Moulin Rouge

A sumptuous retread of the old chestnut about a spouse impersonating a fictitious love rival which provides a sadly brief chance to admire Constance Bennett as a brunette and the pre-Code costumes of the chorus girls.

Ms Bennett actually supported Garbo a few years later in 'Two-Faced Woman' (1941), yet another version of this particular tale...

Constance Bennett wants to go back on the stage, but husband and songwriter Franchot Tone wants her to stay home. What he doesn't know is that the Parisian singer he is hiring for his new show used to be in a sister act with Miss Bennett; she agrees to let Miss Bennett take her place for rehearsals. Over this time, she entrances not only Tone, but his best friend, Tullio Carminati.

It's one of the few musicals that Zanuck's 20th Century Productions turned out before the merger with Fox, and as usual, no expense was spared. Warren & Dubin provided three songs, including "Boulevard of Broken dreams"; Russell Markert did the choreography; and Russ Columbo and the Bosworth sisters perform. Helen Westley gets most of the good lines in a script written by Nunnally Johnson and Henry Lehrman, and director Sidney Lanfield offers a sprightly opening, with the set-up being explained while acrobats audition or the show. The story, of course, is trivial, the old chestnut about spouses in disguise seducing each other. But the excellence of the production makes it watchable throughout.

"Moulin Rouge" is a comedy romance and musical revue film. Typical of the musicals of the day, its plot revolves around the stage and a Broadway production. Those types of musicals generally had very little plot - just enough to pull together various song and dance numbers. However, this "Moulin Rouge" differs. The plot is front and center here, with the song and dance numbers almost as fill.

The story is a love triangle of sorts. As Molly Morris says, it's a "two-sided triangle." Constance Bennett plays a double role. She is Helen Hall and also Raquel, who was a vaudeville partner in a sister act years before. She says they weren't real sisters but look-alikes.

Franchot Tone and Constance Bennett work well together in this comedy, and Tullio Carminati is a good third person for the humor. Tone is Douglas Hall, a playwright who has been married to Helen Hall for four years. However, Helen wants to return to the stage. When she swaps places with her former look-alike stage partner, Raquel, she complicates her marriage to Hall further.

The scrip is written so that this never becomes too serious a problem, and instead it provides for more of the comedy. It's not a great comedy by any means, but an enjoyable little film for the humor and romance. Although Bennett also sang, and there are a couple of good songs and some dance numbers, the musical part of this film is mostly forgettable. The fun is in the on-again, off-again romance between the two leads whose characters are madly in love.

Franchot Tone was a very talented actor who played in a variety of films, from comedy and romance to drama and mystery. His best work was in the 1930s and 1940s. His later years were spent mostly in TV series and films in supporting roles. Constance Bennett was one of the early leading ladies of sound films. She too was very talented in a variety of films. The sister of Joan Bennett, she slowed down at mid-career in the 1940s after marrying her fourth husband, an Air Force colonel. She traveled with her career husband and was active in entertaining WW II occupational troops after the war and during the Berlin Airlift. Her husband, John Coulter, reached the rank of Brig. General, and survived Bennet after 21 years of marriage. She was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, and may be one of the only performers buried there, and most likely the only actress.

Here are some favorite lines from this film.

Molly Morris (Helen Westley), after Helen impersonating Raquel points her out as her maid, Fifi, says, "Fifi! Sound like a lap dog."

Douglas Hall, "I wouldn't have your mind for anything on earth. It is shallow. It's loathsome." Victor Le Maire, "I know, Doug. Forgive me."

Helen Hall, "Molly, I'm a fool." Molly Morris, "Afraid he will, or afraid he won't?" Helen, "Oh, I don't know."

Molly Morris, "Well, I've seen some queer things in my time, but this is my first view of a two-sided triangle."

Douglas Hall, "Vickie, Helen's one of the finest girls in the world. Do you understand that?" Victor Le Maire, "Of course, Doug, but..." Douglas Hall, "But there's two sides to every question. I love her. I love her very much. But, but... do I love her enough? That's the question, Vickie. Do I love her enough?" Victor Le Maire, "Really, Doug. I oughta just go." Douglas Hall, "It's a big step. A mighty big step. Bermuda! Who wants to see Bermuda? Why, I can see Bermuda anytime I want. I don't have to... you see what I mean, Vickie?" Victor Le Marie, "I guess so, Doug. What are you talking about?" Douglas Hall, "I guess you're right after all. Thanks, Vickie. Thanks a thousand times" Victor slinks away and takes off.

Despite the title, this film has nothing to do with either the biography of Toulouse-Lautrec nor the famous musical. Instead, it's a silly and forgettable comedy starring Constance Bennett and Franchot Tone. While I love old films, I had a real difficult time enjoying this one.

When the film begins, you learn that Helen (Bennett) loves her husband, Douglas (Tone), but longs to go back on stage. Some time ago, she was the other half of an act...but he insists (like most men of his day) that she stay home and be his dutiful wife. But she decides to play a trick on him when she learns her old partner Raquel (also Bennett) is coming to America. As the two are identical strangers and equally talented, she asks Raquel to let her pretend to be her to see how Douglas reacts. Naturally, she is a perfect duplicate for Raquel in every way and she's a success...but it also appears as if Douglas is ready to now dump his wife for Raquel!

The film's success all depends on the audience's ability to accept a very bad (in my opinion) cliché--the identical stranger. Shows like "I Dream of Jeanie", "Bewitched" and "The Patty Duke Show" all devoted much of their content to this sort of plot device...and in many ways the film comes off more like a bad 60s sitcom than a movie someone would actually pay to see. Additionally, way too much uninteresting music made this one a chore to finish. Not among the actors' best work, that's for sure.

Don't be misled by the title of the film. Moulin Rouge does not take place in Paris at all. It's a pleasant backstage musical comedy story though no one will mistake it for 42nd Street.

It gives Constance Bennett a chance to imitate Fifi d'Orsay and play a dual role as twin sisters. Once upon a time Connie and Connie were a sister act. But one Connie went to France and became a big musical French star like a Caucasian Josephine Baker and the other Connie stayed in America and married Franchot Tone. But no one knows American Connie has a twin sister with a decided French accent like Fifi d'Orsay.

French Connie's been imported by producer Tullio Carminati to star in his Broadway revue. American Connie wants to get back into show business, but husband Tone isn't having that at all.

Anyway French Connie wants a break, so the sisters agree to switch. Of course this causes complications as Franchot is much taken with who he thinks is a French star that bears a fascinating resemblance to his wife and Carminati is on the make himself for her.

I think most of you can see where this is going. Like the Busby Berkeley films which Moulin Rouge tries so hard to imitate, the plot is just a flimsy device for the final numbers in the show.

The film has two things going for it that make it slightly better than some ersatz Berkeley. The first is the song writing team of Harry Warren and Al Dubin, imported from Warner Brothers and some Berkeley films they were writing. The second is choreographer Robert Muskert who has only two film credits, Moulin Rouge and the Paul Whiteman revue, The King of Jazz. But he's more importantly known as the founder and first choreographer of the New York City Radio Hall Rockettes. Look in that chorus line and you might spot a young Lucille Ball.

Bennett gets to sing two great Harry Warren songs. The first is a duet with Russ Columbo later re-prised by the Boswell Sisters, Coffee in the Morning. And the second is that famous torch ballad Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Two decades later Boulevard of Broken Dreams was revived and became a big mega-hit for a young and up and coming singer named Tony Bennett.

I have to say Constance Bennett did quite well with both numbers. She also turned in a fine performance. And Franchot Tone got to wear tails again.

And you thought he'd get a break from that just cause he was on a loan out from MGM.