Rosalie (1937)

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

William Anthony McGuire (play) and
Guy Bolton (play) ...

Release Date:

24 December 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Musical

Plot:

West Point cadet Dick Thorpe falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a princess from an European kingdom. |

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Mythical Kingdom | Deception | Europe | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Nelson Eddy	...	Dick Thorpe
Eleanor Powell	...	Princess Rosalie Romanikov
Frank Morgan	...	King Fredrick Romanikov
Edna May Oliver	...	Queen of Romanza
Ray Bolger	...	Bill Delroy
Ilona Massey	...	Countess Brenda
Billy Gilbert	...	Oloff (airport officer #1)
Reginald Owen	...	Chancellor of Romanza
Tom Rutherford	...	Prince Paul (Chancellor's son)
Clay Clement	...	Capt. Banner
Virginia Grey	...	Mary Callahan (Delroy's girl)
George Zucco	...	Gen. Maroff of Romanza
Oscar O'Shea	...	Mr. Callahan (Mary's father)
Jerry Colonna	...	Joseph (airport officer #2)
Janet Beecher	...	Miss Baker (Vassar dorm supervisor)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #3837)

Filming Locations:

United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

There were several dance numbers cut before the movie was released. The football game at the beginning was cut from several newsreels. Over 100 original West Point students appeared in that movie, and there are rumours that each of them who took part in one dance number, received a kiss by Eleanor Powell.

Quotes:

[at the football game]
Brenda: Why are cheering so loud?
Rosalie: We're in America. We have to act like the Americans do. Besides, I like it. Come on, NAVY!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Fejezetek a film történetéböl: Amerikai filmtípusok - A zenés film (#1.9)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Rosalie

Eleanor Powell in uniform!

Fans of Eleanor Powell will wonder how she detoured into this Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy overblown costume piece -- and in the role of Jeanette MacDonald no less! Whereas delicate Jeanette would have floated through this pageant with an air of fluttering dignity, pants-wearing Ellie delivers too much punch for a princess. She barks most of her lines and unfortunately comes off as a bitch. A more delicate actress would have softened the barrage of "womanly" insults laid on Nelson Eddy and we would know this meant she was smitten. But with the confidant and athletic Powell delivering the insults you really start to wonder if wooden Eddy is a masochist or just extremely submissive. It's an electric energy that cost Powell her spotlight, and didn't fit with MGM's idea of what a feminine leading lady should be.

Those who are fascinated by Ellie's unusual (at least on film) gender-play will be thrilled to see her "go all the way" and dress as a man to sneak into a military academy where she leads the cadets in a marching drill in front of a phallic war memorial. While Powell is hardly mannish (and here with Jeanette's wardrobe and make-up budget she never looked prettier) the production plays with her "masculinity" and dresses her in all extremes of buttoned-downed marching band jackets and crisp uniforms, interspersed with overly feminine gowns with frou-frou puffy sleeves and Jeanette's corkscrew curls. It's an inconsistent and mostly unsuccessful gender dichotomy -- especially when compared to her smart wardrobe play and winning charisma in the Broadway Melody films.

Her tap numbers are too few and too short -- a Pieroette "ballet" on giant drums is an weird jumble of inconsistent imagery, and a brief scene with Ray Bolger makes you wish they'd shared a competitive dance of lightning legwork rather than the time-wasting dialog in the script. Other supporting players are also underused: as the Queen Edna May Oliver appears briefly in a tiered nightgown that exaggerates her Olive Oil frame, and Frank Morgan does his best to keep the banter rolling as a befuddled monarch with a ventriloquist dummy, but there isn't enough comedy here to entertain. A sudden accidental revolution in the tiny Balkan monarchy has potential, but is dropped just as quickly. Even the production numbers are too short, following the pattern of the other MacDonald/Eddy films where actual choreography and musical style are ignored for lots and lots of extras arranged in expensive costumes and plenty of operetta bombast from Eddy.

Other than seeing Eleanor Powell in one of her few starring roles this is a forgettable film that shows no one to advantage, except possibly MGM's costume department. I can see how this was originally a vehicle for Marion Davies because the sets are jaw-droppingly huge.