IMDb > The Love Parade (1929) > IMDb user reviews

IMDb user comments for
The Love Parade (1929) More at IMDbPro »

Filter: Hide Spoilers:
Page 1 of 2:[1] [2] [Next]
Index 13 reviews in total 

16 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Anything to Please the Queen, 15 November 2000
Author: lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida

THE LOVE PARADE (Paramount, 1929) directed by Ernst Lubitsch, stars Maurice Chevalier in his second Hollywood musical (the first being INNOCENTS OF Paris in 1929), and his first of four with Jeanette MacDonald as his co-star, making her movie debut. Jeanette plays Queen Louise of the Kingdom of Sylvania who immediately falls in love with Alfred, a popular man with the ladies, and marries this Parisian emissary in order to negotiate a loan from foreign power. After they wed, Alfred soon resents the idea that being married to a queen isn't what's expected, since he has to take all the orders from her and play second fiddle to her kingdom.

In spite of its age, THE LOVE PARADE is still a very good early sound musical, consisted mainly of singing. Tunes include, "Paris, Stay the Same," "Dream Lover," "My Love Parade" and the lavish "March of the Grenadiers," Co-starring Lillian Roth as Lulu, and Lupino Lane as Jacques, as the supporting "comedy relief" secondary couple. They also participate in a lively and funny number, "Let's Be Common."

Running a little under two hours, THE LOVE PARADE was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, with Chevalier earning a nomination as Best Actor, but no wins. Silent comic/ comedian Ben Turpin has one funny bit. Look fast for future film stars, Virginia Bruce, as the lady-in-waiting, and Jean Harlow, as one of the patrons in the ballet theater.

Formerly presented on the American Movie Classics cable channel from January 1989 until September 1996, and to date, never distributed on video cassette or DVD, Bob Dorian, then host of AMC, once mentioned that THE LOVE PARADE became the only movie in which Jeanette MacDonald is seen smoking a cigarette. Now that's an interesting piece of trivia. THE LOVE PARADE is full of comedy wit and unexpected surprises that lead to something else, something one would expect in a Lubitsch comedy. Worth a look. (***)

Was the above comment useful to you?

11 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A forgotten musical parfait with much to enjoy, 21 June 2000
8/10
Author: psteier from New York

An early musical (Ernst Lubitsch's first talkie), so the sound can be hard on the ears (especially Jeanette MacDonald's high notes). The plot as such is forgettable, but see it for the performances.

It seems odd to match Jeanette MacDonald's operetta singing with Maurice Chevalier's cabaret, but each gets their own numbers and they join in the middle for duets.

Lupino Lane and Lillian Roth do two wonderful vaudeville style song and dance numbers.

Was the above comment useful to you?

10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Chevalier Shines In Lubitsch Teaser, 15 May 2004
10/10
Author: Ron Oliver (revilorest@juno.com) from Forest Ranch, CA

Domestic difficulties between the strong-willed Queen of Sylvania and her stubborn Consort may cause them both to miss THE LOVE PARADE.

Director Ernst Lubitsch spread his special brand of sophisticated naughtiness in this visually impressive & engaging early talkie musical. Depending much on the intelligence of the viewer, the film serves up unexpected bons mons of wit (e.g. the dog barking his farewells to the pooches of Paris) which never fail to enchant. Lubitsch would contribute a series of delightful little comedies over the next several years, making the title of this confection pertinent in more ways than one.

Maurice Chevalier practically oozes Gaelic charm in a wonderfully hammy, ingratiating performance. His French charisma dominates the screen; he embraces his songs rather than just singing them. His immense joie de vivre & exceptional talent was perfectly attuned to the sound motion picture. In her film debut, the lovely Jeanette MacDonald proves a charming partner to Chevalier. Imperious or coquettish by turns, she beguiles the viewer as well as Maurice--her celebrated voice (when intelligible) put to good use in the seduction.

British physical comedian Lupino Lane is a winner as Chevalier's highly energetic little valet; lanky Lillian Roth, as a palace maid, joins him for some humorous knockabout songs. Lionel Belmore & Eugene Palette bring appropriately hefty gravitas to their roles as government ministers. Diminutive Edgar Norton appears as an unflappable majordomo.

Movie mavens will recognize silent screen comic Ben Turpin as a cross-eyed lackey, Russ Powell as the Afghan Ambassador and young Jean Harlow as one of a group of women applauding Chevalier at the theatre, all uncredited.

Was the above comment useful to you?

8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Our first visit to the Kingdom of Sylvania, 8 September 2005
8/10
Author: theowinthrop from United States

It was really the film that established Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald as a musical comedy team - the first one of the American talkie period. They would make four films in the end (THE LOVE PARADE, ONE HOUR WITH YOU, LOVE ME TONIGHT, and THE MERRY WIDOW). Four first rate early musicals... and they did not like each other! Jeanette rebuffed Chevalier's attempts at a closer relationship (she only liked Gene Raymond, whom she later married). He considered her a prude and hypocrite as a result. So, despite their stunning screen chemistry and string of successes their partnership faded. Nelson Eddy was waiting in the wings for her to find the proper partner.

Chevalier is a Count who has been returned from a diplomatic post for a sexual scandal. The country is ruled by Queen Jeanette, and when she meets the charming Maurice she falls for him. They marry, but he finds that (under the guidance of her Prime Minister - Lionel Belmore - and his cabinet) she puts him aside on matters of ruling the state. Chevalier, normally the aggressor in sexual matters and in putting his own ideas out, does not like the self-image of being the boy-toy husband of the ruler of his native country. His idea would be more like that of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, who became her chief adviser on political matters after their marriage. Here, however, while everyone is polite to him, they make it clear that constitutionally he is not to be involved in running the government.

The film is a charming one - full of those "Lubitsch touches". For example, Chevalier's growing anger and impatience at his political uselessness is first shown when he asks one of the courtiers (who has just politely put him in his place), "Do you understand French?" "No, I'm afraid I don't.", says the courtier. Chevalier, with perfect timing, shoots out a long, furious diatribe of French, which one can tell is gutter language, to show his fury at his position - much to the dismay of the courtier. Later on, when the Prime Minister also puts down Chevalier's attempts at advice, he smiles and asks the Prime Minister, "Excuse me, but do you speak French?" Belmore looks at him puzzled, "Yes I do speak French." With an eat dirt smile, Chevalier says, "What a pity!" In the end, it is a financial crisis (which with typical Lubitsch humor can only depend on the foreign investors in Sylvanian securities, all of whom have to observe the reactions of the Afghan Ambassador - bearded Russ Powell - to a court function) that gives Chevalier his chance. Chevalier will only show his true love for his wife if she and the cabinet give him a voice in public affairs like Prince Albert had. And they give in.

It would not be the last visit Hollywood paid to Sylvania. Unlike other Balkan pseudo-states, it actually reappeared four years later, though under more "sinister" circumstances. In 1933 the Sylvanian Ambassador to a neighboring country tried to use underhanded means to bring about it's annexation by his homeland. However, Ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern) did not count upon the Dictator of Freedonia (Rufus T. Firefly - Groucho Marx) and his three brothers to force him to surrender in a barrage of vegetables and fruit in DUCK SOUP.

Was the above comment useful to you?

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Movie Odyssey Review #100: The Love Parade, 12 February 2009
8/10
Author: Cyke from Denver, Colorado

100: The Love Parade (1929) - released 11/19/1929, viewed 6/10/08.

DOUG: I always said that as soon as they released an Ernst Lubitsch box set, I would check it out. As Lubitsch's first sound film, 'The Love Parade' would have closed out the 20's for us. This is my 5th Lubitsch film, and he has yet to disappoint me. Right from the start, Lubitsch has an excellent handle on how to utilize sound, dialogue, and music, but still gets plenty of mileage out of dialogue-free business, such as the opening scene. The two leads spark nearly as much chemistry as they would later in 'Love Me Tonight': Chevalier (in his second sound film) is charming as ever, and Jeanette McDonald (in her first film) is supremely sexy (really!), showing a lot more skin in several scenes than the Hays Code would have likely allowed. I thought the second half of the film lagged quite a bit; once the two are married, it's just a series of scenes of Alfred becoming miserable with his new life, suffering under the soul-crushing set-up of "many duties and no rights." Lupino Lane and Lillian Roth add a lot of cuteness, spunk, and verve to the proceedings as Alfred and Louise's respective sidekicks/hired help; their performance of "Let's Be Common" was my favorite musical number of the piece. Judging by his footwork, I'm guessing Lane came off of vaudeville. Although I enjoyed this movie less than the other four Lubitsch comedies I've seen, I still recommend it.

KEVIN: Going back to 1929 we have this royal battle of the sexes, Lubitsch-style! Though not an essential, this movie was definitely worth checking out. The always reliable Maurice Chevalier (in his second sound film), and the lovely singer Jeanette MacDonald (in her first film) star in The Love Parade, Ernst Lubitsch's teasing romantic musical. When a suave ambassador (Chevalier) gets in one too many scandals in his beloved Paris, he returns home to his native Silvania, where he catches the eye of the man-starved queen (MacDonald). But when they wed, he becomes not a king but the "queen-consort," a position with many mundane duties but no responsibilities or power of any kind. That and his lovely new wife is more focused on her queenly duties. Naturally, he finds his new life more than a little unsatisfying. I found the struggle of Chevalier's character to be fresh and appealing, portraying a man who refuses to remain a trophy husband. There were several scenes where it felt as though the gender roles had been reversed, though the scene in the opera house where Chevalier basically taunts MacDonald into submission worried me some. But overall, the irresistible team of Chevalier & Lubitsch definitely met my expectations. The dialogue-free opening scene was a stitch. MacDonald manages to strike the right balance of lovelorn maiden and blue-blooded royal. Lupino Lane and Lillian Roth (who would appear the following year in Animal Crackers) make a great team and provide some fantastic sidekick laughs (and some of the more inventive dance numbers).

Last film viewed: Wings (1927). Last film chronologically: The Cocoanuts (1929). Next film viewed: The Divorcée (1930). Next film chronologically: Anna Christie (1930).

Was the above comment useful to you?

5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
a happy film from the golden age, 31 July 2006
9/10
Author: dai_boden from United Kingdom

the sort of film that filmmakers to day are unable to make. it is too simple for them. it has a story with a beginning, middle and end. far too simple for the current crop of genius. the stars were real stars i swear they sometimes glittered. the directors famous touch was in fine form and even after many years i can remember walking home in a romantic glow. could anyone do the same after watching one of to days EPICS. i agree there must have been sound faults and other technical problems though i do not remember them. later on i heard a radio version also enjoyed. like far too many films of the past the love parade is unavailable to us on video or DVD. it may have been damaged and no longer usable though i do hope not. if there is any way to urge the current copyright owners to re-issue the film i would certainly like to be involved. are there other enthusiasts out there who agree?

Was the above comment useful to you?

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
pioneering film musical, 25 July 2008
7/10
Author: mukava991 from United States

Poor Queen Louise – when she is awakened by her attendants she has been dreaming of love but must face another day in the Kingdom of Sylvania without a husband. When an errant military adjutant is recalled from Paris to face her censure she falls for his charms and he for hers, and they marry. But the Queen's new husband is unhappy in the role of obedient consort. Conflict arises but is eventually resolved, as we know it will be in operetta land.

This early Lubitsch musical rates about the same as MONTE CARLO made a year later. The highlight here is the performance of Maurice Chevalier as the consort, a sort of pre-Cary Grant Cary Grant, Gallic style. He has the same effortless magnetism and charm and a certain physical resemblance. Jeanette MacDonald is as good here as in MONTE CARLO, handling songs and dialogue with equal aplomb and looking gorgeous in her filmy gowns. As is usual with Lubitsch, there is a superior supporting cast, here including the formidable Lupino Lane as Chevalier's valet, a sassy and brassy Lillian Roth as Lane's love interest and Edgar Norton as the "Master of Ceremonies," the personification of royal lackey. Another Lubitsch hallmark, the measured depiction of ritualistic daily activities, gets much display in the context of the protocols of a royal palace. The songs by Victor Schertzinger and Clifford Grey are only passable and the primitive sound recording doesn't help in getting them across but the tone of the whole enterprise is so frothy and pleasant that one doesn't mind not hearing all of the lyrics.

When you compare this film to other musicals from the dawn of the sound era like Broadway MELODY the difference is glaring. Lubitsch's camera is liberated and fluid and we get an assortment of physical approaches to song and dance numbers which themselves vary in style from pompous operetta-military to musical hall slapstick to Gilbert-and- Sullivanesque call-and-repeat choral to intimate romantic duets. There is a hint of LOVE ME TONIGHT in some of the ensemble work, particularly with the palace staff. And the script is studded with witty observations and clever comic constructions, some via dialogue, some through pure visuals. THE LOVE PARADE illustrates that in 1929 Rouben Mamoulian (APPLAUSE) was not alone among film directors in recognizing the value of sound as an artistic element and in refusing to subordinate the freedom of the camera to the dictates of miking.

Was the above comment useful to you?

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Love...sex...songs...sophistication. And pre-code Lubitsch, 20 March 2008
8/10
Author: Terrell-4 from San Antonio, Texas

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

"Even if the Queen liked him, would he be eligible to become the Queen's consort?" asks a courtier.

"Absolutely!" says the prime minister. "His great-grandfather was the illegitimate son of one king and his grandmother the sweetheart of another."

"I had no idea he came from such a distinguished family," says the minister of war.

And before long Count Alfred Renard (Maurice Chevalier), the former Sylvanian military attaché at the embassy in Paris, is being married to Louise (Jeannette MacDonald), Queen of Sylvania. We're halfway through the first musical Ernst Lubitsch made in Hollywood, and a delight it is. It's Ruritanian operetta, or rather Sylvanian operetta, but it shows what Lubitsch was doing to bring an early Hollywood cliché -- musicals filmed with cameras pointed straight at the stage-bound musical numbers -- into what the musicals, influenced by Lubitsch, became. The effervescent and amusing songs, with music by Victor Schertzinger and lyrics by Clifford Grey, for the most part come from the plot. The camera moves fluidly. The actors don't play to the camera except when Lubitsch deliberately has them do so.

Most importantly, the movie is a delight. For a generation or two who uneasily know of Maurice Chevalier only as an old man telling us how much he loves little girls, Chevalier in his prime shows us why he became such an international star. The man is sexy, charming, worldly and likable. He has a self-deprecating sense of humor. His Alfred Renard is a womanizer of the old school… he doesn't love them and leave them, he loves them and leaves them smiling, as satisfied as he is. Jeannette MacDonald is a revelation for those most familiar with her trilling a song in duet with the wooden Nelson Eddy. She's quite good as a light comedienne and manages to keep Chevalier from overshadowing her.

The story? Renard is recalled from Paris because of his scandalous doings with wives, maids and duchesses. He returns to Sylvania, where the Queen is prepared not to be amused. But Queen Louise also dreams of having a husband who loves her as a woman, not a Queen. She is beautiful, a bit imperious, and agrees that any husband of hers will not become the king, only a prince consort. And after the two marry, a case it appears of true love, will the Queen be smart enough to distinguish between the role of a prince consort and the role of her husband. And will Alfred be able to teach Louise a thing or two about being a wife as well as a Queen. Well, remember this is an operetta and anything but a happy ending would be awful. In fact, Lubitsch gives us an ending that is a deliberate reverse of the first wooing scene between the Count and the Queen. It is so unexpected, so clever and so affectionate, the only thing you can do is smile in appreciation.

Along for the story is Alfred's man's man played by Lupino Lane and a maid of the Queen played by Lillian Roth. They have a couple of comic numbers and are first rate, especially Lane. He was a great comic star in England who built into his acts physical business that might make the Nicholas Brothers envious. (And he also was Ida Lupino's uncle.)

The Love Parade is pre-Code. That's another way of saying that, as a Lubitsch film, it's naughty and sophisticated. With the Count and the Queen, sex is as much a part of love as a kiss. You might have one without the other, but it wouldn't be half as much fun.

Was the above comment useful to you?

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Ater 80 Years, Still Appealing, 30 July 2009
9/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

The Love Parade which was Maurice Chevalier's second feature film is as fresh today as it was in 1929 when it garnered a whole flock of Academy Award nominations. It was Paramount's prestige film of the year, in fact I'm not sure if any other Paramount features got any nominations for anything that year.

It was Ernst Lubitsch's first sound feature film and apparently the man with the famed Lubitsch touch hit the ground running in the new medium with a bunch of players who were also fresh to cinema because of the coming of sound. This was Jeanette MacDonald's film debut and while she's not billed over the title as Chevalier was, her part is every bit as important and as big as his.

Maurice Chevalier has been cutting a wide swath among the ladies of Paris where he's attached to the embassy of Sylvania. So much so that he's been recalled to Sylvania for a reprimand or so he thinks.

Jeanette MacDonald is the new young Queen of Sylvania and she's got to marry for reasons of state. As did many a female monarch, British ones like Victoria, Anne, and the two Marys all took husbands for reasons of state and the method they chose them was as much political as anything else. Only Elizabeth I managed to escape the marriage obligation.

While her diplomats look askance on Chevalier's romantic antics, Jeanette sees in him one grand candidate for marriage. If she's got to get married for reasons of state by God she's going to pick a husband who's going to be ready to romp at a royal command.

The Love Parade's musical score was written by Victor Schertzinger and Clifford Grey. The first notes Jeanette MacDonald ever sang on screen were from her hit song, Dream Lover. It's not the same song as Bobby Darin had a hit in the Fifties from. Film fans will recognize it as the flying theme that Cecil B. DeMille used as background music when Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde were on the trapeze in The Greatest Show On Earth. Jeanette also sings March of the Grenadiers as she reviews her palace guard.

Chevalier's two big numbers were Paris Stays The Same and My Love Parade from whence the title comes. Both were written to suit his grand boulevardier style. Some comic numbers were written for Lupino Lane and Lillian Roth who are the second leads. Lupino is Chevalier's orderly and Roth is one of her maids. They make a cute pair with their impish behavior, aping their masters.

The Love Parade got six Oscar nominations, but did not win in any category and the categories were a lot fewer back in the day. It was up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Maurice Chevalier, Best Sound Recording, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography. It also has a lot fewer overacted performances that were the norm in those early sound days. It was as if Ernst Lubitsch instinctively knew what to do with sound in film.

The story is about a Prince Consort and usually the model that is held up is that of Prince Albert for Queen Victoria. But that's not the road Chevalier wants to take.

It's a continental story and yet Lubitsch as he always did, made those stories appealing to American audiences. After 80 years, The Love Parade is still appealing.

Was the above comment useful to you?

Four outstanding performances from four witty and charming performers grace this lavishly produced musical comedy with its champagne-bubble songs and sexually-charged dialogue, 6 September 2009
9/10
Author: J. Spurlin from United States

Count Alfred (Maurice Chevalier) has disgraced his home country of Sylvania with one too many scandalous affairs with married women, and the ambassador of Sylvania commands him to return home. Alfred's manservant, Jacques (Lupino Lane), begs to come along, and his master relents. Alfred, burdened with a newly acquired French accent that makes him sound most un-Sylvanian, fears the wrath of his queen (Jeanette MacDonald). But instead of having him shot, she falls in love with him, and he with her. The entire kingdom, which has had nothing on its mind except seeing the queen get married, is thrilled. As Jacques and Lulu the maid (Lillian Roth) conduct their own romance, reveling in their commonness, Alfred discovers at the altar that his own marriage will be most uncommon - and a dire threat to his manhood. He may be marrying a queen, but he most definitely won't be a king.

Ernst Lubitsch directed this marvelous technical and artistic achievement back when other early sound films were still stumbling along. Four outstanding performances from four witty and charming performers (Chevalier, MacDonald, Lane and Roth) grace this lavishly produced musical comedy with its champagne-bubble songs and sexually-charged dialogue.

Was the above comment useful to you?
Page 1 of 2:[1] [2] [Next]

Add another review

Related Links

Plot summary Ratings Awards
External reviews Plot keywords Main details
Your user reviews Your vote history