Main Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, David Niven, J. Carrol Naish, James Mitchell
Release Year: 1950
Country: US
Run Time: 97 minutes
Plot
So far as their fans were concerned, Mario Lanza and Kathryn Grayson could have stood up against a blank wall and sung uninterruptedly for 96 minutes in Toast of New Orleans. MGM, however, adhered to the policy that all movies must have plots. This one finds Lanza playing Pepe Abellard Duvalle, a shrimp fisherman from Louisiana's bayou country, while Grayson plays Suzette Micheline, a famed opera singer. After he witnesses an impromptu duet between Pepe and Suzette at an outdoor restaurant, Suzette's manager Jacques Riboudeaux (David Niven) decides to groom Pepe for singing stardom. In so doing, Jacques has put the kibosh on his own romance with Suzette, but that's why he gets third billing. Toast of New Orleans is a typical Joe Pasternak production, all bright smiles, lilting songs and happy people in Living Technicolor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
It's a little hard for most modern audiences to know what to make of movies like The Toast of New Orleans. The story is absurd and predictable, the characters at times are actively annoying, and contrivance is usually the order of the day. In its own time, the attraction of Mario Lanza and Kathryn Grayson made any such flaws beside the point, but opera -- which was even then not food for the masses -- has become so marginalized culturally that few today can appreciate either the voices or the style of the singers. However, for those willing to listen, the songs and arias presented herein hold a great deal of appeal, and Lanza, at least, is in superior voice. Grayson comes off a bit shrill at times, and inferior recording techniques sometimes affect the quality of her upper register. For non-opera fans, there's still a delicious David Niven, and Lanza, though a bit stiff, has virility and a certain flair. For her part, Grayson certainly knows how to do the imperious bit, and the two do have a nice oil-and-water chemistry. Overblown and kitschy in places, there's still an undeniable, schmaltzy appeal to much of New Orleans, especially the classic "Be My love" sequence and the big finale aria from Madame Butterfly. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Daniel B. Cathcart - Art Director, Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, Eugene Loring - Choreography, Walter Plunkett - Costume Designer, Helen Rose - Costume Designer, Norman Taurog - Director, Gene Ruggiero - Editor, Nicholas Brodszky - Composer (Music Score), Johnny Green - Musical Direction/Supervision, George Stoll - Musical Direction/Supervision, William Snyder - Cinematographer, Joe Pasternak - Producer, Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer, Sy Gomberg - Screenwriter, George Wells - Screenwriter
The plot revolves around Pepe Abellard Duvalle, a New Orleans fisherman, who falls in love with opera star, soprano Suzette Micheline (Grayson). It culminates with Micheline's manager, played by Niven, hearing Duvalle sing and offering him a position.
