Le chat et le violon

Silent screen star Ramon Novarro teams up with Jeanette MacDonald in "The Cat and the Fiddle," a 1934 musical film. The film also stars Jean Hersholt, Frank Morgan, and Vivienne Segal.

The story concerns two songwriters, one from a classical background, Victor Florescu (Novarro, and one assumes from that last name, he's from Roumania), and Shirley Sheridan (MacDonald) a young woman from a popular songwriting background who meet. He falls madly in love with her, even turning down a major opportunity with an impresario (Morgan) who turns out to be more interested in Jeanette as a girlfriend.

Eventually Victor wins over Shirley, and the two move in together. Now, I thought the code came in earlier than this, but it appears I'm wrong. I was very surprised when later in the movie, she suggests that they get married because I thought they already were.

Her song becomes a huge hit. Eventually he succumbs to the impresario's pressure to get him out of the picture by breaking up with Shirley. He is convinced that he is holding her back. Victor then gets a big opportunity when a star (Segal) agrees to appear in his operetta. When he refuses to be seduced by her, her husband gives her a choice, the operetta or him, Mr. Money Bags, and she leaves with her husband. Now he's stuck, and he owes money to boot.

This film ran something like one hour and thirty minutes and seemed longer than Battleship Potemkin. This mainly had to do with the casting of Navarro who could just about carry a tune, and when he did, his voice had a tremelo faster than a butterfly's wings.

Jeanette MacDonald, of course, is luminous - beautiful, charming, and in great voice. Navarro did just not have what it took to be her leading man. As stiff as Nelson Eddy was, there was something about the two of them together that had real chemistry. No such thing here.

This is a movie, as someone said here, for Jeanette MacDonald fans only. She's always worth watching, and someone here also mentioned seeing her do King & I. I'm envious.

Reading the description for this, my expectations were pretty low, due to the silly plot, (and it IS !) but what a fun collection of stars. The Wizard (Frank Morgan), five years before he was the wizard. Jeanette MacDonald, singing. Charles Butterworth is HILARIOUS in this one. Didn't really play a major role, but was there for laughs. He died so young in a questionable car accident. He always looked older in his roles, (make-up ?) but died at 49. Ramon Navarro, who DID make the jump from silents to talkies. A treasure trove of fun stars. The plot... oh that. Navarro is Victor, a composer, trying to get his big break. MacDonald is Shirley, the singer. They get together, but for some reason, can't seem to make it big while they are together. They separate, try to hit it big, and may or may not get back together. Victor is finally putting on his big show, and everything that can go wrong is going wrong. Fun short bit as they scheduled singer seems to be drinking the "mouthwash". The plot is fluff, but totally entertaining, and the "show within a show" is in color. Catch it on Turner Classics!

Notable for three things - the MGM debut of the lovely Jeanette MacDonald; the musical ability of Ramon Novarro, at this time on his way out of films as his star began to wane; and the Technicolour finale.

'The Cat and the Fiddle' comes to the screen from the Broadway operetta, retaining most of the already-dated songs, and a plot designed to make the most of familiar character actors of the time (Charles Butterworth, Joseph Cawthorn, Jean Hersholt).

It is definitely minor league stuff when you consider the musical legacy of the MGM studios, but definitely worth watching. The leads are good together and in excellent voice, and the film is funny, sparkling, and very much of its time.

Jeanette MacDonald's first for Metro is a loose adaptation of the hit Kern-Harbach operetta co- starring Ramon Novarro and Frank Morgan, and alas, she's already becoming MGM Jeanette. A smart, suggestive comedienne at Paramount in things like "One Hour With You" and "Love Me Tonight" (to these eyes, the greatest movie musical ever), she really became a household word at Metro, in operettas, usually opposite Nelson Eddy, that increasingly encouraged her diva- hood. Here, as an American pop composer in Brussels, she's already losing her deliciously risqué sense of humor and indulging in great-lady sentimentality. Fun Jeanette isn't entirely gone, though, and she works well with Ramon, who has an attractive tenor and a good deal more acting skill than some of MacDonald's subsequent leading men. The screenplay, by the Spewacks, runs far afield of the Broadway original but makes room for most of the sublime score. And there's also a good glimpse of Vivienne Segal, a legendary Broadway soprano who'd been playing Jeanette-style leads just a few years back, at the dawn of sound. Charles Butterworth--no stranger to Kern, having supported Helen Morgan on Broadway in "Sweet Adeline"--has some funny bits, and there's a pleasing finale in early three-strip Technicolor. Jeanette followed this one up with "The Merry Widow," where, aided by Chevalier and Lubitsch, she was more her old self. Witness this one for some lovely Kern and for Novarro, but watching Jeanette trade comic finesse for prima donna respectability isn't pretty.

This is a delightful, free-spirited musical gem from MGM. It has the feel of the risque Paramount musicals of the era. Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro are lovers who co-habitat (not an issue here!) and nurture each other in their respective musical careers. Jerome Kern's score is wonderful -- the kind of tunes that stay with you, "Try to Forget", "The Night Was Made For Love", "She Didn't Say Yes". Great dialogue and comic relief and a few emotional snarls give the film some complexity. The musical numbers are innovative and interestingly filmed -- they compliment the score. The atmosphere in Brussels is highlighted by a variety of characters in the arts community. The film has a musical fluidity. Other than the stilted staging of the 3-strip Technicolor ending, this film deserves more attention.