jeanette's corkscrew curls. It's an inconsistent and mostly unsuccessful gender dichotomy -- especially when compared to her smart wardrobe play and winning charisma in the Broadway Melody films.
Her tap numbers are too few and too short -- a Pieroette "ballet" on giant drums is an weird jumble of inconsistent imagery, and a brief scene with Ray Bolger makes you wish they'd shared a competitive dance of lightning legwork rather than the time-wasting dialog in the script. Other supporting players are also underused: as the Queen Edna May Oliver appears briefly in a tiered nightgown that exaggerates her Olive Oil frame, and Frank Morgan does his best to keep the banter rolling as a befuddled monarch with a ventriloquist dummy, but there isn't enough comedy here to entertain. A sudden accidental revolution in the tiny Balkan monarchy has potential, but is dropped just as quickly. Even the production numbers are too short, following the pattern of the other MacDonald/Eddy films where actual choreography and musical style are ignored for lots and lots of extras arranged in expensive costumes and plenty of operetta bombast from Eddy.
Other than seeing Eleanor Powell in one of her few starring roles this is a forgettable film that shows no one to advantage, except possibly MGM's costume department. I can see how this was originally a vehicle for Marion Davies because the sets are jaw-droppingly huge.
Not a bullseye but definitely on target
itsmits19 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Music historians have indicated that the title song from "Rosalie" was not a favorite of Indiana born Cole Porter. It is reported that the head of the studio had Mr. Porter rewrite the lyrics a half dozen times before finally accepting the submitted version for production. It has also been reported that the polish which characterized the composer's work seemed to lose its luster with each rewrite. A comparison of the final product with other gems from his repertoire would seem to prove the point. Nevertheless, with the haunting "In The Still Of The Night", Cole Porter performed the magic of producing a classic standard in consecutive years in consecutive films having given us "I've Got You Under My Skin" in "Born To Dance" in 1936.
Although it has been seven decades since MGM produced this musical, memory has not dimmed the vision of the Hungarian beauty Illona Massey in a debut appearance on the Hollywood screen. The soundtrack listing credits her with a performance of a number entitled "Spring Love Is In The Air". Alas, the copy of the movie which I viewed did not include this number. She did co-star with Nelson Eddy in a subsequent movie called "Balalaika" and her voice was pleasant although not memorable.
The excellence of the supporting cast with all their comedic skills could not lift this movie to the level of 'blockbuster' but no self respecting Eleanor Powell nor Nelson Eddy fan would dare skip this movie.
Although it has been seven decades since MGM produced this musical, memory has not dimmed the vision of the Hungarian beauty Illona Massey in a debut appearance on the Hollywood screen. The soundtrack listing credits her with a performance of a number entitled "Spring Love Is In The Air". Alas, the copy of the movie which I viewed did not include this number. She did co-star with Nelson Eddy in a subsequent movie called "Balalaika" and her voice was pleasant although not memorable.
The excellence of the supporting cast with all their comedic skills could not lift this movie to the level of 'blockbuster' but no self respecting Eleanor Powell nor Nelson Eddy fan would dare skip this movie.
All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!
Forn5517 September 2011
"Rosalie" is possibly the movie people are thinking of when they remark, "I hate musicals." This 1937 MGM extravaganza has the stars, the music, the costumes, the over-the-top sets, the silly filmscript and the giddy, romantic settings that have become synonymous with the big, Hollywood musicals of the 1930's and '40's. So... why doesn't it work? Director W.S. Van Dyke (also credited with box office musical hits such as "Naughty Marietta") certainly knew how to pace his material; he's ably assisted here by a Cole Porter score, two big box-office stars (Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell), a rafter of comedic supporting players (including Frank Morgan and Edna May Oliver doing their best Frank Morgan and Edna May Oliver imitations) and a gazillion dancing, singing extras.
Perhaps the movie's failure lies in the fact that there's very little romantic heat generated between Eddy and Powell. If you're making a foolish (and "Rosalie" is nothing if not foolish) boy-meets-girl movie musical, you'd better have sparks flying between your boy and girl. Golden-throated Nelson Eddy does his moon-calf best to gaze adoringly at Eleanor Powell, but the only time you believe Eleanor Powell's character is when she's telling Eddy that she hates him. Which she does repeatedly during the course of the movie's two hours. In a movie like "Rosalie," the lack of chemistry between the two stars is a death sentence. All of a sudden, the viewer notices the threadbare plot, the formulaic comedy, the ridiculous settings (from West Point and Vassar to a mythic, Balkan kingdom named 'Romanza' which is apparently so small that Eddy and sidekick Ray Bolger have trouble finding it on a map but which is still large enough to be able to turn out ten million gorgeously arrayed peasants for big musical numbers) and the basic silliness of it all. In a romantic musical where there is chemistry between the stars, the audience forgives and accepts all; where chemistry is lacking, the audience suddenly realizes the movie hasn't a brain in its head.
Still, there are moments in "Rosalie" that make it worth watching. Does it matter that all those moments are music and dance numbers? Nope. That's what a musical is for.
Perhaps the movie's failure lies in the fact that there's very little romantic heat generated between Eddy and Powell. If you're making a foolish (and "Rosalie" is nothing if not foolish) boy-meets-girl movie musical, you'd better have sparks flying between your boy and girl. Golden-throated Nelson Eddy does his moon-calf best to gaze adoringly at Eleanor Powell, but the only time you believe Eleanor Powell's character is when she's telling Eddy that she hates him. Which she does repeatedly during the course of the movie's two hours. In a movie like "Rosalie," the lack of chemistry between the two stars is a death sentence. All of a sudden, the viewer notices the threadbare plot, the formulaic comedy, the ridiculous settings (from West Point and Vassar to a mythic, Balkan kingdom named 'Romanza' which is apparently so small that Eddy and sidekick Ray Bolger have trouble finding it on a map but which is still large enough to be able to turn out ten million gorgeously arrayed peasants for big musical numbers) and the basic silliness of it all. In a romantic musical where there is chemistry between the stars, the audience forgives and accepts all; where chemistry is lacking, the audience suddenly realizes the movie hasn't a brain in its head.
Still, there are moments in "Rosalie" that make it worth watching. Does it matter that all those moments are music and dance numbers? Nope. That's what a musical is for.
Frank Morgan's ventriliquism is quite creepy
HotToastyRag2 February 2020
Nelson Eddy without Jeanette MacDonald? It must only be one movie: Rosalie, starring Eleanor Powell as his leading lady. In this classic story, a West Point cadet falls for a princess, but since she's on vacation at the time, he doesn't know she's royalty. Normally, I'd write about a standout solo from Nelson, or one of Ellie's powerhouse dance numbers, but there's really nothing good that stands out from this movie.
The one part that did stick with me was Frank Morgan's disturbing character. He plays Ellie's father, the king, unhappily married to Queen Edna May Oliver, and completely inept at running his country. To act out, he carries a dummy with him at all times and frequently uses ventriloquism to say what he's feeling. While it's true that many people who practice ventriloquism have that same emotional problem, Frank's spot-on performance is extremely creepy. He comes across as having more than one screw loose in his head, and his awkward giggles come at the wrong time to be looked at as harmless bumbling. This movie will not make you like him, and for that matter, it won't impress you with Nelson Eddy's beautiful voice or Eleanor Powell's phenomenal dancing. Skip this one and rent something else tonight.
The one part that did stick with me was Frank Morgan's disturbing character. He plays Ellie's father, the king, unhappily married to Queen Edna May Oliver, and completely inept at running his country. To act out, he carries a dummy with him at all times and frequently uses ventriloquism to say what he's feeling. While it's true that many people who practice ventriloquism have that same emotional problem, Frank's spot-on performance is extremely creepy. He comes across as having more than one screw loose in his head, and his awkward giggles come at the wrong time to be looked at as harmless bumbling. This movie will not make you like him, and for that matter, it won't impress you with Nelson Eddy's beautiful voice or Eleanor Powell's phenomenal dancing. Skip this one and rent something else tonight.
How could MGM have spent so much money on such a lackluster picture?
richard-178723 November 2023
This movie has several huge dance numbers - not just big, but huge. Huge, elaborate sets, with dozens and dozens of people in beautiful costumes.
But the numbers are uninspired. Eleanor Powell's famous Rosalie number, where she dances on drums and then through hoops of what looks like plastic, must have taken endless rehearsals and astounding energy. But it just isn't interesting.
And neither are the Cole Porter songs. The title song is ok. In the Still of the NIght starts off great but loses steam after the first line. The rest of the numbers are totally forgettable.
And the script is strictly from hunger. Some very fine actors wasted on lines and situations that go nowhere. Frank Morgan, a great actor, looks downright embarrassed when he has to appear with that ugly dummy.
I cannot understand why MGM poured so much money into what was so clearly a dud.
In all fairness, however, it was one of the top box office hits of 1937, far outearning pictures that we today regard as classics. How it did that I can't say.
Watch it at your own risk.
But the numbers are uninspired. Eleanor Powell's famous Rosalie number, where she dances on drums and then through hoops of what looks like plastic, must have taken endless rehearsals and astounding energy. But it just isn't interesting.
And neither are the Cole Porter songs. The title song is ok. In the Still of the NIght starts off great but loses steam after the first line. The rest of the numbers are totally forgettable.
And the script is strictly from hunger. Some very fine actors wasted on lines and situations that go nowhere. Frank Morgan, a great actor, looks downright embarrassed when he has to appear with that ugly dummy.
I cannot understand why MGM poured so much money into what was so clearly a dud.
In all fairness, however, it was one of the top box office hits of 1937, far outearning pictures that we today regard as classics. How it did that I can't say.
Watch it at your own risk.
A fantastic confection of days long gone....
tomgoblin-4462021 November 2018
Like someone you're in love with, it's not perfect...but, you are still in love.
Like an impossible wedding cake ( a simile mentioned earlier by Mark) that towers so far as to be fantastic...."Rosalie" portrays (in very imaginative form) a world that never truly existed. Yes, the basest ingredients are real but, then they are lifted into a sort of dream land. With the "advanced" technologies of the thirties and forties the film is able to stage a play far different (in a good way) far from what could be done by the operas of the 17th and 19th centuries. However they are the natural descendants of those "purely analog" experiences.
Then there are the stars....STARS. The success of "Rosalie" is that it is good enough to draw one in and make one forget that this time period was full of turmoil (including revolution) ... scrubbed clean with added layers of frosting. The cinema then was a very, very, successful escape from the grim toughness of "real life" in the Thirties. What I like the very best is that IRONY has been banished. A good enough reason to recommend it! I'm reminded a little of the "Wizard of Oz" (with the cast including the brilliant Frank Morgan and the "Tin Man" himself, Ray Bolger) ...a complete fantasy. Rosalie has one foot in the fantasy world of the "Wizard" and another in the undeniable talents of the stars...E. Powell and N. Eddy.
The miracle here is that they can "make us believe", not with the intensity of the audiences when it was released (one can only imagine their fascination) but, with a small portion of that. And that fragment is quite a portion indeed.
Sit back, relax (with a bottle of wine) and look back to an idealized play on the world...gone forever except on film.
Imagine it in full color and 3D and you'd have a 21st century ground breaking (almost hallucinogenic) masterpiece! However,I'm happy with it just the way it is.
Like an impossible wedding cake ( a simile mentioned earlier by Mark) that towers so far as to be fantastic...."Rosalie" portrays (in very imaginative form) a world that never truly existed. Yes, the basest ingredients are real but, then they are lifted into a sort of dream land. With the "advanced" technologies of the thirties and forties the film is able to stage a play far different (in a good way) far from what could be done by the operas of the 17th and 19th centuries. However they are the natural descendants of those "purely analog" experiences.
Then there are the stars....STARS. The success of "Rosalie" is that it is good enough to draw one in and make one forget that this time period was full of turmoil (including revolution) ... scrubbed clean with added layers of frosting. The cinema then was a very, very, successful escape from the grim toughness of "real life" in the Thirties. What I like the very best is that IRONY has been banished. A good enough reason to recommend it! I'm reminded a little of the "Wizard of Oz" (with the cast including the brilliant Frank Morgan and the "Tin Man" himself, Ray Bolger) ...a complete fantasy. Rosalie has one foot in the fantasy world of the "Wizard" and another in the undeniable talents of the stars...E. Powell and N. Eddy.
The miracle here is that they can "make us believe", not with the intensity of the audiences when it was released (one can only imagine their fascination) but, with a small portion of that. And that fragment is quite a portion indeed.
Sit back, relax (with a bottle of wine) and look back to an idealized play on the world...gone forever except on film.
Imagine it in full color and 3D and you'd have a 21st century ground breaking (almost hallucinogenic) masterpiece! However,I'm happy with it just the way it is.
WHAT TO WRITE?
cekadah12 April 2021
This flick is a bloated elephantine lump!
What were they thinking? MGM must have lost millions on this ridiculous idea for a movie. Everything in it is bad - plot, dialogue, actors, and those pumped-up musical numbers. AWFUL !
If you are a fan of 1930's Hollywood musicals, do yourself a favor and avoid this pit of stupidity!
What were they thinking? MGM must have lost millions on this ridiculous idea for a movie. Everything in it is bad - plot, dialogue, actors, and those pumped-up musical numbers. AWFUL !
If you are a fan of 1930's Hollywood musicals, do yourself a favor and avoid this pit of stupidity!
Trainwreck...a la Louis B. Mayer
ChorusGirl18 January 2011
Is this one of the worst movies of its decade? Had there been anything as dull and lumbering since the late 1920s musicals? The title number, excerpted in THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT, with Eleanor Powell banging out a wondrously complex tap routine, promises a film of some charm. But audiences must proceed with caution. Nelson Eddy is a miserable lead here, miscast (spectacularly so) as a West Point football star, and grappling with a ludicrous script that makes Fox musicals of the 40s seem like ALL ABOUT EVE. He has never looked so foolish on screen (though he's in good voice), and there is just no moving past this. Then there is Frank Morgan as the king, bringing everything to a halt with that awful befuddlement routine of his (one wonders, can it be the same wonderful actor from THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER?), matched only by irritating Tommy Bond, who needs to be shipped off to that amusement park island in Pinocchio.
Eleanor Powell can't carry these 2 hours (feels like 9) by herself. Her numbers are good enough to NEARLY make this worth sitting through, though I swear I'd break my purist rules and approve an edited version that only contained the musical numbers. Note that Cole Porter's lovely score is very poorly used, and one is likely to forget that "In The Still of The Night" even came from this film it's so indifferently performed.
Should you venture in, notice the humongous nightclub set early in the film...a bizarre, avant-garde concoction from outer space that resembles nothing else in the history of set design (not in a good way).
Eleanor Powell can't carry these 2 hours (feels like 9) by herself. Her numbers are good enough to NEARLY make this worth sitting through, though I swear I'd break my purist rules and approve an edited version that only contained the musical numbers. Note that Cole Porter's lovely score is very poorly used, and one is likely to forget that "In The Still of The Night" even came from this film it's so indifferently performed.
Should you venture in, notice the humongous nightclub set early in the film...a bizarre, avant-garde concoction from outer space that resembles nothing else in the history of set design (not in a good way).
Great fantasy in many ways, only couple weak spots
richspenc11 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I've read people's reviews about "Rosalie" not being a very good film due the unbelievability of it, but "Rosalie" was supposed to be a fantasy, pure escapism, which I feel gave parts of this film a very nice surreal feeling. Some reviewers called it weird and stupid, but it was supposed to be bizarre in the magical surreal escapism way it provided so well. I loved a lot of that. If they had made this film more plain and ordinary, it would not have been nearly as good.
I'll mention the film's couple of little problems which took it from a 10 to an 8. Then I'll get to the great stuff. I did not like the King's (Frank Morgan) venquilitrist dummy, he looked and acted kinda creepy. I also didn't care for Billy Gilbert's extreme sneezing character, his industrial strength sneezes, which weren't funny to begin with, got old fast
Now for the great things; Eleanor Powell was as beautiful as ever as the film's title character here just like she was in "Born to dance" and the "Broadway melody" films. Her amazing tap dancing shined up the screen here again just like in those films. Nelson Eddie showed his opera talent again just like in his films with Jannet McDonald. I disagree with some of the reviewer's comments, I thought that Eleanor and Eddie here had great chemistry and I could see their glowing passion for one another. Take for Instance the scene where Eleanor is hiding behind a tree, Eddie sees her and sneaks up to the other side of it, Eleanor lifts herself up to run her face right into Eddie's face right there gleaming right at her over those branches. There was something almost eerie about it, but in a good way. Then (after king Frank Morgan brings Eddie to the festivities from his plane which he flew from America), there was the look on Eddie's face when noticing Eleanor being carried on a platform by many dancers carrying flaming torches, which was a really neat visual presentation. That there brings me to the big festivities middle section of the film which was truly elaborate, amazing, and spectacular. It started with what looked like a carnival with stands and puppeteers, then moved over to an even more bizarre and wonderful world of fantasy and escapism. Men throwing enormous handles banging them onto huge drums. About 30 dancing girls in very large, wide (almost like authentically German or Danish looking) dresses dancing to what sounded like the melody to "Strangers in paradise". Then, opera singing beauties in very nice long white gowns along with blonde beauty Ilona Massey singing "Spring love is in the air". Then all those girls in the big, wide authentic dresses dancing faster now along with other dancing girls in white running excitedly and dancing fast and magnificently to the great overture music playing. The whole thing was an enormous, surreal, wonderful paragon. And those big beautiful fountains lined up in the background too I loved. And that wasn't all, there was still Eleanor being carried out by those flame torch carriers, her doing an amazing tap dance up and down these various sized drums, then doing her great spin dance (which she's shown in numerous films) through these plastic circles being held. The number of dancers and extras there in the last bit of that extravaganza had to be over a thousand. Very large, very wonderful, all of it.
There were also other great parts of the film such as Eddie singing outside Eleanor's window at her college, then the dance sequence where they first dance (and Frank Morgon sings), then a little later Eddie singing "In the still of the night", and then the great military part with Eleanor in army uniform leading the marching cadets in dance. Also, William Demearest shows up as sergeant, and Ray Bolger, who this not one of his best films ("Oz" and "The great Ziegfeld" were). However, I liked how Ray kissed that beauty by the plane and lifted his hand back to pay up some cash since he lost a bet, but didn't care due to having the beauty in his arms. Also, this film probably has the most variety of dancers in it since "The great Ziegfeld".
SPOILER
I loved the wedding ending too with the fanciness and music there.
I'll mention the film's couple of little problems which took it from a 10 to an 8. Then I'll get to the great stuff. I did not like the King's (Frank Morgan) venquilitrist dummy, he looked and acted kinda creepy. I also didn't care for Billy Gilbert's extreme sneezing character, his industrial strength sneezes, which weren't funny to begin with, got old fast
Now for the great things; Eleanor Powell was as beautiful as ever as the film's title character here just like she was in "Born to dance" and the "Broadway melody" films. Her amazing tap dancing shined up the screen here again just like in those films. Nelson Eddie showed his opera talent again just like in his films with Jannet McDonald. I disagree with some of the reviewer's comments, I thought that Eleanor and Eddie here had great chemistry and I could see their glowing passion for one another. Take for Instance the scene where Eleanor is hiding behind a tree, Eddie sees her and sneaks up to the other side of it, Eleanor lifts herself up to run her face right into Eddie's face right there gleaming right at her over those branches. There was something almost eerie about it, but in a good way. Then (after king Frank Morgan brings Eddie to the festivities from his plane which he flew from America), there was the look on Eddie's face when noticing Eleanor being carried on a platform by many dancers carrying flaming torches, which was a really neat visual presentation. That there brings me to the big festivities middle section of the film which was truly elaborate, amazing, and spectacular. It started with what looked like a carnival with stands and puppeteers, then moved over to an even more bizarre and wonderful world of fantasy and escapism. Men throwing enormous handles banging them onto huge drums. About 30 dancing girls in very large, wide (almost like authentically German or Danish looking) dresses dancing to what sounded like the melody to "Strangers in paradise". Then, opera singing beauties in very nice long white gowns along with blonde beauty Ilona Massey singing "Spring love is in the air". Then all those girls in the big, wide authentic dresses dancing faster now along with other dancing girls in white running excitedly and dancing fast and magnificently to the great overture music playing. The whole thing was an enormous, surreal, wonderful paragon. And those big beautiful fountains lined up in the background too I loved. And that wasn't all, there was still Eleanor being carried out by those flame torch carriers, her doing an amazing tap dance up and down these various sized drums, then doing her great spin dance (which she's shown in numerous films) through these plastic circles being held. The number of dancers and extras there in the last bit of that extravaganza had to be over a thousand. Very large, very wonderful, all of it.
There were also other great parts of the film such as Eddie singing outside Eleanor's window at her college, then the dance sequence where they first dance (and Frank Morgon sings), then a little later Eddie singing "In the still of the night", and then the great military part with Eleanor in army uniform leading the marching cadets in dance. Also, William Demearest shows up as sergeant, and Ray Bolger, who this not one of his best films ("Oz" and "The great Ziegfeld" were). However, I liked how Ray kissed that beauty by the plane and lifted his hand back to pay up some cash since he lost a bet, but didn't care due to having the beauty in his arms. Also, this film probably has the most variety of dancers in it since "The great Ziegfeld".
SPOILER
I loved the wedding ending too with the fanciness and music there.
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