País Sem Música

Princess Diana Napier faces a crisis. They're ten million in debt to Austria-Hungary, and the entire population is too busy singing, playing bassoons and otherwise performing that no one is working and paying taxes. When she goes to speak to her cabinet, they are busy playing quartets. So she outlaws music. Along comes newsman Jimmy Durante, his daughter June Clyde, and tenor Richard Tauber, to offer an underground concert. Then Tauber meets the Princess incognito and boasts of their plans.

Uh oh! The movie operetta was still chugging along in England, and the music of Oscar Strauss offers some lyrical and noisy accompaniment to this nonsense. Durante was taking a break in England, and Miss Clyde spent three years there and made about fifteen movies. Director Walter Forde directs as well as one can when Durante starts mugging. Look fast and you'll spent Evelyn Ankers in her film debut.

When I saw the cast list I wondered how it would turn out.Particularly when I also saw George Hayes as a police inspector.Alas it wasn't Gabby Hayes.My view of the film was hampered by the fact that the copy was only 63minutes long.so I assume that a lot of music had been cut out to make way for the plot.For some strange reason back in the 1930s this type of light operetta seemed to have some popularity with the cinema going public.Tauber had a great voice but wasn't the least bit cinematic and went on to marry his leading lady.Jimmy Durante seemed rather unusual casting for this film but he doesn't manage to overwhelm everyone as he can do.

An opera singer returns to his homeland to stage a secret concert when the ruling princess bans music for the sake of the economy. Silly lightweight British musical featuring famed tenor Richard Tauber, who makes an unconvincing leading man despite playing opposite his wife. Jimmy Durante tries to wring some laughs out of the non-existent comedy moments, but never stands a chance.

What a pity that I finally discovered this charming movie now in my sixties; yet it's never too late to enjoy Richard Tauber!

I have to say first of all that it reminds me somewhat of the Beauty and the Beast theme: Tauber as the beautiful voice and Durante as the croaking sound to be endured, at least that's how I felt about it. Anyways, it was amusing when Durante emphatically declares: "In our country we treat our songbirds with respect!" Certainly Tauber was one of the greatest songbirds of his day.

The first scenes of Tauber are at the tavern where he is surrounded by a group of thieves, very sinister looking fellows, but this being a musical show, they all break out into a chorus of song to accompany Tauber. It's a delight to the ears! One of my favorites.

Each time Tauber sings I gain more appreciation for the melodies and his excellent musical talent. Especially notable is his singing of a love song to his ladylove (Diane Napier) who appears on the balcony, as the Princess in this movie, and who in real life was his true love.

"Land Without Music" for me is a pleasant interlude of Richard Tauber melodies. How fortunate that we can still appreciate his wonderful voice and presence on screen after all these years! One can stroll down memory lane back to the mid-1930s and be entertained by a charming tale of forbidden music, no instruments or singing allowed, according to the new law. This was done so that the townspeople would not dissipate their lives in entertainment and could begin to concentrate on more important, urgent matters such as making money to pay the town's debts. Fortunately this state of affairs does not last long, however, and "all's well that ends well."

A footnote of interest to the purists: I noticed in my video of "Land Without Music" how the Carlini concert in the robber's cave was rather abruptly short and we only heard the last few bars of music of Tauber's song, if anything. I always felt that there was an omission or deletion at this point. Well, it so happened that I bought a video "This Was Richard Tauber" (a fine biography) and definitely it showed Tauber singing the song "Only a Simple Little Melody" to his lady love (Diane N.) present in the cave and dressed as the princess, with the surrounding audience identical to what is in the "Land Without Music" video! A very interesting discovery.

What a surprise to come across this film on DVD! 'Forbidden Music', or 'Land Without Music', teams Jimmy Durante with Richard Tauber (now that's a strange pairing if ever there was one) in a tale about a land so obsessed with music its Princess outlaws all forms of musical expression - Tauber of course plays an opera singer who makes regular visits back to the country of his birth to appear in concert; but how will he fare under the new rules?

Diana Napier (Mrs Tauber in real life) gives a chirpy and funny performance as the Princess, while June Clyde is also memorable as Durante's daughter Sadie. Durante is a lot of fun, as are the pub regulars who lie in wait for strangers who might stop by for a drink! And Tauber is in magnificent voice. He made only a handful of films but this is a slight, but charming way to spend an hour or so.