Balalaika

Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey Make a handsome couple in a gorgeous setting. Ilona portrays an anarchist in pre WW1 Russia who falls in love with a Russian prince, played with strength and humor by Nelson Eddy. Their duets are pleasing, and Nelson sings magnificently in Russian, German, French and English. The black and white photography captures the period and costumes well, and the two stars are so strikingly similar in looks, they could easily be siblings. Nelson demonstrates once again, what a loss he was to opera, but how fortunate to have him on film and hear that magnificent baritone.

Why this wasn't more successful is a mystery. It had good tunes great sets, marvellous supporting cast so what was the problem. Nelson Eddy was in fine voice and wore the Russian costumes well, so we come to Illona Massey .It beggars belief that Massey didn't become a bigger star. It shows what glut of talent there was at Metro at the time.Also she wasn't Jeanete Macdonald the public wanted her and Eddy together his liasons with Massey seemed like adultery to the fans. However lets examine here case ,she was lot sexier that Macdonald- Hollywood has never been good at handling real sexiness ,it was falsified and made safe by Lana turner etc, Massey was womanly in its best sense she also looked like a man-eater and that alienated women and frightened men .To describe her as an opulent blonde is an understatement. Not only was she stunning to look at but could sing as well as Macdonald and was streets ahead of the over sweet shrillness of Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell. MGM kept Massey on long leash in case Macdonald became troublesome. Massey resurfaced gloriously in holiday in Mexico making Walter Pidgeon smoulder in way he he never did with Greer.Massey finally achieved some sort of immortality in Love Happy as the uber voluptuous madam Engelich delivering the first recorded whammy to an overwhelmed Harpo Marx .Something she was also delivering to the men in the audience who wisely didn't let their wives find out.Massey was as delicious as a box of glacé fruits shame on Hollywood for being stingy with such a mouth watering treat

Balalaika is not the worst of Nelson Eddy's films, that's I Married an Angel and even that for this viewer was not that bad. But it's not even close to the likes of Maytime, New Moon and The Chocolate Soldier. Balalaika is a decent and quite nice film but did come across as very problematic. Eddy has never been the best of actors(his best performances have been in Chocolate Soldier, Maytime and Let Freedom Ring), and Balalaika doesn't really change that perception. He is at least better than he was in The Phantom of the Opera and I Married An Angel and at least he is more convincing as a Russian than he was as an Austrian in Bittersweet. But he is very stiff and wooden here, he has charming moments but he never looks comfortable. The story is also very predictable, cumbersome and even silly(at times), and the pacing can be rather dull. The script fares little better, often awkward sounding and lifeless- the film was strongly censored at the risk of offending so that could be why- while the humour is mild and unfortunately not very funny. Charles Ruggles fares the best in the supporting cast, but excepting the last fifteen minutes where he's affecting Frank Morgan's comic talents are not really put to good use and his performance is somewhat indifferent. The costumes and sets are beautiful, and the crisp black and white photography is especially striking in the Ride Cossack Ride and Stille Nacht (Silent Night) sequences, ones that is stirring for the former and poignant for the latter. The score and songs are a treat to listen to, At the Balalika, Ride Cossack Ride, Song of the Volga Boatmen and Toreador Song are particularly great. Frank Morgan's song in the last fifteen minutes is also very moving, as is the ending itself. Even if his acting is not up to snuff, Eddy still produces some magnificent singing in Balalaika(the best thing about the film), always robust and beautiful and at its best in Ride Cossack Ride and Song of the Volga Boatmen. And extra credit for singing in four languages in one film, you don't hear that very often. Ilona Massey looks absolutely stunning- even that doesn't do justice to her beauty actually- and a worthy leading lady for Eddy. They work well together and blend nicely(if not quite as much as Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald). In conclusion, a nice decent film but a long way from one of Nelson Eddy's finest hours. 6/10 Bethany Cox

MGM gave NELSON EDDY a chance to co-star with someone other than JEANETTE MacDONALD, but they gave him a lumbering musical about a Russian prince who disguises himself as a commoner in order to woo a princess. It's the kind of story done countless times before and the only distinction here is the music.

Nelson sings some rousing Russian numbers and is joined in song by the beautiful ILONA MASSEY, who looks like a younger, blonder edition of Marlene Dietrich, sunken cheekbones and all. Given the complete glamor treatment with glossy MGM close-ups complimenting her vivacious good looks, Massey has what seems a contralto singing voice and not quite the soprano the songs want her to be. Neverthelss, she makes a striking picture opposite the robust baritone who is in excellent voice here.

As usual, there are comedy moments to lighten the rather dark story set against the Russian revolution, and these are handled rather indifferently by Frank Morgan, Charlie Ruggles and George Tobias. Sharp-eyed movie fans can catch a glimpse of actor Phillip Terry who is kept mostly in the background during the cabaret sequences.

Overall, it's a cumbersome story, with a predictable outcome, that takes too many long stretches between songs to tell a rather tedious story of lovers separated by their politics.

"Balalaika" is strictly for fans of Hollywood's Golden Age. If you are one, it's got a great cast of character actors you will recognize pretty quickly and you will appreciate the singing of Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey. If you appreciate good acting, Eddy is passable and Massey, not so. He is his usual limited self but she comes across as cold and humorless, which is the polar opposite of Jeanette MacDonald.

The storyline is thin and unconvincing, sort of like "The Student Prince"; he is royalty, she is not, so he passes himself off as a peasant to win her hand. An interesting aspect of the picture is that it treats the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and the dissolution of the upper class. Here, many of Russian royalty end up in Paris after WWI in menial jobs, much to their sadness and chagrin. Can't recall the subject having been broached on film before.

In short, the plot is forgettable, the cast is interesting and the music carries the day. Not for younger audiences but for those of us who appreciate Hollywood's past.