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Sweethearts (film)
Encyclopedia
Sweethearts is a 1938 musical
romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke, starring Jeanette MacDonald
and Nelson Eddy
. The screenplay
, by Dorothy Parker
and Alan Campbell
, uses the “play within a play” device: a contemporary Broadway production of the 1913 Victor Herbert
operetta is the setting for another pair of sweethearts, the stars of the show.
) and Ernest Lane (Nelson Eddy
) are appearing in a 6-year run of Victor Herbert
's operetta Sweethearts (Ray Bolger
dances the role of Hans). They are also very much in love after six years of marriage. Norman Trumpett (Reginald Gardiner
) is a successful Hollywood talent scout under pressure to recruit Marlow and Lane for his studio, which their Broadway producer Felix Lehman (Frank Morgan
) is equally determined to prevent.
The couple's attempts to rest and be together are repeatedly thwarted by professional and personal demands made on their time, talents and money by Lehman and their own theatrical families - who also live with them. Frustrated beyond endurance and seduced by Trumpett's idyllic (and false) description of working conditions in Hollywood, they decide to quit the show and take the Hollywood offer. (In guise of buying a new wardrobe for the trip Jeanette MacDonald models fashions of 1938.)
This spells “the end” for the Broadway production, news so devastating that constantly feuding playwright Leo Kronk (Mischa Auer
) and composer Oscar Engel (Herman Bing
) stop fighting long enough for Lehman, Kronk and company to hatch a counter-plot. By convincing Marlow that Lane is having an affair with his pretty secretary Kay Jordan (Florence Rice
) they split-up the happy couple, putting an end to the Hollywood deal and allowing Lehman to mount two separate touring companies of the show, each with one star and one understudy.
Delighted with the outcome, Engel produces Kronk's new play - which closes in a week. From a Variety
review of the play Marlow and Lane realize they were tricked and join forces to confront Lehman.... but nonetheless resume the Broadway run of “Sweethearts” together.
) and Best Music, Scoring (Herbert Stothart). The film was MGM
's first feature-length color film, and the Technicolor
Company received a special Academy Award for ...its contributions in successfully bringing three-color feature production to the screen. http://209.85.129.132/search?q=cache:wMOx4JObJ64J:www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148114.html+1939+academy+award+%22technicolor%22&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=il
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke, starring Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
and Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, by Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
and Alan Campbell
Alan Campbell (screenwriter)
Alan K. Campbell was an American writer, actor, and screenwriter. He and his wife, Dorothy Parker, were a popular screenwriting team in Hollywood from 1934 to 1963....
, uses the “play within a play” device: a contemporary Broadway production of the 1913 Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
operetta is the setting for another pair of sweethearts, the stars of the show.
Plot
Broadway stars Gwen Marlow (Jeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
) and Ernest Lane (Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
) are appearing in a 6-year run of Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
's operetta Sweethearts (Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
dances the role of Hans). They are also very much in love after six years of marriage. Norman Trumpett (Reginald Gardiner
Reginald Gardiner
Reginald Gardiner was an English-born actor in film and television and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Britain. His parents wanted him to be an architect and he studied at it but he wanted to be an actor and eventually got his way.He started as a super on stage and eventually...
) is a successful Hollywood talent scout under pressure to recruit Marlow and Lane for his studio, which their Broadway producer Felix Lehman (Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
) is equally determined to prevent.
The couple's attempts to rest and be together are repeatedly thwarted by professional and personal demands made on their time, talents and money by Lehman and their own theatrical families - who also live with them. Frustrated beyond endurance and seduced by Trumpett's idyllic (and false) description of working conditions in Hollywood, they decide to quit the show and take the Hollywood offer. (In guise of buying a new wardrobe for the trip Jeanette MacDonald models fashions of 1938.)
This spells “the end” for the Broadway production, news so devastating that constantly feuding playwright Leo Kronk (Mischa Auer
Mischa Auer
Mischa Auer was a Russian-born American actor.-Early life:Auer was born Mikhail Semyonovich Unskovsky in St. Petersburg, Russia...
) and composer Oscar Engel (Herman Bing
Herman Bing
Herman Bing was a German-American character actor and voice actor.Herman Bing was also the brother of Gus Bing .-Biography:...
) stop fighting long enough for Lehman, Kronk and company to hatch a counter-plot. By convincing Marlow that Lane is having an affair with his pretty secretary Kay Jordan (Florence Rice
Florence Rice
Florence Rice was an American film actress.Florence Davenport Rice was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Grantland Rice and Katherine Hollis, who became an actress during the early 1930s and after several Broadway roles, eventually made her way to Hollywood where she acted in almost fifty...
) they split-up the happy couple, putting an end to the Hollywood deal and allowing Lehman to mount two separate touring companies of the show, each with one star and one understudy.
Delighted with the outcome, Engel produces Kronk's new play - which closes in a week. From a Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
review of the play Marlow and Lane realize they were tricked and join forces to confront Lehman.... but nonetheless resume the Broadway run of “Sweethearts” together.
Cast
- Jeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
as Gwen Marlowe - Nelson EddyNelson EddyNelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
as Ernest Lane - Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as Felix Lehman - Ray BolgerRay BolgerRaymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as Hans - Florence RiceFlorence RiceFlorence Rice was an American film actress.Florence Davenport Rice was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Grantland Rice and Katherine Hollis, who became an actress during the early 1930s and after several Broadway roles, eventually made her way to Hollywood where she acted in almost fifty...
as Kay Jordan - Mischa AuerMischa AuerMischa Auer was a Russian-born American actor.-Early life:Auer was born Mikhail Semyonovich Unskovsky in St. Petersburg, Russia...
as Leo Kronk - Herman BingHerman BingHerman Bing was a German-American character actor and voice actor.Herman Bing was also the brother of Gus Bing .-Biography:...
as Oscar Engel - George BarbierGeorge BarbierGeorge Barbier was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century. Born in Nantes, France on October 10, 1882, Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911 and was subsequently swept to the forefront of his profession with commissions to design theatre and...
as Benjamin Silver - Reginald GardinerReginald GardinerReginald Gardiner was an English-born actor in film and television and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Britain. His parents wanted him to be an architect and he studied at it but he wanted to be an actor and eventually got his way.He started as a super on stage and eventually...
as Norman Trumpett - Fay HoldenFay HoldenFay Holden , was a British-born American-based actress. She was known as Gaby Fay early in her career....
as Hannah - Allyn JoslynAllyn JoslynAllyn Joslyn was an American stage, film and television actor.-Biography:Allyn Joslyn was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the son of a mining engineer...
as Dink - Lucile WatsonLucile Watson-Career:Watson began her career on the stage debuting on Broadway in the play Hearts Aflame in 1902. Her next play was The Girl With Green Eyes, the first of several Clyde Fitch stories. At the end of 1903, Lucile appeared in Fitch's "Glad of It"...
as Mrs. Marlowe - Gene LockhartGene LockhartEugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
as Augustus
Awards
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Sound Recording (Douglas ShearerDouglas Shearer
Douglas G. Shearer was a Canadian-born pioneer sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures.-Early life and career:...
) and Best Music, Scoring (Herbert Stothart). The film was MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
's first feature-length color film, and the Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
Company received a special Academy Award for ...its contributions in successfully bringing three-color feature production to the screen. http://209.85.129.132/search?q=cache:wMOx4JObJ64J:www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148114.html+1939+academy+award+%22technicolor%22&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=il
External links
- Sweethearts at Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy: A Tribute