New Moon

Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore meet on board the New Moon, crossing the Caspian Sea, bound for Adolph Menjou's newest assignment and marriage to Miss Moore. Of course the two great singers fall in love singing duets. Menjou gets wind and looks to get Tibbett resassigned some place he can't pose a threat.

MGM made some peculiar changes when they filmed the hit operetta (it had played over 500 performances on Broadway). They changed its setting from New Orleans to the Russian Empire for one thing. Well, exotic Russia was a popular setting for drama and comedy in the period. Cameraman Oliver Marsh struggles to keep his camera moving, leaving most of the struggle for cinematic excellence to Margaret Booth's editing. Also, Mr. Tibbett is a funny-looking fellow, with an obvious hairpiece and a double chin. He's not at all anyone's idea of what a romantic leading man should be.

Still when the leads start to sing, I forgot these issues. While the stye of music that Sigmund Romberg wrote for this show is strident, it includes the martial "Stout-Hearted Men" and the splendid "Lover Come Back To Me."