Carnegie Hall

"Carnegie Hall" was made in 1947 and actually filmed in the newly refurbished Carnegie Hall. It's the story of a cleaner at the Hall named Nora (Marsha Hunt) who marries a pianist. He dies some time after they're married, and she's left to raise their son.

Nora exposes him, by taking him to Carnegie Hall, to all of the great music and musicians, and he studies piano. The plan is for him to grow up to be a concert pianist.

But he has other plans, and some of them include the pretty Ruth (Martha O'Driscoll), who sings with Vaughn Monroe. William Prince plays the adult son, and Frank McHugh plays an employee of the Hall who is a friend of Nora's.

This is one long movie with tons of beautiful music done by some of the great artists of the time: Leopold Stokowski conducting Tchaikovsky's "Symphony in E Minor," Artur Rubenstein (whom I saw play in concert while I was in high school) doing Chopin's "Polonaise" and "The Ritual Fire Dance" at the piano keyboard, Jascha Heifetz and his nimble fingers on the violin for Tchaikovsky's "Concerto for Violin" - to name only a few.

Singers include Ezio Pinza singing parts of Don Giovanni, Rise Stevens singing "Pres des Ramparts de Sevilla" from Carmen, and Lily Pons, in an exquisite gown, doing the Bell Song from Lakme, her signature piece. Jan Peerce sings "O Solo Mio."

It's all wonderful, and a real feast for classic music lovers, but it isn't very cinematic, and the script is non-existent. It is great to have the musical performances preserved, however.

Marsha Hunt is still with us as of this writing, and she was a lovely actress, physically a cross between Jennifer Jones and Barbara Rush. She gets the usual Hollywood aging of gray hair, white powder and half a line on her face.

I suggest putting this on your DVR and fast-forwarding to the performances.

What a pleasure it is to review the 1947 "Carnegie Hall," with its wealth of legendary classical artists performing in lengthy segments. Many of these artists have rarely been photographed in such a clear manner, and it is indeed a treat to have so many in one film.

"Carnegie Hall" contains some 75 minutes of footage featuring these artists, with many works and movements uncut. How rare it is to see and hear such artists as Lily Pons and Ezio Pinza preserved for all time. These, plus many instrumental soloists and orchestras perform brilliantly in beautiful black and white photography.

Alas, surrounding these musical segments is a very tepid dramatic yarn, which often is not well blended into the musical sequences. In fact, at one point the drama seems to come to a scretching halt, to make way for the music.

Further, the camera work during the first part is rather unimaginative and static. It does get better as the film progresses and, by the end, sequences of Heifitz and Stokowski contain some fluid and interesting shots.

While it could have been better, "Carnegie Hall" is a real curio from an era which boasted true musical giants. The restored print is crisp and clear, and the sets are nicely lit, reminding one of the beauty of black and white production.

It's worth enduring the story to get to the great music and magnificent artists, all honoring that fine structure at West 57th Street and Seventh Avenue in New York. ###

Marsha Hunt stars as the wife of a pianist whose son studies classical piano with hopes of playing at Carnegie Hall. She works at the performance hall and, over the years, becomes a fixture there. The story of her life, and the life of her son, is interspersed with Carnegie Hall performances of some great musicians and vocalists.

In fact, the performances are the best part of the film They are wonderful snapshots of contemporary talents. They are so great that they overshadow the dramatic narrative, but a music lover will forgive this imbalance because the final result is so rewarding.

Marsh Hunt deserves credit for her performance, which spans the years and requires her to display some real emotions, which complement the emotional content of the musical numbers. Lovers of music will find much to enjoy, whether it's the rousing performance of Jascha Heifetz or Jan Peerce's "O sole mio."

"Carnegie Hall" really deserves a 20 out of 10 stars simply because it is such a brilliant record of some of the greatest musical performers from about 1890 to about 1950.

Most people reading this comment will not have had any other opportunity to see or hear in live performance such giants as Jan Peerce or Jascha Heifetz or, especially, the likes of Walter ("Good morning, my dear children") Damrosch.

It would be easy to fill several paragraphs just listing and raving about those giants, those icons of great music, including Harry James and Vaughn Monroe, but I urge you to look at each name, follow the IMDb link and then Google each to learn about them.

I must, though, mention the marvelous Marsha Hunt. For some function I don't remember, I was in her home when she was the Honorary Mayor of Sherman Oaks, around 1980, and have been an idolatrous fan ever since.

She is recognized as a fine actress, but she deserved even more. She was also a beautiful woman, and probably never looked lovelier than in "Carnegie Hall." As her character ages, she goes gray, and her step slows and she dodders just a bit, just enough.

It is, in short, a spell-binding characterization, a magnificent performance.

I try not to be envious of people with more ability (which is most people) or more luck (which is nearly everyone) but I do envy Marsha Hunt for her opportunity, in this role, to interact with such musical heroes as Ezio Pinza and Artur Rodzinski.

By the way, look for a very young Leonard Rose, who went on to well-deserved fame as one of the world's greatest cellists.

One final note: The story was by the magnificent Seena Owen, probably best known for her role in "Intolerance." Maybe I shouldn't admit it, but I will: I applauded and cheered and, yes, cried at the beauty of this film, at the glory of it.

I urge, strenuously urge you not to miss this "Carnegie Hall."

Added 19 June 2015: "Carnegie Hall" is available at YouTube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruvljAjzscg

I saw this film when it first came out in 1947. at that time i was still learning to appreciate the great classical tradition. so this movie was an eye opener for me. i couldn't afford to go to concerts so here was an opportunity to see as well as hear some of the great icons of the classic world ie stokowski, walter, rodzinski, Rubinstein, heifetz, piatigorsky et al. yes it was a big thrill for me at the time. no less thrilling was to see Tchaikovsky himself in the opening scene, (as played by an actor of course.) the story line was purely secondary and was not to be taken seriously. this was the era ie the thirties and forties when you would occasionally hear some classical music in the movies. nelson eddy and Jeannette MacDonald for example would give some tid bits etc. it was also the time when the lives of composers such as Brahms, Schumann and Chopin were also being portrayed. a time when classical music was part of the everyday vocabulary albeit in somewhat truncated and simplified form. that now has all changed for some time and classical music is relegated to the limbos of the hoary past and is no longer part of our everyday. so this is a movie for classical music lovers or aspiring lovers of this seemingly defunct art.