Rose Marie

Forget the super-sweet aspects of this film. Forget the paper-thin storyline. To jump on this film using the standards that today's audience's exact is totally unfair. This film was released in 1936 when the US was in the midst of the Great Depression and people needed mind candy that was super-sugarcoated. But, before you ring off to surf some other site, listen the music created by two rather mediocre singers. Their voices create a sound that is incredible. They did again and again too. From their biographies written by their children who discovered their love letters long after both Eddy and MacDonald were dead, it seems that the love clinches were more earnest than mere acting. But, forget even that bit of gossip. Listen to the sound that these two made, in love with each other or not. It is something magic. And, fans, we just don't see much of that anymore.

This was the 2nd film venture for Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Nelson, the former opera star, as a stalwart Mountie and Jeanette, playing the opera star, she never was in real life. Coasting on the phenomenal success of their first film, this set the tone for their next ones--the formula, great singing, gorgeous setting, supposedly in Canada, but actually filmed in the rustic pre tourist attraction of Lake Tahoe. The 2 stars complemented each other perfectly, a love match on screen as well as off. Jimmy Stewart featured in an early role, and David Niven, wasted as a suitor. Gilda Grey, a famous stripper, managed to wear a revealing dress, that escaped the censors. Allan Jones appeared in 2 opera sequences with Jeanette, and proved once more, he was no threat to Nelson Eddy. Beautiful music, some laughs some tears, and always Nelson and Jeanette--together.

I saw this as I like Nelson Eddy. And I liked Rose-Marie. The story is creaky(and perhaps a tad schmaltzy), the film is perhaps a little too long and the pace sometimes pedestrian. However, the production values still look lovely and hold up quite well, and the music is wonderful with the incidental music stirring and the songs joyous. The script has some nice touches, a vast majority of times are beautifully staged and the film as a whole is well directed.

And then we have Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Both look and sound wonderful, they exude great chemistry together and both give believable performances.

All in all, lovely. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I'm tired of the condescending and facile "appreciations" of Eddy-MacDonald, particularly in "Rose Marie." Does no one actually pay attention to the movie?

For those who dismiss Rose Marie as a "saccharine" confection, this is an operetta. Get it? O-p-e-r-e-t-t-a. Light opera. L-i-g-h-t. No more saccharine than a Nicholas Cage vehicle like It Could Happen to You. Yes, the soundtrack for the Indian spectacle sounds, alas, like the hoochee-coochee, demanded by the box office of the time, but even that unfortunate element is an interesting document of contemporary popular taste. If one claims to have the sensitivity to make judgments about a scene, he should first know how to place it in context.

The production values someone complains about - for the first Eddy song - is a process shot, about the same quality as others throughout the film, which were state of the art for the time. So if one can shed silly presentist snobbery, the production values are fine. And the location shots are spectacular.

Perhaps the stupidest criticism is that MacDonald and Eddy were "mediocre" talents. Yes, Eddy is famous for his supposed woodenness, but I think Rose Marie shows that with good direction - like that of W. S. Van Dyke - woodenness could become stolidity and then a buffer for heavy emotions highly prized by all actors. With Eddy it was "stiffness," but the same qualities in Cooper are called "natural" by the snobs. I challenge any other actor to deal with the inner conflict between love and duty as well as Eddy in Rose Marie. The scene when he says, "You'll remember me as just a policeman" is executed with exquisite torment and brittle irony - through that so-called "wooden" countenance.

As for Jeanette MacDonald, of course she wasn't an opera singer. She had a better job! As for her "mediocre" talent, MacDonald was not only beautiful, stable and smart, she was a fine actress and had an E above high C three-octave lyrical soprano voice. That kind of voice is far from mediocre.

As for Eddy's voice, it's a little on the flat side, but it's strong and masculine. In fact, both MacDonald and Eddy had highly successful solo recital careers after their breakup. Movie build-ups last only so long. After that, it's up to talent.

No, Rose Marie wasn't Gone With the Wind, but it wasn't a 1936 Rocky Horror Show either. To call it camp or kitsch is ill-informed and incompetent. So you graduates of the David Thomson (a hack who seems to have callow film snobs in his thrall) school of criticism, get a life. Rose Marie is a fine work of it's genre - a filmed operetta, no more, no less. Watch it as that and enjoy!

Oh yes, a note about the mutual feelings between MacDonald and Eddy, again dismissed by an ill-informed reviewer: documents submitted by their children are more than just "gossip." Also, before speaking about something you know nothing about, why not check out a photo of MacDonald's beloved husband, Gene Raymond. Remind you of anyone you know?

When you see this film, you must remember that these were America's Singing Sweethearts and movies were very different than they are today. We were just coming off of the Great Depression and moviegoers needed something frothy and light to forget their troubles. Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald were just the ticket. Although they may not have been the greatest actors in film (especially Eddy), they were beautiful to look at and when they began to sing, you were swept away. The story line was never very important.....it was just a framing device until the next song. That's what people came to see and hear...it was all so romantic. So, put aside any thought of Academy Award acting and if it's a little bit corny, just ignore it.....instead get caught up in the sound of two of the most glorious voices in screen history.....together they epitomized the romantic ideal. After almost 70 years, it's still wonderful!!!