Le baiser de minuit

This is a surprisingly probable story line for an MGM musical. The only improbability is the ending where the Lanza character goes on with the show with practically no rehearsal time and his appearance is no announced to the audience. Still, this is a treat for opera lovers as the music is the best part of the show. It's kind of a male "cinerella" story as truck driver, Lanza, lands an audition with the local opera company. He gets the job of course. Lanza was quite good in his role. Better than be expected from an unknown with no acting experience at all. Kathryn Grayson is radiant as the ingénue and the supporting cast headed by the always wonderful Ethel Barrymore and Keenan Wynn are tops. Add Thomas Gomez as a temperamental opera star and Jules Munshion as a manager, and you have the ingredients for fun and romance. Gomez is excellent in a comic role. The best song is THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME. Could hear that one over and over again. For a nice evening of entertainment with not much plot, THAT MIDNIGHT KISS is the one to see. Now we need THE GREAT CARUSO on DVD. The DVD has an outake of a nice song featuring both Grayson and Lanza.

In That Midnight Kiss, Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanzo are paired together again, this time in a really cute comedy. Kathryn plays a young soprano making her stage debut, but rather than sing alongside a famous tenor, she wants the theater company to take a chance on a truck driver who happens to have a nice voice.

What I love about this movie is each character has his own little gimmicks, adding some much needed comedy to an otherwise simple story. Mario's trademark is singing a short, loud, solid note in an unsuspecting bystander's face whenever he leaves the room. Keenan Wynn, his manager, gives quips like warning Mario not to run down the stairs because, "you might fall and bruise your tonsils." Conductor Jose Iturbi looks down on everyone with a level of snobbery, but his face instantly dissolves into a smile whenever he looks at Kathryn. Jules Munchin conducts with overexaggerated expressions, weeping when a violin plays and using all four of his limbs to show his enthusiasm. You'll get to see Marjorie Reynolds, Arthur Treacher, and Ethel Barrymore in the supporting cast, as well as Thomas Gomez, giving a hilarious portrayal of an opera diva. He spritzes his throat, warms up when his costar is singing, interrupts rehearsal, and gets his feelings hurt when Kathryn refuses to look at him during their love song. J. Carrol Naish steals a scene as well, as he dances with his wife and serenades her sweetly with "Three O'Clock in the Morning."

If you're not normally a Mario Lanzo fan, give this one a chance. I don't usually like him either and this one is my favorite of his movies I've seen. Plus it's his first movie; what a great introduction!

It was only natural that when Mario Lanza made his film debut, MGM cast him opposite their current operatic diva, Kathryn Grayson, and showcased both of them in a sumptuous technicolor musical.

This film also marked the last film of Jose Iturbi, who lent his talent and charm to a number of MGM musicals in the '40s. The story is a simple one: opera singer Grayson would like to have a tenor who looks the part of the tenor role. When Lanza, a singing truck driver is discovered, she gets her wish--and a happy ending isn't far away. Humor of the painful kind is furnished by Jules Munshin and J. Carrol Naish but nothing really matters when Lanza and Grayson burst into song. Among the song highlights: Donizetti's "Una Furtiva Lagrima" and Verdi's "Celeste Aida". Grayson, who always had a burning ambition to be an opera singer, does a fine job on "Cara Nome" with her bright soprano.

The schmaltz is pretty thick--but fans of Grayson and Lanza will certainly enjoy this trifle. And, oh yes, Ethel Barrymore is prominent among the supporting players showing a droll sense of humor.

In Philadelphia, the soprano Prudence Budell (Kathryn Grayson) returns from Europe after a period of five years training in the best Europeans music schools. Her millionaire grandmother Abigail Trent Budell (Ethel Barrymore) sponsors an opera company under the command of the famous maestro Jose Iturbi to give a chance to Prudence to lead an opera. They hire the also famous tenor Guido Russino Betelli (Thomas Gomez), but Prudence does not feel comfortable with him on the stage. When Prudence accidentally sees the American-Italian truck driver Johnny Donnetti (Mario Lanza) singing opera, she convinces Jose Iturbi to give a chance to Johnny. They fall in love for each other, but when Prudence visits his work to tell that he will be hired, she meets Mary (Marjorie Reynolds) and she believes Johnny is in love of his colleague.

"That Midnight Kiss" is a delightful and naive musical and romantic comedy, and also the debut of Mario Lanza in the cinema industry. The classy story is predictable and is a great family entertainment with wonderful classic music and opera; has many funny moments and Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza show a magnificent chemistry. The DVD released in Brazil is re-mastered in Technicolor and 5.1 Dolby System. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Aquele Beijo à Meia-Noite" ("That Midnight Kiss")

I tend to agree with the critics of the time: If Mario Lanza was in the movie it was worth seeing. Even though this musical contained a wonderfully talented cast Mario Lanza still shines out and that is saying something. Any musical that was fortunate enough to have Jose Iturbi and his sister Amparo Iturbi who were concert pianists of great magnitude plus Kathryn Grayson who was no slouch in the singing department herself. Throw in Ethel Barrymore of the First Family of Actors and it is a lucky movie musical indeed. But in my opinion even with all of that Mario Lanza is the reason to see this movie. What a voice! Who cares if he could act or not. His acting was more than adequate. No one expected him to be an Oscar winner. Of course the plot to the musical was thin, most of those MGM musical plots were. But any musical that has Mario Lanza in it is worth seeing again and again.