preciousladyg2

I enjoyed the great talent of Mario Lanza who portrayed Caruso. Although I'm not an opera fan, I appreciate the pageantry and the rich, full voices.

I realize that this movie was made in the l950s when out of wedlock children portrayed in film weren't readily accepted.

But, the real Caruso did father several children in addition to the baby daughter mentioned in the movie. He had a long relationship with an older lady.

They could have mentioned his other children without getting into details. They may have still been alive when this movie was made. Their children and grandchildren, I'm sure, would've appreciated the acknowledgement of their existence and the respect.

Also, here's another minor objection:

When Caruso was showing off his baby to his friends a week after her birth, the nurse enters and berates him loudly in front of his friends for having the baby in the room

Now Caruso, being the dominant personality that he was, wouldn't have accepted that disrespect from her. A man like Caruso would have seen the baby as being his to do as he pleased, the nurse was working for him and could have been replaced.

I could've seen him firing her on the spot for the disrespect and sending one of his assistants to go out and find another baby nurse.

Minor complaints...otherwise I enjoyed this movie very much.

I saw this movie recently on TCM and for the most part, loved it!

I liked the shy, bumbling character of "Stretch" and the sheltered, Mary who fell hard for him.

Of course, being sheltered, she was limited in her experience with men.

But fortunately, she fell hard for a man with character and who loved her truly.

I knew that when she lied and misrepresented herself that she would be caught.

I especially loved the night when they married. It was a sweet throwback to an earlier time when single ladies weren't in single men's rooms at night or any time for that matter! It wasn't proper in 1938. It was very sweet and romantic for Stretch to propose marriage. His search for a wife was over!

Here are my slight criticisms:

Also, unsure if I can believe that his REAL name was "Stretch".

Then, there are the scenes where Mary was at the rodeo cleaning up. She became filthy and her dress was torn as a result.

I would think that she could have had her maids send her some clothes or wire her some money so she could purchase some clothes and toiletries. Or even ask her new husband to purchase her some clothes. There was a scene where she attempted to purchase some pants but was interrupted by the phone call. Why didn't she or Stretch purchase clothing and toiletries for her she before she boarded the bus?

Even rich ladies have to bathe and look presentable. A rich lady with her background wouldn't travel on the train for 3 days in a filthy, torn dress and unwashed. Suppose her dad and his friends had ALREADY arrived when she got there? How would she explain her appearance?

Also, the scene in the framework of the house lasted a little too long, in my opinion.

But other than that: I enjoyed this movie! Gary and Merle were great in the leads!