Bitter Sweet (1940)

From my favorite movies..

Absolutely Brilliant!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I've seen the Noel Coward operetta on which this movie is - loosely - based, and I didn't much care for that either. MacDonald/Eddy movies worked when the music was good and well staged, but that isn't the case here. The one big number, "I'll see you again," is over within the first five minutes. From there on, it's just forgettable imitation Viennese operetta music ("Tokay," "Ziguener," etc.).Normally, this is one of their movies that I take a pass on.But when I watched it today, I couldn't help notice how heavily it stresses that England is sexually and emotionally very repressive. The romantic couple flees to Vienna, which is described over and over as "gay." When they arrive, they are met by several of the male lead's male friends, who are very effusive in expressing their delight at seeing him.Which set me to wondering: was someone - Coward, the screenwriter - trying to set this up as an allegory of gay Coward's own feelings of sexual repression in England? The male lead, very much unlike in most movie operettas of the time, gets killed in the end, and by a military bully, just the sort who would pick on a gay man. (Though the male lead in this movie is certainly not presented as gay.)Just a thought.

An obvious attempt to rework the studio hit Maytime and to an extent it works. The plot though slight, is not common as it actually tries to follow the trials and tribulations of a starving artistic couple, at least for the first hour. A few classic songs with those famous operatic voices is unleashed occasionally and the comedy is obvious but prudent. George Sanders as the heavy is very good and if not for his voice is almost unrecognizable. This movie contains a grand musical finale with technicolor used to its palest, so to speak with dancers following and trailing Jeanette as she dashes around the stage. Not great, not serious, not intelligent but pleasing, fun and touching.

Saw this film recently on a Turner Classic Movies TV broadcast and was dazzled once again by an incredibly deluxe production number in which the color palette was limited to aquas, subtle shades of pinks and rose, dazzling whites and ivories and that's about it. It's a song, mounted as part of an operetta, "Ziguener" ("The Gypsy"), in which Jeanette MacDonald is pursued over an enormous, multi-level stage by a flotilla of violin-playing, elaborately costumed musicians as she trills her heart out. It's Hollywood extravagance at its most eye-filling, and the gorgeous Technicolor justifies the Oscar nominations for art direction and color cinematography which this film received. M-G-M gave its "Singing Sweethearts," Jeanette and Nelson Eddy, a lovely vehicle with this one and its like will probably never grace a first-run screen ever again. Thank goodness that TCM occasionally exhumes this one from its vault to delight us every once in a while.

In the style of the great "Maytime " , director W.S.Van Dyke(San Francisco, Tarzan, the ape man ) adapted the original operetta by Noel Coward . The movie is a glamorous, romantic piece , wiht a magnificent photograhy, wonderful songs and a pair of unforgettable stars, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy . Music, tragedy, love , all the elements are present in this beautiful picture , a joy for the moviegoer .Nelson and Jeanette sang with passion and his magic is beyond the scenes , his magic truly touched our hearts.