Sweethearts (1938) User Reviews

Lovely confection for MacDonald and Eddy

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 8 May 2009]

Much has been made of Jeanette MacDonald's singing, but there is never much mention of her beauty. She was very beautiful, with a vibrant personality and good acting ability. All of this is shown to advantage in this big-budget MGM extravaganza, "Sweethearts," a huge 1938 hit in which MacDonald costarred during her successful partnership with Nelson Eddy.

This isn't really the operetta "Sweethearts" - rather, it's a modern story about a couple starring in a show called "Sweethearts" on Broadway. The script is by Alan Campbell and Dorothy Parker, and we meet our singing lovebirds, married in real life, in their sixth year run of the show. Hollywood is beckoning to them; the couple is exhausted by an endless round of shows, radio appearances, and parties they must attend. Hollywood - the free evenings, the time off between films, the sunshine - is starting to sound pretty good to them. The producers of the show are in a panic. They have to keep them from going to Hollywood; since Hollywood is interested in both of them as a team, perhaps if they were no longer a team...

I've read a good deal here about "glorious Technicolor" - it's beautiful but a little garish. The film is filled, naturally, with lots and lots of music. MacDonald's voice never did much for me - nice middle, not much of a top most of the time - probably due to the way singers were taught back then. Eddy is extremely handsome in Technicolor and his magnificent baritone is well-served by the music.

I was recently reading about the stories that have been going around for years that the couple was secretly in love, supposedly supported by MacDonald's sister. It's the subject of a new musical and book. MacDonald's husband Gene Raymond did indeed resemble Eddy, and her marriage to Raymond was a Louis B. Mayer special - arranged. I think there is probably truth to the stories, and it makes sense that one reason for not marrying was that Eddy wouldn't have wanted her to work.

I read a comment here that the script is dated, etc. - MacDonald and Eddy were of their time, and they need to be appreciated in that context. When that is done, they bring us back to a more innocent time, pre-World War II, and they're wonderful.

Disappointingly long and bland

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 3 December 2017]

This one is notable for being MGM's first Technicolor movie. "Sweethearts" won cinematographers Oliver Marsh and Allan Davey special Oscars for their work with color film. MacDonald looks gorgeous--black and white didn't do her justice.

The music is pleasant enough, but not memorable. The couple is nauseatingly in love through the first hour, starring in a long running Broadway production - "Sweethearts". Unable to find rest during their six year production, the two are enticed to go to Hollywood instead, being promised lots of breaks between films. The normally feuding creative forces/producers of "Sweethearts" realize that this is the end of the gravy train, so they hatch a plan to keep the two from leaving. Complications ensue.

When MacDonald and Eddy aren't singing, the film seems endless. Not even the scenes with animals make this amusing. Eddy is the one who brings off some sight gags--three of them to be exact. Frank Morgan and the rest of the cast are stranded without any funny lines. They just made me groan--and I'm an easy laugher. It's hard to make Frank Morgan unfunny.

Trivia I noticed--the opening operetta is on the same set that "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936) used for the "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" number. There is a lengthy end credit explaining that the actors on the screen didn't write the 1913 operetta "Sweethearts". MacDonald has a five minute fashion show and proves she looks good in any outfit, no matter how misguided.

If you see this, watch the first thirty minutes and the fashion show for the cinematographers playing with colors, then fast forward between songs.

Points of demerit

[adamshl · 6/10 · 30 June 2011]

"Sweethearts" has so much going for it that it's painful to admit to some lesser Victor Herbert songs as main features. Eddy and MacDonald are fine, the Technicolor is lovely, and the cast is top notch. Unfortunately, there are only about two songs that are worthy of the great Herbert.

Well, every composer can't turn out all hits; it's just unfortunate that the lesser songs are given such up front treatment. As much as the stars pour their all into these songs, they fall rather flat and unmemorable.

The production numbers are spectacular, the production design lovely, and the costumes eye-popping. Too bad this one didn't rise to the level of the duo's other film entries. Still, kudos to the quality of both the singing and acting of Eddy-MacDonald.

Hollywood or bust! Styles have changed..so what!

[haustin-1 · 7 May 2003]

In glorious Technicolor,the stars are probably at their best,exceeding such romances as "New Moon","Rose Marie" and the others. Production values are enormous,beginning with a dance by Ray Bolger to a Dutch background heightened in color by beds of tulips.They are just enough not to be overwhelming. Jean and Nelson are the stars in the film of the sixth year of the stage production of Victor Herbert's 1913 show "Sweethearts" and are being done to death by the importunities of radio,recording,and family demands. Frank Morgan is his usual perplexed and harassed self as the stage producer,Herman Bing and Misha Auer are in top form as a mutually fighting conductor and wannabe playwright. One delightful vignette is during her modelling session at a dressmaker's shop,where she shows off the various colors and styles for different occasions. One gem is Eddy's race,pursued by speed cops,in a taxi from recording studio to NBC radio (looking much then as now) where Jeanette awaits him,having just broadcast Herbert's "Badinage" ably accompanied with much panache by Dalies Frantz.Some of her old Lubitsch (Director "Merry Widow"et al.) sassiness comes out as she mimes with the audience, until Eddy arrives, looking like a naughty schoolboy,with sleeve pulled up arm' amid her tidying of his appearance. One of the nicest shots is down the staircase at their home during the duet of "Little Gray home in the West",one of the most sincere performances. Herbert Stothart deserves much credit for his arrangement of Herbert's melodies,the duets and the delightful continuous orchestrations of the sound track. I would certainly watch this masterpiece several times.

Nelson & Jeanette as themselves/

[kinder-1 · 7/10 · 13 October 2001]

Sweethearts was the first color film for Nelson & Jeanette, and they, and the film are quite beautiful.They portray a married couple, appearing in musical comedy. This shows Nelson at his most playful--the "Pretty as A Picture" duet was so personal, I thought I was privy to a private moment between them. Too bad, MGM never took advantage of Nelson's self depreciating talent, but this film is most interesting, because it gives us a fascinating glimpse of what might have been.

Jeanette and Nelson in Technicolor!

[Pat-54 · 7/10 · 28 December 1998]

Not only was this their first color film, but this was the first story set in contemporary time (1938). Plus, the script has some funny "one-liners." However, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone but fans of Nelson and Jeanette.

Lots of music...and color.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 17 July 2021]

While there films are not nearly so popular today, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy were incredibly hot properties for MGM and this would explain why MGM made "Sweethearts" in full Technicolor...something they'd never done with a full length film. Many studios had made films using cheaper (and inferior) color stock such as Two-Color Technicolor and the new, improved full color from Technicolor was expensive and MGM pulled out all the stops for their big team.

MacDonald and Eddy play Gwen Marlowe and Ernest Lane, a pair of Broadway stars who have been packing theaters for years with their latest show, "Sweethearts". Not surprisingly, Hollywood comes knocking...and Marlowe and Lane's handlers do their best to try to hold on to them and prevent their defection to the West Coast.

As you watch this, you might think that the Technicolor is a bit garish and intense. This was often the case with early Technicolor...partly because of the film process and partly because its inventor insisted that his ex-wife, Natalie Kalmus, be the color consultant...and she determined the colors of the costumes, sets and the like. And, of the stars, MacDonald comes off the worst because she appears so incredibly ruddy in the film....and rather unnatural.

As you'd expect in one of their films, there is a LOT of singing...intense singing and big stage production numbers. This is the style of their films...a style which seemed to grow less and less popular into the 1940s and 50s. You either like it or you don't. As for the rest of the story, it's enjoyable and well made. I didn't mind the story at first, but found it really tanked when MacDonald's character changed...becoming rather demanding and nasty and VERY jealous. This was NOT a welcome story element. I also found the musical numbers difficult to enjoy because it's a style I've never been all that fond of seeing and hearing in films.

Sorry, didn't like it

[rdfarnham · 3/10 · 5 September 2012]

First the good: glorious Technicolor, Jeanette and Nelson in full voice, Ray Bolger's dancing and a fairly interesting story. Now the bad: the idea that a loving husband and wife could break up so suddenly and that the wife instantly assumes the worst and will not even listen to her, up until then wonderful, husband is a little far-fetched though I know it is important to the story. On top of that this is the first of their films that did not have one, to me, memorable song in it. Some decent songs, yes, but none that you hum or whistle after watching the movie. I know that I am in the minority here, but it isn't a film I will ever bother to watch again.

"All others end the way we start, forever we'll be Sweethearts."

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 17 March 2006]

Sweethearts is the first of two of the Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy films to be done in technicolor, the second at last being Bittersweet. It is also the first MGM film done in modern technicolor, though in Jeanette's The Cat and the Fiddle, the last 10 minutes were in color. And it is the only one of their films besides Bittersweet where they start off as man and wife.

The original operetta by Victor Herbert was done in 1913 and it was in fact a story set in Holland as the numbers do show. But this film is like the later one Nelson did with Rise Stevens, The Chocolate Soldier, in that he and Stevens are husband and wife appearing in The Chocolate Soldier while the plot of that is taken from Ferenc Molnar's The Guardsman.

Sweethearts has an original script by Dorothy Parker and it involves two happily married singing co-stars of a long running operetta, named Sweethearts. They've been appearing on Broadway for seven years in the same show.

In fact a whole cottage industry has grown up around Sweethearts. Producer Frank Morgan, songwriter Herman Bing, librettist Mischa Auer have had it real good for seven years. They've been quite content to live off the box office of Sweethearts as long as MacDonald and Eddy keep appearing. Also the extended families of both Eddy and MacDonald live off of them as well.

When Reginald Gardiner woos them on behalf of Hollywood producer George Barbier, panic ensues among the ranks of the cottage industry. These people might actually have to go to work.

Knowing Dorothy Parker wrote 50% of the script, you can imagine it is a witty one. Jeanette and Nelson are in good voice and the musical calls for a large number of duets. They sing the title song, For Every Lover Meets His Fate, and an interpolated non Victor Herbert song, Our Little Grey Home in the West in anticipation of their California excursion. In addition Jeanette sings A Summer Serenade which was originally an instrumental Victor Herbert composition entitled Badinage. Robert Wright and Chet Forrest gave it some lyrics for the film. Nelson has a good typical Nelson marching song in On Parade.

After appearing with Nelson Eddy in Rosalie as a sidekick Ray Bolger didn't have as many scenes, but got to show his dancing talent a lot more in the Wooden Shoes number. Jeanette personally interceded with Louis B. Mayer and got Douglas MacPhail and Betty Jaynes cast as their understudies.

MacPhail and Jaynes married later on, but divorced after MacPhail's career took a nosedive in the early Forties. He was a good singer who you might remember appeared with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in Babes in Arms and later introduced the Cole Porter classic, I Concentrate on You in Broadway Melody of 1940. Tragically he took his own life after the divorce for God only knows what reasons.

For Jeanette and Nelson fans and for those who like to see Ray Bolger in something else besides The Wizard of Oz, Sweethearts in highly recommended.

Schmatzy and Tons of Fun

[LeonardKniffel · 7/10 · 8 April 2020]

Schmaltzy as Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy's many musical confections seem today, some of the great talents of the age went into their creation. This one, for example, was co-scripted by that great American wit Dorothy Parker. Of all the MacDonald-Eddy films, this is one of the most delightful. Look at Ray Bolger (soon to portray the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz") tap his way through a Dutch-themed number. Victor Herbert's operetta "Sweethearts" is the basis for this film. There's more than a little anti-Hollywood sentiment in this movie, despite its lavish veneer. MacDonald's fashion spree as she "goes Hollywood" is a lot of fun to watch. --Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

Not for Me

[evanston_dad · 3/10 · 12 April 2022]

Oof, these Jeannette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy musicals are just not for me.

"Sweethearts" is dreadful, nearly unwatchable. It's actually the perfect movie to have on while you're sick (as I was when I saw it) because you can doze on and off and know you're not missing anything.

The only interest a movie like this has for me is from a historical perspective. In 1938, people wouldn't have had the Internet or T. V. to entertain them. You maybe could hear MacDonald and Eddy on the radio, but the only place to seem them was at the movies. So a whole film that's nothing but them performing musical numbers with a barely existent (and completely nonsensical when existent) plot would have been enough for audiences at the time. And its always mystified me that back then people just showed up at a movie whenever, and then watched the next screening until it got to the point where they came in. But then you see a movie like this and you get it. It wouldn't matter where you came in.

This movie gets a couple of points, barely, for featuring Frank Morgan doing his blustery, dithery bit which I always enjoy, but otherwise it's nearly inconceivable to me that someone could sit down and enjoy this.

"Sweethearts" received a special Academy Award in 1938 for its color cinematography, a year before the Academy would start giving separate competitive awards for black and white and color cinematography. It looks terrible, but Technicolor was new, so I'll give it a break. MacDonald especially looks hideous, like a freaky clown.

The film received regular Oscar nominations for Best Scoring and Best Sound Recording.

Grade: D.

Lovely film

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 15 July 2011]

Having heard the song Sweethearts performed by Beverly Sills and Sherrill Milnes I was very interested in seeing this film. And while it does have its problems, I enjoyed it. The story is creaky and Douglas MacPail and Betty Jaynes are rather uncharismatic, however the choreography is nice and sprightly, the production values are absolutely beautiful with lovely costumes and sets and the photography is very good and the music is gorgeous, I just can't get enough of the song Sweethearts. The script has spark and wit, the direction is assured, and the choreography, performances and music ensure there is seldom a dull moment. Ray Bolger while perhaps underused is fun, but the real plaudits go to the leads Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy who are wonderful individually and together. Overall, a lovely film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

MGM First Technicolor Three-strip Movie; Begins Studio's Famous Color Musicals

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 6 February 2024]

Almost four years after Hollywood's first Technicolor three-strip feature film was released, the industry's most prestigious studio, MGM, finally produced its first color film using the latest technology in Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy's December 1938 "Sweethearts." As a runaway hit, the musical was the pair's first full-length color movie and the first they didn't have to don period costumes. This was also Tanner the lion's first feature front-ending the film within the MGM logo. He appeared in all the studio's Technicolor feature films up to 1954.

MGM's head Louis Mayer had promised his star attraction MacDonald her next film would be in Technicolor. The executive delivered, with the studio using "Sweethearts" as a test run of Technicolor's complex system for its following year 1939 "The Wizard of Oz," where it was in pre-production.

"Sweethearts" used a combination of Victor Herbert's 1913 operetta of the same name and Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell's original screenplay focused on a fictitious Broadway couple (MacDonald and Eddy) singing in the long-running play 'Sweethearts' when a film studio scout lures them to make Hollywood movies. The musical stage's producer, Felix Lehman (Frank Morgan), needs them to remain in his expensive play. He comes up with a plan to convince Marlowe (MacDonald) that her husband Lane (Eddy) is having an affair with his secretary (Florence Rice) in Hollywood, which causes the two lovers to split. They return to the play, but on separate road shows with understudies, when something surprisingly happens.

Film reviewer Laura Grieve praised the musical, saying the motion picture is "a great chance for those who love MacDonald and Eddy to watch them doing everything they do best, singing and having what seems to be a wonderful time together. The audience has a good time too."

"Sweethearts" opens with a lavish sequence with a backdrop resembling the breathtaking number 'Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody' in 1936's Academy Awards Best Picture, "The Great Ziegfeld." MGM used sections from that set to stage 'Sweethearts'" introduction. Also, Ray Bolger, in his only scene, dances like a scarecrow amongst a field of flowers, while Frank Morgan appears as well. Both were beginning preparation for their "Wizard of Oz" filming and displayed similar personalities they would show in the Judy Garland classic.

The actors playing the two understudies, Betty Jaynes and Douglas McPhail, later were in the Busby Berkeley's directed 1939 "Babes in Arms," co-starring alongside Garland and Mickey Rooney. In real life Jaynes and McPhail were married just before filming "Sweethearts." But the marriage soured after three years. McPhail, who initially was hired by MGM to be groomed as the next Nelson Eddy, saw his contract not renewed in the early 1940s. His baritone opera voice was out of style in movies by then. Despondent, he turned to alcohol and committed suicide by poisoning himself in 1944 at the age of 30.

"Sweethearts" set the template for MGM's color musicals with its showy, elaborate sets and vibrant colorful costumes. The MGM landmark film was nominated in two Academy Awards categories, Best Sound Recording (Douglas Shearer) and Best Musical Scoring (Herbert Stothart). Because of its color cinematography, MGM received an Honorary Oscar for this movie.

If you're considering watching this...

[IdaSlapter · 3/10 · 14 October 2021]

...I'll give you the 'Sweethearts' for Dummies version.

The movie opens, Ray Bolger does a number that no doubt helped him land the part of the Scarecrow the following year, then good ol' Frank Morgan blusters about w/some business associates, then Jeannette and Nelson sing, then they sing some more, then Reginald Gardner shows up trying to lure them to Hollywood, but no -- they're not interested -- after all, their show Sweethearts has been running for SIX years and they love it so much they'll never quit -- and 3/4 of the film is proof of that -- so they thing again, and then they come home and sing again, and then the guy who wrote the book for the show comes to town demanding attention, then Reggie Gardner shows up again, then Jeannette and Nelson sing again, then Jeannette goes home all excited, changes into an outfit so they can go out for dinner on their anniversary, but they're diverted on their way and end up at a dinner show thrown by blustering Frank Morgan, who gets them to -- GUESS WHAT -- sing AGAIN, which they do for seemingly 20 minutes, and then again, and again, and again -- until FINALLY, yes, FINALLY, about an hour and a half into it, Reggie Gardner buys out their contract, they actually go to Hollywood (although that sequence -- convincing them to go -- takes about 10-15 minutes -- they get there, just love it, start singing AGAIN, and again and again, until feisty, bright-red-haired Jeannette gets all uppity, refuses to continue, she gets in a fight with Nelson...but then they sing again, and again -- and I think one more time. And then it's over.

Sigh.

Broadway to Hollywood in glorious colour

[didi-5 · 15 June 2003]

A high-budget offering for MGM stars Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Macdonald, and the studio's first film to be released in Technicolor (Maytime had been started but not completed in this process), centres on a lovey-dovey couple who have worked for years in a Broadway success and are offered the chance to work in Hollywood. How do their theatre collaborators stop them going there?

Unusually for films featuring the Singing Sweethearts, this one has a sparky and funny script (largely by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell) from which it benefits. Not many songs have survived from the Broadway production of the real 'Sweethearts' (sadly, the omissions include 'The Cricket on the Hearth', which was really quite a sweet song), and others have been added to flesh out the Hollywood fantasy. Perhaps the best numbers are 'Pretty as a Picture' and 'On Parade'.

In support are Frank Morgan ('the Wizard of Oz'), Ray Bolger (not used anywhere near enough), and the poor man's Eddy and Macdonald, Douglas MacPhail and Betty Jaynes, who suffer from a total lack of charisma. The leads themselves are fine and do with the more meaty than usual material. Perhaps their more slushy collaborations such as 'Rose Marie' and 'Maytime' are better overall, but 'Sweethearts' is definitely worth a look.

MacDonald and Eddy in Color!

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 30 August 2012]

Broadway stars Jeanette MacDonald (as Gwen Marlowe) and Nelson Eddy (as Ernest Lane) are celebrating six years starring in the highly successful operetta "Sweethearts" and have been happily married for six years, also. They are still very much in love, but find it difficult to have off stage time together without family and work related people hanging around. They plan to leave New York for laid-back Hollywood, which prompts a plot to break up Ms. MacDonald and Mr. Eddy. Everyone figures MacDonald and Eddy are worth less apart, and Hollywood will lose interest in pairing them in movies...

The public seems to adore them with young new partners Douglas McPhail (as Harvey Horton) and Betty Jaynes (as Una Wilson), but Hollywood doesn't notice...

"Sweethearts" caught MacDonald and Eddy cresting on their wave of success. "Photoplay" magazine gave it their "Best Picture" award and audiences lined up to see the musical team in "Oscar"-winning Technicolor. "Quigley Publications" annual box office stars poll reflected three reasons to see "Sweethearts"; for the year 1938, MacDonald was solo star #14, Eddy polled at #19, and the team shared position #22. Supporting actors Frank Morgan (as Felix Lehman) and featured player Ray Bolger (as Hans) photographed well enough in color for "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), in case anyone was wondering...

***** Sweethearts (12/22/38) W.S. Van Dyke ~ Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger

Great Film

[radioriot · 9/10 · 20 March 2006]

I saw this movie for the first time tonight....WOW! I never really liked these two in their other movies but this one is great and the color... superb. My favorite part of the visuals are the on location shots of New York in 1938 IN COLOR! Amazing that the front of NBC still looks the same as it did then. The songs in this picture are much better than most of the "Mountie" movies they did. And Ray Bolger (a year away from "The Wizard of Oz") just steals the opening scene of the movie... too bad they couldn't find another spot for him to dance in this movie. And Frank Morgan (also a year away from "The Wizard of Oz")....how can anybody not like Frank Morgan as the worried producer. He is so much fun in every movie he is in. It is just ashamed that MGM and the other movie studios didn't use color more in these great old movies. What a treasure they would have become. It certainly helps me see the world of my parents and grandparents in real life color, instead of dull black and white. See this movie if you get the chance... just for the fun of it.

sweethearts

[mossgrymk · 3/10 · 15 April 2022]

Based on her performance and their dialogue it's no wonder that Jeanette MacDonald largely eschewed comedy or that Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell split up.

Just a lovable extravaganza.

[gkeith_1 · 10/10 · 30 April 2009]

I liked this movie. I especially liked the colors and Jeannette's fabulous blue suit against her flaming red hair. Ray Bolger as the Dutch dancer in the beginning is just wonderful and hilarious, and his athletic moves still astound. He must have been eating some powerful breakfast cereal. All of the dancers in this scene are so perfect and entertaining. I also liked the the part where the 2nd-type Nelson and Jeannette are the second leg of the tour, and where Douglas MacPhail and Betty (his wife IRL) are interspersed in their Sweethearts roles. I enjoyed seeing Frank Morgan, and marvel at his calling himself old -- and yet he was only 48 in this movie. Was this his own white hair, or studio aging? Even in his Wizard of Oz, he has white hair and appears older and yet is not. Most of all in this movie, I like the singing of Jeannette and Nelson. 13/10.

Jeanette and Nelson in their first technicolor musical...

[Doylenf · 24 May 2001]

MGM spared no expense in dressing up the sets and costumes for an opulent technicolor musical starring America's singing sweethearts, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. They even included a witty script by Dorothy Parker, songs by Victor Herbert and a supporting cast that included Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Reginald Gardiner and Allyn Joslyn. But changing tastes have made this one questionable material for today's audiences.

This time the stars are not in period costumes. The story is a contemporary one about two stage stars tired of appearing for the sixth straight year on Broadway in a musical called "Sweethearts" who decide to give Hollywood a try. Plot complications occur when blustery Frank Morgan uses trickery to make Jeanette believe Nelson is cheating on her. Everything is straightened out for a happy ending that reunites the two stars and has them both returning to the Broadway scene where their hearts truly lie.

Fans of the famous duo will undoubtedly enjoy this one, but today's movie fans are likely to be put off by much of the humor. Acting styles and singing tastes have changed drastically since 1938. The stars are in fine voice but the songs are not among Herbert's best and, while there are a few amusing moments, the film has a very dated quality both in story and acting that makes it sometimes seem like an unpleasant pill to swallow.

This is true even though both stars are photographed to advantage and are still at their physical peak here--but as a musical, despite the technicolor trimmings, it falls short of being a real winner.

Wonderful

[sschimel · 8/10 · 13 March 2006]

Jeanette McDonald was made for Technicolor. She was one of the most gorgeous stars of the 30's, with her beautiful complection and red hair. I think that she has always been underrated as a comedienne and this film really shows off her comedic skills. If only she had a less wooden co-star than Nelson Eddy. The color is superb, and so are the gowns she wears. The dialog's is witty, and part of the reason has to be that Dorothy Parker contributed to the script. Oddly enough, every time I watch this it reminds of another movie from around the same time. I finally figured out what it was. It's Joy Of Living, with Irene Dunneand Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. which also features a Broadway star who is supporting her family of has-beens and never-was. And they came out in the same year.

The Technicolor reveals Jeanette MacDonald's flaming red hair and blue eyes which makes her a prima donna in this film!

[mensa522 · 8/10 · 20 March 2006]

It was a surprise that "Sweethearts" was MGM's first full-length movie in color and also that Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy were selected for this venture. Since it is based in modern times, 1938, it is much more believable and enjoyable in color. I just watched this film on Turner Classic Movies and enjoyed the story and each scene as it unfolded. She could have been a classic opera diva with her talent and good stage presence but instead she chose to make films that are recorded for us and posterity to enjoy! "Sweethearts" is a fun film to watch with music from a bygone era that will not be duplicated in this present age of reality, action films.

A wonderful, entertaining, humorous and fun musical

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 29 April 2022]

"Sweethearts" is the fifth of eight musical films MGM made with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. They are a delight as a madly in love couple of Broadway stars who have been in the same hit show now for six years. A disclaimer in the credits refers to an early 20th century Broadway play by the same name, but says this film is not based on that one or its cast.

The opening of this film is clever, amusing and interesting. It's a night scene with views along Broadway that then show individual neon signs advertising various plays. The Music Box display reads, "George M. Cohan in I'd Rather Be Right. Second Year." The next sign is of the Shubert Theater, and reads, "Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Idiot's Delight. Third Year." Next is the Broadhurst promo, "Helen Hayes in Victoria Regina. Fourth Year." The Forrest sign promotes "James Barton in Tobacco Road. Fifth Year." Finally a sign of Melody Theatre reads, "Gwen Marlowe and Ernest Lane - Sweethearts. A Felix Lehman Production. SIXTH triumphant YEAR."

This was MGM's first color feature film, and after this, the studio that became known for its musicals, would make most of its lavish musicals in technicolor. The movie was nominated for two Academy awards, and received an honorary Oscar for its color filming.

The plot is quite simple, with a couple of twists, and a tremendous cast of supporting actors fill out this film - almost all, for humor. It's not a film of clever dialog, but humorous antics and situations. Just look at this list of players - Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Gene and Kathleen Lockhart, Mischa Auer, Reginald Gardiner, Herman Bing, George Barbier, Berton Churchill and Raymond Walburn.

Morgan is Felix Lehman, and he and his cohorts and staff hope to continue to milk the cash cow of his great hit, "Sweethearts." MacDonald and Eddy are the happily married Lanes - Gwen Marlowe and Ernest Lane. They are celebrating their sixth anniversary along with the anniversary of their hit show. But their lives have become so full and busy that they hardly have time alone together. Her mother (played by Lucile Watson) and other relatives from both sides live with them in their huge mansion. Both sides all come from the theater. Reginald Gardiner is Norman Trumpett, once a Broadway performer and producer who now works as a major talent scout for Hollywood. He has robbed Broadway of many a star for the cinema in recent years, and now Lehman and company are worried that he may lure their Sweetheart stars away.

Indeed, Gwen and Ernest are beginning to pine for time together, and quiet and much less hectic schedules. Well, one can guess where this might go, but does it? Trumpett makes a good pitch to the couple about the much easier schedules in Hollywood - some very misleading statements and outright fibs about films just shooting scenes once and then they're done and have lots of time for relaxing and leisure. Then Lehman's cohorts cook up some shenanigans to thwart the couple's plans to move to Hollywood. Now their love is in jeopardy. How will it end up?

How it ends up is a very enjoyable film, fun with some funny parts, and some marvelous singing by two of the great musicals stars of the cinema. The music is almost all within the context of the stage play of the same name as the movie. The film audience has some theater views as though viewers are in the theater watching the stage performance. The artistic use of lavish curtains during some of the scenes is impressive and serves to enhance the numbers.

There aren't any great musical numbers. But the singing, the warmth and chemistry between the two leads, and the fun and simple plot overall make this a very enjoyable film. Those who enjoy musicals especially, and many others should enjoy this film.

Frank Morgan's Lehman has the best lines in the film. He wins over the Sweetheart couple by playing the "woe is me" role a couple of times. These get laughs in how simply and ridiculously gullible the two stars are as they fall for Lehman's ruse. The first time he says pitiably, "But most successful people are selfish, and I'm glad you are selfish." The second time he says, "I'm an old man and I don't get many pleasures, but you go ahead. Just think about yourselves. Forget about me." I defy anyone not to laugh or chuckle at how the two stars are sucked in by this.

The best line in the film is earlier, also by Lehman. Worrying about the lure of the film industry, he says, "Oh, I wish they'd push Hollywood another 50 miles West."

Janette's beautiful voice again

[spenrh · 9/10 · 27 January 2019]

Janette had such a radiant old fashioned beauty in her films, and her opera singing was always beautiful, along with the beautiful floorlength dresses she often wore to accompany her opera singing and opera image. Deanna Durban and Kathryn Grayson also had beautiful opera voices with the beautiful classy old fashioned floorlength dresses that always went together with their operatic singing. In general, women's opera singing and classy floorlength dresses always went together, you rarely saw one without the other in anything pre-1950s. Kathryn lit up the screen in "Anchor's aweigh", "Kiss me Kate" and "Toast of New Orleans", Deanna lit up the screen in "Because of him", "For the love of Mary", and "Can't help singing", and Janette lit up the screen in "Sweethearts", "Maytime", "Rose Marie", and "Naughty Marrietta". I love old fashioned better than modern in numerous ways. With women, I appreciate and prefer old fashioned beauty over sex appeal. With music, I completely prefer old fashioned over modern. With humor, I prefer Marx bros and Laurel and Hardy way over any lowbrow modern toilet humor.

Anyway, Janette and Nelson shone again singing the title song, I really enjoyed the show at the theater, and the after show they appeared in during the first 45 to 50 minutes of the film. Janette and Nelson had great chemistry again, no doubt sparked by the real life romance they had outside of the film sets. Good supporting characters here too, once again the great and amusing Frank Morgan.

Good story, great songs!

[JohnHowardReid · 10/10 · 6 August 2017]

The film that started it all — the first of MGM's fabulously Technicolored musical comedies — and still one of the studio's Ten Best! A wittily diverting script, beautifully photographed, joined to Victor Herbert's "immortal melodies", enacted by a grand array of our favorite character players including Frank "Kiddies" Morgan and Herman "Budapest" Bing.

MacDonald and Eddy were never more captivating or brightly presented, Van Dyke's pacey direction moves with a fluent slickness, production values are enjoyably lavish, while Slavko Vorkapich has created a remarkably inventive montage — a rare (perhaps unique?) accomplishment from the meticulously slow-working Technicolor laboratory. Sets, costumes are also exceptionally attractive in color, setting new standards for appealing opulence. In addition to all this visual gloss — and other smoothly professional technical credits including able sound recording and brisk film editing — there's that delightfully quip-witted, gently satirical Parker- Campbell script that provides such wonderfully comic opportunities for our gang of scene-stealing veterans.

Playing their volatile roles with commendable enthusiasm and pungent relish, Morgan, Auer and Bing make merry with hilarious bickering, while Reginald Gardiner almost steals the show as a cynically persuasive Hollywood agent. In smaller parts, Walburn and Watson are delightful, Gene Lockhart has an amusingly memorable cameo and I must especially applaud Betty Jaynes and Douglas McPhail as the duplicate "Sweethearts".

MacDonald and Eddy are not only in excellent collective voice, but for once are evenly matched — musically and dramatically. Eddy shares equally with MacDonald in most of their numbers except "Every Lover Must Meet His Fate" in which her participation is comparatively brief. However, he has a rousing solo, "On Parade", virtually to himself. MacDonald, on the other hand, is considerably up-staged by Ray Bolger (who, in this film — unlike his previous role in Rosalie — has nothing else to do but dance) in "Wooden Shoes". Both have ingenious production numbers and Eddy's dramatic gifts, which ran more naturally to light comedy than old-fashioned opera melodrama, are buoyantly serviced by the sprightly tattle-tale script. Although she preferred more dramatic roles, Jeanette MacDonald's "singing sweetheart" is no less charmingly vivacious. And both stars are handsomely served by Technicolor.

I was going to conclude by observing that it was a shame MacDonald and Eddy didn't make more out-and-out comedies. But of course they did try again with "I Married An Angel" (1942), their final collaboration, which was not nearly so commercially successful. (It's a pity that you could only use the Campbells' ingenious show-within-a-show idea once. It was certainly a mighty clever way of jettisoning a creaky old operetta story while retaining its magnificently vibrant songs).