Love Me Tonight

Not very charming. One of the stodgiest musicals I've ever seen

It's like a Lubitsch musical with a somewhat more sophisticated visual sensibility (although often used to rather goofy effect), but a much less sophisticated sense of humor and almost no sense of irony. In fact, it's overly sentimental in exactly the way that Monte Carlo was making fun of, which is interesting considering this came later.

This musical drama also has some elements that feel like a very early screwball comedy. It's pre-code, so there's some risky stuff, and it's generally likable, though a lot of the rhyming lyrics are very lazy. There are a couple of inspired moments (the dog as the fourth note) and I loved the three old lady gossips. Some of the dialogue is clever. The romance is pretty mundane. Enjoyable enough, though.

The direction is inventive with some really creative shots and gorgeous sets. The story, though, is pretty typical fairy tale romance and the music is infectious but not that great.

# 451

"Isn't it romantic?" Not really. But the great Rouben Mamoulian excels in spades of cinematic ideas and excellent direction choices. Especially in his use of mise en scéne, fx when Chevalier enters the Viscounts enormous house and of course the elegant sound/image editing of the song 'Isn't it romantic?'. The film is certainly giddy, but not very funny, though it strives hard to be.

The resulting Love Child of a Rene Clair Musical & an Ernst Lubitsch Comedy. The comedy and musical elements are both decent and technically impressive for the time, but the romantic bits are where the film falls flat. I couldn't understand for the life of me how Princess Jeanette could fall in love so immediately with a jerk who constantly insults her and disrespects her and then sexually assaults her in her sleep. But so is the romantic logic of 1930s Hollywood, I guess.

I can understand if someone is resistant to calling this one of the best musicals as it's very lightweight and breezy, but for me it's lightweight and breezy done to perfection and something that could only have come from Golden Age Hollywood.

Lubitsch supervised the production of Love Me tonight, with all of his calling cards, but one gets the feeling that it would feel so madcap if Mamoulian hadn't directed this, the funniest of all musicals. Amazing, pre-code wonderland of set-ups and pay-offs. Not to be missed.

405

Some good songs with great lyrics, some very funny scenes and some inventive techniques. Myrna Loy seemed like the better option throughout and the love story was rudimentary, to say the least. Needed more Charles Butterworth.

Yet another romantic sings his way into the heart of a fairy tale princess. Bleh.

Star Rating: ★★★★★

Brilliant musical with expertly crafted numbers, but the romantic story is threadbare.

A little more silly than funny, this musical really tries to get full value from all of its jokes (I was expecting the hounds to start baying "Mimi" at some point). Some risque pre-Code zingers and often doggerel melodies spice up this otherwise dull love story (wouldn't Valentine be the better choice?).

watched: 2013, 2022

Charming, frothy musical from the Lubitsch era (although directed by Mamoulian). Chevalier is wonderful, and the dialog is very funny (and a bit racy).

A light and breezy musical comedy, with a marvelous anything-goes attitude. From the sounds of the city opening to the fairy tale ending, it's full of carefree little bits of business. Great gags, great songs, great energy. But it wouldn't be half as good without Maurice Chevalier, whose irresistible charm lights up the screen. Jeanette Macdonald is the weak link... she's okay, but she can't compete with Chevalier's infectious disposition. I thought Myrna Loy was a better match for him.

Ama-me esta noite estreava há 90 anos nos EUA. Achava que nada superaria os filmes do duo Chevalier/MacDonald que fizeram com o Lubitsch, mas se Mamoulian não supera está lindamente de igual para igual. A corrida do cavalo com o trem é a mais longa e intensa cena sexual dos anos 30. BlurayRip RARBG.

Charming as all get out, and Mamoulian's interesting camera and editing tricks make for some great gags.

An astonishingly perfect film that kept me grinning all the way through. So far ahead of its time its almost unbelievable.

"No longer was Chevalier the mysterious-if-gregarious "other"--he was a member of the proletariat just like everyone else." - Eric Henderson

The introductory sequence, in which the rhythmic noises of early-morning Paris are worked into a massive musical number, is in the style of Disney's Silly Symphonies. In most other areas, this musical is in the style of Ernst Lubitsch, and in its sly lasciviousness and its witty camera placements it is pretty well the equal of its model.

Everything about this film is a goddamned delight. The songs are by Rodgers and Hart and they are simply delightful. Rouben Mamoulian stages the musical numbers in incredibly innovative ways, staging long sequences that track a song through several locations and from character to character, letting the plot move along via the song.

Well-directed musical with a well-remembered song or two, but generally unremarkable and thoroughly sexist. Maurice Chevalier is about as charming as diarrhea, and Jeanette MacDonald gets sexually harassed on nearly every scene before finally confessing her love to a stranger because that's how women are (isn't it romantic?).

441

Love the energy that Mamoulian brings to his camera, particularly in the early going. Once the story kicks in after "Isn't it Romantic?" things become a bit more stilted camerawise. The film is overwritten in plenty of places, but that early tone from the camera really helps to endear the film and make some of those writing hindrances not seem quite so problematic. And of course, I'd be remiss not to mention the stellar opening sequence, which has clearly been influential on all kinds of films.

Rouben Mamoulian may have directed this, but this was just like a Maurice Chevalier/Ernst Lubitsch collaboration. And that's a superb thing because this is another fantastic Chevalier/MacDonald love musical which shows the highest greatness of Hollywood in the early 30's. Chevalier does Chevalier to a tee. Overdosing with charm. And I just laughed at the train-stop ending with MacDonald which seemed to be taken almost out of a heavy Soviet propaganda movie of that time! Adoring film indeed.

#446