Rose-Marie (1936)

Rose-Marie: Directed by W.S. Van Dyke. With Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Reginald Owen, Allan Jones. An incognito opera singer falls for a policeman who has been assigned to track down her fugitive brother.

“Beautiful scenery provides a romantic backdrop for this musical love story. The role of a stout-hearted Canadian Mountie who u0026quot;always gets his manu0026quot;–and in this case, u0026quot;his womanu0026quot;, too!–is ideal for Eddy, whose stiff mannerisms usually hold these MacDonald/Eddy vehicles back somewhat. As a u0026quot;straight and trueu0026quot; type his stiffness becomes an asset. While MacDonald undresses in a tent, for example, this Mountieu0026#39;s mind is solely on his duty as he goes through every item of her clothes (as she peels them off) looking for the map that will tell him where his quarry is. It never once occurs to this over-sized boy scout that this beautiful woman is getting naked two feet away from him!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe opening half-hour or so is all Jeanetteu0026#39;s and she is vibrant as a swell-headed prima donna whose every thought is of herself. MacDonald seems to really enjoy playing this caricature of a star. David Niven is barely discernible (heu0026#39;s not given one close-up) in his brief appearance as an unrequited suitor. His character goes from city to city to see Marie– and to propose to her–only to be ushered to the door every time. Thereu0026#39;s also something deliciously wacky in the way Jeanette enchants everyone with her singing–they cluster around her the same way u0026quot;100 Menu0026quot; do around Universalu0026#39;s Deanna Durbin whenever she starts to sing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the heart of this romance is in the wilderness scenes, perched above the lakes and hills and beneath the stars, where it seems like time has stopped and all that exists are two lovers singing the echo-like u0026quot;When Iu0026#39;m Calling Youu0026quot; number to one another. The story in this musical has a wonderful habit of dropping away–while the beautiful singing and orchestration draw these two hearts closer and closer until they finally kiss and profess their love. It doesnu0026#39;t get any cornier than this–but the rhythm of this movie is just right. The last scene with Eddy just standing there finally able to return the u0026quot;callu0026quot; he couldnu0026#39;t before is played perfectly–all in song.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story has once again just dropped away and the two lovers are alone together again. Thereu0026#39;s a purity to this bonding that is hard to resist…”