Bitter Sweet

Jeannette MacDonald is an English woman who falls in love with her teacher (Nelson Eddy) and runs away with him to Vienna in "Bitter Sweet," a 1940 musical based on a play by Noel Coward.

Sarah (MacDonald) gets away from her family and a man she doesn't love to be with Carl (Eddy) who sings and composes. They have a hard time making ends meet but eventually start making money performing in a club. When a top producer is brought to the club to hear Carl's music, the future looks rosy. It's just an illusion.

The film was given a top-notch production in color, and Jeannette not only looks lovely but wears the most glorious gowns!

I have always preferred Jeanette's acting to Nelson's and Nelson's singing to Jeanette's. Both of them sound wonderful singing Noel Coward's music, including the beautiful "I'll See You Again." For some reason, both MacDonald and Eddy had uncredited "vocal stand-ins" - I would assume these people did not sing for them but perhaps rehearsed with the musicians, because Nelson and Jeanette sounded like themselves.

MacDonald's voice had a fluttery quality and her tone tended to straighten at the top, but the middle voice and lower tones sounded beautiful. And you can't beat her presence. Eddy, of course, was a magnificent singer, totally suited to the operatic stage. He just never seemed that comfortable in front of the camera.

Reminiscent of "Maytime," this is a treat for Eddy-MacDonald fans.

Original play by noel coward, so there will be some humor. Nelson eddy, jeanette macdonald, so there's going to be a lot of singing! And usually in grand, loud, duet style. Also hollywood regulars george sanders, sig ruman, felix bressart. Scared of being stuck in an arranged marriage, sarah and her music teacher carl run off to vienna together. They are happy, until the baron starts interfering. It's pretty good, but as this was made at the height of the film code, I'm sure many of coward's clever jokes and some naughty word-play were eliminated. And that weird ending just goes on forever... can't say too much. No spoilers here! Directed by woody van dyke, in technicolor. This was nominated for two oscars! But a bit of a cursed cast... herman bing and george sanders both offed themselves by suicide. Felix bressart died young at 57. Lynne carver died young at 38. Veda borg died young at 58. Director woody van dyke died young at 53.

A previous reviewer reported the well known story about how upset Noel Coward was at this version of his work that he refused to allow Hollywood to do another adaptation of any of his works. Hollywood in fact never did.

Of course you'd have to have something to compare it to and I hope that TCM manages to find the 1933 version that Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravey did for the British cinema.

On its own Bitter Sweet is a mixture of the previous MacDonald/Eddy triumph Maytime with a good hunk of Anna Karenina thrown into the mix. Jeanette MacDonald on an impulse runs off with her music teacher Nelson Eddy to gay old Vienna where they live on love and starve a good deal of the time. In doing the elopement she jilts her fiancé, proper and stuffy Edward Ashley who's an up and coming man in their Foreign Office.

I'm sure Noel Coward didn't complain about what Jeanette and Nelson did vocally with his songs because they're sung beautifully. Jeanette is barely passable for British and Nelson is about as Viennese as John Wayne. MGM knew that and surrounded them with the German colony of Hollywood, Sig Rumann, Curt Bois, Felix Bressart, and Herman Bing. And George Sanders is his usual caddish self as the Baron Von Trannisch who's got a lustful eye for Jeanette.

Noel Coward's plays are comedies of manners with some satirical jibes at British society. His music is universal, but his wit is for the British Isles. I doubt he could have written a western. My guess is that that was what Coward objected to in this film.

Still Jeanette and Nelson fans will like it and until someone at TCM finds the Anna Neagle version that's all we're likely to see.

It's 19th century Austria. Music teacher Carl Linden (Nelson Eddy) and his star pupil Sarah Milick (Jeanette MacDonald) are in love. They run off to Vienna to escape her arranged marriage. They struggle to make it. They are literally teaching for food. Baron von Tranisch (George Sanders) takes a liking to Sarah.

This is based on a Noël Coward operetta and apparently, he hated this. It's not my type of music and this starts at a deficit. It doesn't help that the songs aren't that catchy or memorable. I don't particularly care about this couple. The story would work better with a younger Sarah. I'm not looking for a larger age difference. More naivety works better for the story. It did get a couple of Oscar noms for Cinematography and Art Direction. I can see that, but I'm not impressed.

An obvious attempt to rework the studio hit Maytime and to an extent it works. The plot though slight, is not common as it actually tries to follow the trials and tribulations of a starving artistic couple, at least for the first hour. A few classic songs with those famous operatic voices is unleashed occasionally and the comedy is obvious but prudent. George Sanders as the heavy is very good and if not for his voice is almost unrecognizable. This movie contains a grand musical finale with technicolor used to its palest, so to speak with dancers following and trailing Jeanette as she dashes around the stage. Not great, not serious, not intelligent but pleasing, fun and touching.