Lubitsch, Lehar and Larry (Hart) are an unbeatable parlay in this entry where the only jarring notes are those leaving the mouth of Jeannette McDonald and heading for the stratosphere pursued by a pack of Labradors. Enough people love the voices of McDonald, Kathryn Grayson, Jane Powell, etc to neutralize my antipathy but if only they could have used someone who could sing and not screech - impossible, I accept, at the time because in 1934 the likes of Peggy Lee, June Christy, Dinah Shore etc were not available for operetta. That cavil -albeit a major one - aside this is one of the most sophisticated, witty, lavish musicals that ever came down the pike. Samson Raphaelson supplied a gem-encrusted 'Book' and Larry Hart turned in some of his finest lyrics. Decor, costumes, camera movement all score heavily and the waltz sequence is so fluid and captivating it reveals Busby Berkley as merely a traffic cop with a train set. There was more than a touch of the ham in Chevalier but if we try to ignore the worst excesses of the two leads there is a lot to enjoy from the supporting players and simply the overwhelming STYLE of the thing.
Review of The Merry Widow
