The Great Victor Herbert

I cannot argue with other comments that the story line focuses more on the romance between the Mary Martin and Allan Jones characters, much in the manner of "Showboat", than on the life of Victor Herbert. But in the 1930's, would that have been a box office draw? Instead of the Life of VH, perhaps it should have been the Music of VH. There is an abundance of this.

For me, the thrill of the movie came near the end of the movie when Susanna Foster sings "Land of Romance". It has been over a decade since I caught this movie for a second time at a local 'old movies' theater. At first the audience was stunned; then it burst into spontaneous applause. I remember the shivers running up and down my spine. My trivia memory recalled the information provided to an inquiring public by a local journalist when the movie first came out back in the late 1930's. 'That note hit by Miss Foster was a far F above high C.'

She may not have had four octaves a la Yma Sumac but the then teen-ager certainly had a range!

Andrew L. Stone indulges his taste for musicals based on mildly outdated composers with this one. Walter Connolly plays the composer as half warm-hearted artist, half daring businessman. The story, though, is show biz all the way, as aspiring singer Mary Martin -- in her first speaking role in the movies -- marries matinee idol Allan Jones, despite the insistence of his manager, Jerome Cowan, that lady theater-goers won't yearn for a married man. He turns out to be right, and Jones' career goes into the tank as Miss Martin's explodes.... and then she quits the theater so he won't feel bad. It doesn't work.

Miss Martin is rather repressed for anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing her on the stage, and Jones was a good singer who looked good, and little more. It's carried by Connolly, who is around mostly to introduce songs and kickstart the plot; as usual, whatever he's given to do, he does it entertainingly. He wouldn't be around to do it much longer. Five months after this movie was released, he had a fatal stroke and died at the age of 53.

Hollywood did a string of musical biopics of Great American song composers during and just after World War II. The most famous, of course, is Warner Brothers' *Yankee Doodle Dandy* (1942), in which James Cagney dances away with a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar. There is also the same studio's underappreciated *Rhapsody in Blue* (1945), which does a decent job of presenting Gershwin as the very voice of the American spirit. There was also MGM's *Till the Clouds Roll By* (1946), which tries to cram as many Jerome Kern numbers into two hours as possible. I also seem to recall that there was a fluff piece about Sigmund Romberg, but I can't track it down.

Despite its very misleading title, *The Great Victor Herbert* bears no resemblance to any of these. It is not, and does not pretend to be, a biography, fictional or otherwise, of the great American operetta composer.

Rather, it is yet another variation on the story best known from *A Star is Born* of a husband-wife theater team in which the husband is initially the big star, but later is supplanted by his up and coming wife. Trouble ensues.

Allan Jones had already played this part just three years before in the 1936 *Show Boat*, and it's rather strange to see him put in the same situations just three years later.

The problems with this movie, for me, are more than the deceptive title, however. There is, still, a lot of Herbert music in this movie. That would be fine if it concentrated on his memorable music, of which there was much. But it doesn't. We hear one piece after the next, some in fairly lavish production numbers, always leaving me with the same reaction: why bother? Rather than focusing on some of Herbert's big successes, like *Naughty Marietta*, *The Red Mill*, *Babes in Toyland*, and *Mlle Modiste*, it dredges up one forgettable number after the next from his other, long-forgotten shows. That makes this 90 minute movie seem longer than it is.

I enjoyed seeing Mary Martin on the screen. She's very young here, and Herbert's music is not the sort of thing with which she would have success after success on Broadway in the years to follow - it's a long way from Nelly Forbush or Maria in Sound of Music - but she's still enjoyable to watch.

Allan Jones has been better in other pictures.

Susanna Foster sounds like a poor man's Meliza Korjus. She has a thin voice with freakish high notes that are best not heard. Unfortunately, we get to hear the highest of them not once but twice, at the beginning and then the end of the picture.

In short, unless you want to see Mary Martin in one of her too rare silver screen appearances, there really is nothing to recommend this movie.

This movie is one of my mothers favorites, a story not of the life of Victor Herbert but a fictionalized account of his impact on those who sang his works. Mary Martin shines and gives only a glimpse of the beautiful voice soon to be featured on Broadway. For those who doubt her range and depth of talent, her early work on Decca Records confirms the talent she possessed-how unfortunate for Hollywood that "The Great Victor Herbert" is one of the few times she was showcased in her proper element! The love story is a tearjerker with the old time happy ending engendered by the radiant Susanna Foster. I hope someday this movie is out on video so that future generations can see the talent only tapped in this movie!

This isn't a story about Victor Herbert - it's a romance between two musical-comedy with Herbert's music and character as strong supporting players. The story is ok, but nothing outstanding - sort of a take on "A Star Is Born": she's a rising star he's big but on his way down. Pride takes the place in this where in STAR it's alcohol. Like I said, pleasant enough and the vocals are very good - my throat hurt at the end of the film from straining to music. Looking at his filmography - doesn't look like Andrew L Stone had much luck with biographies about composers: SONG OF NORWAY and THE GREAT WALTZ (remake). Primary reason to watch for me: one of the few and, actually, the third film role of Mary Martin - that was a treat.