L'espionne de Castille

Allan Jones has a wonderful voice, but a rather bland personality. He is no match for Jeannette MacDonald, who here gives her best dramatic performance on screen with not much to play against. Warren William is the villain and he has more presence than Jones.

Jones and MacDonald play spies, he for France and she for Spain, during Napoleon's attempt to kidnap the King of Spain and add that country to his fiefdom. There is much intrigue and a few songs along the way, the best known being The Donkey Serenade and Gianina Mia.

The problem lies in the length of the scenes and musical numbers. This film could easily have had half an hour snipped out of it, bringing it closer to conventional playing times of the period. At 2 hours, 10 minutes, it is just too long. And it is heavy-handedly directed and written.

The original operetta from 1912 had a few good tunes. Friml was third in line of talent, behind Romberg and Herbert, as America's trio of operetta composers. The score is just not good enough to mount a major film around.

MacDonald is always worth seeing, as she either matches or outshines her best material. This one, like Broadway Serenade a few years later, was not one of her best films and is recommended for her fans and those of Jones only.

Spy-thrilla where Jeannette MacDonald must get napoleonic soldiers to reveal their secrets. Warren Williams (The Lone Wolf!) is the Major; Billy Gilbert who sneezed his way through films is the innkeeper. Douglass Dumbrille always played the bad guy, and here is the Marquis. Dance numbers, singing. It's Jeanette MacDonald, who always does operatic arias. Yawn. Pretty dated stuff. Intrigue. suspense. love triangles. It's a pretty dry period piece, which is never my first choice. Kind of a mata hari. Showing on Turner Classics. It's pretty well done, but moves pretty slowly. the songs keep bringing it to a screeching halt. I'd skip this one unless you're a fan of J. MacDonald. Directed by Robert Leonard... nominated twice, but never got the Oscar.

Jeannette MacDonald and Allan Jones star with Warren William in "The Firefly," a 1937 MGM film.

MacDonald plays Nina Maria Azara, a singer, who is also a spy for Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. She is to seduce French officers and find out Napoleon's plans for Spain.

She meets Don Diego, who pursues her while she is working as a singer. She has to stave him off in order to meet with those who can give her information, among them Major de Rouchemont (William).

Don Diego keeps showing up, including on her trip to Bayonne. There, the famous Donkey Serenade is introduced. Unknown to her, Don Diego is actually Captain Andre, who is sent to Spain to spy on her.

The story is a backdrop for all of the music, and there is a ton of it. MacDonald's voice was highly touted; with today's ears, it was a lovely voice, particularly in the middle, but I was never crazy about her top notes. I think it was just the way women were trained by then. She was a beautiful woman and a fine, fiery actress, and her popularity was well deserved. She does a good job here.

Allan Jones was not the most sparkling presence -- he certainly was no match for MacDonald in that department -- but he truly had a beautiful voice. Warren William was very good in a villainous role.

Most of the music was written by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, so you need to like operetta in order to like this film, and also classical voices.

France and England are at war. Napoleon has placed troops in Spain "to protect the Spanish" in case England invades.

There is a beautiful cantina singer (and dancer!) named Nina Maria (Jeanette MacDonald) whom men fight over. She works as a spy for Spain. When Napoleon invites Ferdinand--who appears guileless--to France for a meeting, Nina Maria must leave for France immediately to determine if Napoleon's intentions are honorable.

She is pursued there by Don Diego (Allan Jones), a man smitten by the senorita. Along the way, he tries to charm her by singing "The Donkey Serenade"--one of the most memorable moments in the film.

When they arrive in Bayonne, France, things get complicated. The senorita discovers someone is on to her. The love story becomes more political as Nina Maria must make alliances based on trust. Will she let her heart guide her actions? What is Napoleon's true objective?

The two leads are excellent. Much of the surrounding cast portray military characters and they are very strong.

The lavish sets and a large number of extras give the film a feeling of richness, as when Joseph Napoleon and his military escort ride into Madrid.

Part romance, part political intrigue, "The Firefly" entertains while Jeanette MacDonald shines.

If it wasn't for "Donkey Serenade", this would have been a total loss as a piece of gaudy MGM entertainment for the masses in the 1930s. JEANETTE MacDONALD gives her all as a sexy spy who tries getting potentially harmful information from French officers, but it's all pretty preposterous and finally much too long for sustained interest.

The only sequence that comes off as completely charming is the "Donkey Serenade" episode with ALLAN JONES singing his heart out as he rides a dusty trail following her carriage. Jones is a fine match for MacDonald but probably left MGM when he realized it was Nelson Eddy's territory.

The score is kind of lackluster, the sets are opulent in typical MGM grand style manner, but the plot is never lively enough to keep one's attention riveted on the plodding story of spies and counter-spies in ye olde Spain. Everyone tries hard, but it just seems to stall somewhere near the middle and never recovers.

Trivia: Did Jeanette MacDonald ever show her real hair in a costume film? She must wear at least 25 wigs and hairdos in this film alone, changing her far from simple hairstyles from scene to scene more often than Lana Turner ever changed her costumes in glamorous roles. There must have been a special Jeanette wig department at Metro just for the occasion.