Mr. Imperium

Mr. Imperium represented two efforts by MGM to make Ezio Pinza a film star on the strength of the great critical acclaim that he got from his Broadway starring role in South Pacific. Maybe if he had made the film version of South Pacific back then things might have worked out differently for him. But it was still running on Broadway albeit without Pinza at the time and by the time the film was made another studio made it and Ezio Pinza was very unavailable.

The film concerns a crown prince and a nightclub performer before World War II who meet at an Italian resort. Lana Turner with vocals dubbed by Trudy Erwin is the performer and Pinza the crown prince who goes incognito with the name of Mr. Imperium. They meet and fall in love, but when his father is on death's door, duty in the person of Prime Minister Cedric Hardwicke intervenes.

World War II and revolution have made Pinza an ex-King and the years were kinder to Turner who became a film star. They meet again at a private resort run by Marjorie Main and her daughter Debbie Reynolds and things do rekindle much to the distress of Turner's patient and long suffering director Barry Sullivan. Will things finally go right for them this time?

Mr. Imperium is not a bad film, but it was hardly the vehicle to launch a film career with. Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields wrote some original songs for the film, but nothing of the caliber of the Rodgers&Hammestein score Pinza was singing on Broadway.

According to Edward Epstein's book about Lana Turner things were most formal on the set of Mr. Imperium after Turner rebuffed Pinza's advances. And he apparently put on quite the campaign to woo her, but Lana wasn't having any. This all probably had the effect of a most pedestrian performance by her.

Pinza did so much better on stage with South Pacific and later Fanny, too bad he didn't do that film either.

More of a near miss than a flop, MR. IMPERIUM stars Ezio Pinza as Alex, heir apparent to and later king of a small European nation, who falls in love with a willing American actress and entertainer, Fredda Barlo (Lana Turner), but due to machinations by the sly prime minister of Alex as king, nicely played by Cedric Hardwicke, the lovers are separated for 12 years before being reunited in Palm Springs where their love is rekindled. Director Don Hartman, who also scripts, is not able to fully utilize his talent for snappy dialogue because of Pinza's tentative English usage, and the requisite rewriting, coupled with less than total rapport in evidence between the two stars, results in a somewhat raggedy tone to the screenplay, exacerbated by the studio's unkind cutting of many scenes, leading to a confusing ending. The overpowering Pinza dominates his scenes with Turner, but both performers score with good work, while Marjorie Main is impressive with her patter effects as written, with Debbie Reynolds placed on track by Louis B. Mayer for SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as a result of her sprightly performance here; only Barry Sullivan is heavily victimized by the flagrant cutting. Prettily filmed largely in Pebble Beach, California, and other Monterey County environs, the film is endowed with Pinza's iron strong operatic basso in Solamente Una Vez, as well as with original songs by Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields, with Douglas Shearer splendidly handling the sound recording, and notice must be made of the fine set decorations by Edwin Willis, and the effective costume designs by Walter Plunkett.

Nothing has changed much in Hollywood, MALE producers still seem to think that the world is full of young women "attracted" to old men. While that is obviously the truth in Hollywood, I can't remember the last time a twenty-something (without a daddy complex) went wild over a 60 year old man. Here we have another example of it on film though with Lana Turner who is barely 30 in this movie and the old fart she falls madly in love with (Ezio Pinza) being 60! Ugh, hard to watch, makes the movie a joke. There is even a line in the movie where a 19 year old Debbie Reynolds says "He is good looking." Right, like "Isn't my Grampa dreamy???" Yuck, enough to make your skin crawl. Unfortunately, the pairing of young women with old men is still the norm in Hollywood, we need MORE women producers to make movies that can offer a bit of a balance...like let's say a Ryan Reynolds falling madly in love with Candice Bergen?

I had heard of Ezio Pinza. I understand he was a retired opera singer when this movie was made. As a singer myself, I enjoyed hearing him sing, with his beautiful booming voice. I had heard he played Emile de Becque in "South Pacific".

I have heard so many bad and put-downish things about Lana Turner, but in this movie I find her pleasant, beautiful and intelligent. I enjoyed watching her tie up her turban, thinking that the red color was so garish. But in the next minute, however, when she put on the red cloak all of a sudden the entire outfit made sense and actually looked stunning. I liked the many dresses and sophisticated, colorful high heel shoes she wore in this movie.

Debbie Reynolds was annoyingly perky-perky-perky, but fun. Marjorie Main played a typical domestic persona that I had seen in "Meet Me in Saint Louis". Here again, Marjorie is not playing Ma Kettle.

I liked this movie.

When the film begins, Fredda Barlo (Lana Turner) is on tour, singing up a storm across Europe. Prince Alexis (Ezio Pinza) is captivated by her and stalks her until she falls for him (not a very healthy cliche, I know). However, soon after they begin their affair, the King dies and Prince Alexis is swept off to assume the throne.

Years pass. Fredda is now a big film star and she and Alexis lost contact due to WWII. Now, out of the blue, he has returned and wants Fredda for his snookie-wookie. Can this meeting at a desert resort rekindle their love or is 'Mr. Imperium' (the alias the King is now using) wasting his time?

Ezio Pinza was new to acting, having spent the years before this film as a successful opera and Broadway singer. As his first film, he has a lovely voice going for him but he also is rather old to be wooing a significantly younger woman. He also could have used captions, as occasionally I couldn't understand what he was saying...as his accent was quite thick. MGM thought his debut was a bomb and they shelved the film for a year...not a good sign at all. But is it, in spite of this, any good? Yes...and no. I think the film works reasonably well DESPITE him. Pinza might have been a lovely leading man back in the 30s...but by 1951, he simply looked old...which, he was for his film debut in his mid-50s. As for Miss Turner, she's pretty much her usual self in this one, though it's sad MGM didn't cast someone who could sing in this role. Overall, a mildly entertaining film and not the bomb I expected...though this is hardly a glowing endorsement.

By the way, if you do see the picture, look for a young Debbie Reynold about midway through the story.