Tu És Minha Paixão

The studio's effort to cram in a piece exploiting Lanza's success in THE GREAT CARUSO before his promised fine (if unfaithful reduction of) STUDENT PRINCE, this film today is chiefly of interest for one of the too few opportunities to see the great Doretta Morrow and the last of Lanza appearing rather than merely dubbing on screen. It is well WORTH seeing, but could have been so much more.

Lanza was starting the uncontrolled fluctuation of weight which ultimately resulted in Edmond Purdom playing the student prince (with Lanza's singing voice) and his resulting (continuing?) insecurity affected his treatment of all around him. Morrow had the chance to do the film because Lanza's last leading lady refused to work with him again. On the weight front - when not an actual medical problem, frequently the outlet for emotional problems - we wouldn't see the like (a film lead's weight appearing to fluctuate drastically within a scene) until 25 years later when Elizabeth Taylor filmed A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC in 1977.

Just as bad, the studio hair, make-up and design departments did everything in their considerable power to hide Morrow's remarkable light under a bushel. Seek out her televised appearance opposite Alfred Drake in THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO (Drake and Morrow had wanted to televise their original Broadway KISMET roles, but the studio had the rights tied up for lesser talents): Morrow's was a beauty and voice considerably superior to any of Lanza's other screen leading ladies!

Despite these severe handicaps the film, silly post-war plot (singing soldier falls for his sergeant's sister) and all, remains entertaining even if less than great art. It's a pity that we can only now get it in a *burned* DVD from Warner Archives (after an initial VHS release), but we'll be thankful for what we can get - even while noting the commercial doublethink. Warner Brothers doesn't think the film well sell well enough to justify a full (more permanent) *pressed* release, but heavily "copyblocks" the DVDs they do put out to try to make it harder for purchasers to share the disc if Warners' takes it out of print again.

With Kathryn Grayson refusing to work with him again, Mario Lanza has a new leading lady in "Because You're Mine," a 1952 film which also stars Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore, Paula Corday, Jeff Donnell, and Spring Byington.

Lanza is a great opera star, Renaldo Rossano, who gets drafted into the army. Fortunately for him, his commanding officer, Sgt. Batterson (Whitmore) is a fan, so Rossano has it pretty easy.

Batterson is also trying to promote his sister as a singer. Renaldo falls for her. His prima donna back at the opera house (Paula Corday) will have something to say about that.

Broadway star Doretta Morrow is perky, and while not as pretty as Grayson, sings beautifully. Lanza was not very nice to her - that's putting it mildly - but apparently eventually apologized.

Unhappy making this film after his triumphant "The Great Caruso," Lanza gained weight throughout the film so he's trim in one scene and chunky the next.

It's a shame he felt that way - the film is pleasant enough, and he sings like a dream, doing a segment from "Il Trovatore," the "Addio" from "Rigoletto," the end of "Cavalleria Rusticana," the "Our Father," the title song, "Because You're Mine," and a very impressive "Granada." Not only does he impress with his glorious high notes, he does some very lyrical and soft singing as well.

James Whitmore moves into the comedy of his role easily, and Spring Byington is delightful as a general's wife who needs Renaldo to sing at a reception.

Very pleasant and a must for opera and Lanza fans.

After the triumph of "The Great Caruso" in 1951, Lanza was all set to start work on "The Student Prince." MGM had other ideas and wanted to exploit his more popular image. When they approached him, his response was "You cannot put Caruso in the army!" He was persuaded eventually to start on "Because You're Mine" with the dangling carrot of Student Prince promised next in line. He did not like the script, or his co-star, who constantly smoked and was considered by him to be unsuitable, because of her limited experience and he also put on weight at an alarming rate, so that costumes had to be remade or altered almost daily, to accomodate his fluctuating size. This is all too apparent in some scenes, when he walks in slim and walks out again at least 40 pounds heavier. It was his way of rebelling against the system. Once completed, it was chosen as the 1952 Royal Command film in U.K. but the critics panned it. O.K. the plot is thin, the acting dated, but the voice - wow - that voice. He was truly on top form and the soundtrack and studio recordings of the songs from the film are still great favourites today. Just listen to "The Lord's Prayer" to see what I mean. Not a favourite film of mine, but I watch just for the voice and memories of a bygone era.

Lanza's character is inducted into the Army and undergoes basic training, during a season in which the summer uniform was prescribed. Normal summer "Class A" uniform for a private would have been a long-sleeved cotton khaki shirt with tie (tucked in between second and third buttons of shirt) and matching trousers, heavily starched (but no jacket or blouse). As an option, purchased at their own cost and only authorized for off-duty purposes, enlisted men could purchase an officer's summer Class A uniform, comprising shirt and tie in a tropical worsted material, topped with a jacket. Perhaps ten senior NCOs ever did this, of course. They and Lanza's character: the jacket hides a multitude of sins (and fat rolls), so Lanza's buck private is the best dressed enlisted man in the lower 48 during most of his military scenes. And he often looks as if he could play two NFL line positions simultaneously!

By the time Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer started Mario Lanza in his fourth film, the formula was wearing thin. In That Midnight Kiss, he was an opera singing truckdriver. In The Toast of New Orleans, he was an opera singing fisherman. And in The Great Caruso he was, the greatest opera singer of all. Now he was going to be cast as an opera singer drafted into the army.

So you can understand that Mario was feeling in a bit of a career rut. Why he wasn't cast in some of the classic musicals and operettas of old is beyond me. So despite the fact that the title song became a big hit for him, Mr. Lanza was unhappy.

He set records for binging on food, on liquor, on women that outstripped even what Mario previously did. Looking at some of the scenes filmed out of sequence you can see how his weight went up and down. Reportedly he behaved so outrageously to co-star Doretta Morrow that she up and quit Hollywood and never returned.

That was a pity because Ms. Morrow was certainly a great talent in her own right. She had just come off playing Tuptim on Broadway in The King and I and would soon go back to Broadway in Kismet.

Despite that Doretta and Mario made some beautiful music together. Especially with the title song and Doretta sings a beautiful version of Cole Porter's You Do Something to Me.

I actually rather liked the premise of this film. Mario Lanza, opera star gets drafted into the army where by the merest of chance he gets an opera loving sergeant James Whitmore who has an aspiring singer for a sister. That would be Ms. Morrow.

Put them together with a whole lot of situations that come up in military service comedies and you have Because You're Mine.

It's not a bad film, not particularly great. But a rut is a rut is a rut.