Themes: Rags To Riches, Musician's Life, Self-Destructive Romance
Main Cast: Mario Lanza, Joan Fontaine, Sarita Montiel, Vincent Price, Joseph Calleia
Release Year: 1956
Country: US
Run Time: 121 minutes
Plot
Loosely based on a novel by James M. Cain, this romantic drama centers on the struggles of a humble vineyard worker (real-life opera star Mario Lanza) who rises to become a renowned opera star. In the original book, Damon, the protagonist, has a homosexual relationship with the patron who boosts his career, but in the film, the patron is a wealthy and manipulative young woman named Kendall (Joan Fontaine). As charming as she is selfish, poor Damon cannot help but fall in love with Kendall. Unfortunately, she is a fickle creature and soon grows bored with him, thereby breaking his heart and causing him to choke during his audition for the Met. Afterward, he flees to Mexico. There he comes down with a mysterious, debilitating movie disease. Fortunately, Juana, a beautiful ex-bullfighter's daughter is there to help him recover. Damon falls in love with her, but just as it looks like happiness will finally be his, conniving Kendall reappears. In addition to singing numerous selections from popular operas, Lanza also sings a pair of Sammy Cahn/Nicholas Brodszky pop tunes: "Serenade" and "My Destiny." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
In this 1956 film directed by Anthony Mann, Mario Lanza romances two women -- one a socialite who jilts him and another a bullfighter's daughter who accepts him -- and rumbles the rafters with 15 songs. The love story is average; the singing is sensational. While all of the spine-tingling drama is taking place, the raison d'être of the film, the real reason Hollywood bothered to make it, presents itself. It is, of course, Lanza's voice, the voice exalted by tenors Placido Domingo and José Carreras and the voice credited with motivating tenor Richard Leech to pursue an opera career. During the film's two-hour running time, Lanza sings arias by Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Giordano, Meyerbeer, Mozart, Cilea, and Richard Strauss, as well as popular songs by Sammy Kahn and Nicholas Brodzky. He also sings a beautiful, echoing "Ave Maria," by Franz Schubert, in a Mexican church. Unfortunately, Lanza lip-synchs his numbers, and sometimes his lips move behind or ahead of the words. Also, he gains weight during the film -- a not uncommon problem for him during the making of his movies, given his enormous appetite that would call for as many two dozen eggs and a pound of bacon for breakfast. Consequently, he appears svelte and slender singing one aria and porcine and puffy in the next. But the film works because it sings, and there was no other film star who could sing quite like Lanza. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Harry Bellaver - Monte; Vince Edwards - Marco Roselli; Silvio Minciotti - Lordelli; Frank Puglia - Manuel; Edward Platt - Carter; Frank Yaconelli - Giuseppe; Mario Siletti - Sanroma; Maria Serrano - Rosa; Eduardo Noriega - Felipe; Licia Albanese - Singer; Jean Fenn - Singer; Stephen Bekassy - Hanson; Elizabeth Flournoy - Elevator Operator; Martin Garralaga - Romero; Creighton Hale - Assistant Stage Manager; Lillian Molieri - Tosca in "Tosca"; Leo Mostovoy - Chief; Victor Romito - Bass; José Torvay - Mariachi Leader; Antonio Triana - Dancer; Don Turner - Bus Driver; Joseph Vitale - Baritone; Ralph Volkie - Cop; Jack Santoro - Busboy; Johnstone White - Hughes the Butler; Mickey Golden - Cabdriver; Diane Gump - Party Guest; Laura Mason - Fedora in "Fedora"; April Stride; William Fox
