Main Cast: Nelson Eddy, Rise Stevens, Nigel Bruce, Florence Bates, Dorothy Gilmore
Release Year: 1941
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
This remake of Ferenc Molnar's play The Guardsmen focuses on an opera star (Nelson Eddy) who tests the fidelity of his wife (Rise Stephens) by wooing her in disguise. The film was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Score. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
Review
On-stage, The Chocolate Soldier was a musicalization of a George Bernard Shaw play. The film keeps the title and some of the songs, but jettisons the Shaw play entirely in favor of one by Molnár. The result is a movie that's neither fish nor fowl, although it comes terribly close to being foul. Soldier's biggest problem lies in its casting. Accomplished singers were needed for the songs, and it certainly has them in Nelson Eddy and Rise Stevens. Both are in glorious voice, and there is a thrill in hearing the gorgeous sounds the two make, separately and together. But the pair are miscast in their "offstage" roles of jealous husband and flirtatious wife. Stevens, looking quite attractive throughout and displaying a certain charm, comes off somewhat the better of the two, although her performance is too surface-oriented and occasionally too self-conscious; there's a difference between a light touch and one that is superficial, and Stevens falls into the second category. But much worse is Eddy, who tries extremely hard but is totally at sea. Rather than an insanely jealous man of the world, we get a petulant little boy -- and while that could conceivably be a very interesting variation to explore in another setting, it's not what the role requires. Some of Eddy's work is decidedly painful, and while he is marginally better when he dons a disguise and plays a potential lover, it's still not enough. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, Ernst Matray - Choreography, Adrian - Costume Designer, Roy Del Ruth - Director, James Newcom - Editor, Bronislau Kaper - Composer (Music Score), Herbert Stothart - Composer (Music Score), Oscar Straus - Composer (Music Score), Merrill Pye - Musical Direction/Supervision, Karl W. Freund - Cinematographer, Victor Saville - Producer, Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer, Leonard Lee - Screenwriter, Ernest Vajda - Screenwriter, Claudine West - Screenwriter, Keith Winter - Screenwriter, Ferenc Molnar - Screenwriter, Ferenc Molnar - Play Author
