by A.J.
Best Pictures #24: 1929-30 (3rd) Academy Awards Outstanding Production Nominee
Director Ernst Lubitsch’s final silent film, The Patriot (a Best Picture nominee the
previous year), is a lost film unfortunately, but, thankfully, his first talkie
and musical has been preserved and is available on home video as part of the
Eclipse series released by the Criterion Collection. It also airs occasionally
on TCM. The Love Parade received the
most nominations of any film at the 3rd Academy Awards with a total
of six, including nominations for Maurice Chevalier and Ernst Lubitsch, but it did
not win in any category. This film is allegedly the first movie musical to
incorporate songs and performances into the narrative, as opposed to a backstage musical, such as The Broadway Melody, in which the
characters are singers and dancers.
Lubitsch, who had directed many silent films, takes to
talking pictures quite well right out of the gate. There is nothing clunky or awkward with the composition and staging of shots or overall style that suggests someone working through a learning curve. Of course The Love Parade has several
strong elements working together in addition to Lubitsch’s skill behind the
camera. Based on the play The Prince
Consort, the script is loaded with lively dialogue, a sharp sense of humor
that does not shy away from innuendo, and likeable characters. Maurice
Chevalier plays Count Alfred, who is recalled from Paris to his homeland of
Slyvania after (several) scandals involving married women.
Lubitsh transitions from silent filmmaking to working with sound and dialogue smoothly. He does not over indulge in dialogue and music and still uses silent visuals to great effect. When a servant in
the Queen’s palace asks why Alfred has a French accent, Alfred says that he went
to see a doctor about a cold but was greeted by the doctor’s wife. The movie
cuts to an exterior shot of the palace and through a window we see Alfred
whisper the rest of the story to the servant. When the movie cuts back inside
Alfred says that the cold was gone, but he had that terrible accent. I had
never seen a movie starring Maurice Chevalier before and he is as charming and
lively and French as I’d imagined.
Jeanette MacDonald, in her screen debut, plays Queen Louise
who in addition to having the responsibilities of a governing queen is also
under pressure from her ministers and advisors to marry. The trouble with
finding her a suitor is that he would be only Price Consort and have no power
or responsibility in governing. She meets Count Alfred to reprimand him for his
scandals, but they both quickly charm each other and flirt through song.
Aside from a dolly shot or two, I must confess that I was so
caught up with the characters and story that I hardly noticed the camerawork,
or lack thereof. Lubitsch fills the screen with entertainment, so even static
shots are hardly dull. The songs are pleasing and catchy. The palace sets and
costumes are opulent and impressive. There are memorable scenes both with and
without music. From his balcony at the beginning of the film, Chevalier sings
his goodbye to Paris and the women on nearby balconies. His valet, Jacques,
played by Lupino Lane, joins in and sings goodbye to Parisian maids. Then
Chevalier’s dog sings, by barking, to the female dogs of Paris. We see none of
Alfred and Louise’s first date. Instead we see the Queen’s advisors, her ladies
in waiting, and Jacques and the Queen’s maid spying on the date and reporting
to each other like a game of telephone. The Queen’s maid, Lulu, played by
Lillian Roth, and Jacques have some good songs together too.
The Love Parade is
almost overwhelmingly enjoyable, up to a point. There are two distinct halves to
this movie. The first half is very funny, jaunty, and romantic. The second
half, after Alfred and Louise are married, deals with their marital problems.
There is still humor and entertainment value in this half of the film but at a diminished level. Queen Louise and Alfred seem to misunderstand and
mistreat each other immediately after they are married and solely for the sake of
dramatic conflict. Their main conflict is that Alfred does not have the
traditional role of a man in their marriage or in the monarchy. Queen Louise
runs the country and palace. Traditional gender roles in marriage and
government being the central conflict of a musical from 1929 is interesting, however,
as you might imagine, these issues are addressed but not challenged. The two tonally
different halves of The Love Parade make for an uneven but overall enjoyable musical. There is
still a lot to enjoyed in The Love Parade
and it is a good step forward for the nascent musical genre.
Nominee: Paramount Famous Lasky
Producer: Ernst Lubitsch
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Screenplay: Ernest Vadja and Guy Bolton, from the play The
Prince Consort by Leon Xanrof and Jules Chancel
Cast: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Lillian Roth
Release Date: November 19th, 1929
Total Nominations: 6, including Outstanding Production
Win(s): N/A
Other Nominations: Actor-Maurice Chevalier, Director-Ernst
Lubitsch, Cinematography-Victor Milner, Art Direction-Hans Dreier, Sound
Recording-Franklin Hansen
No comments:
Post a Comment