One Night of Love

Audience Reviews

View All (15) audience reviews

Audience Member Unlike MGM's favorite soprano, JEANETTE MacDONALD, other singers from the Met tried screen careers at various times in the '30s, but none emerged winning enough as screen personalities to rival Jeanette. Columbia tried hard with GRACE MOORE and this is undoubtedly one of her better efforts at attaining screen stardom. TULLIO CARMINATI is amusingly persistent as her demanding voice coach who discovers her singing "Ciribiribin" in a cellar cafe before offering to become her tutor. LYLE TALBOT is her boyfriend with marriage on his mind. But the silly script has Miss Moore acting like a spoiled prima donna, cavorting with boyfriend Talbot while supposedly training for her big moment as "Carmen". A series of misunderstandings involving another woman, MONA BARRIE (strongly resembling Kay Francis), makes up much of the backstage part of the story and only weakens the overall film. Moore is fine whenever she's singing but the lip synch is way off during the final "Un Bel Di" and it's hard to see where her performance earned her an Oscar nomination for the acting part of her role. Summing up: A disappointment for me, regardless of glowing tributes from the other commentators on this particular film. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review steve d The music and story did nothing for me. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I had never heard of her but it turns out that opera singer Grace Moore was a pretty big deal in the 1930s as she popularized opera in the United States and headlined several financially successful films. This is perhaps her most iconic film as she earned an Academy Award nomination for her efforts and the film itself was nominated for Best Picture. This is what led me to watch the film and I have to say that I regret doing so as it has aged horribly offering little entertainment value and it is shocking to consider that it was released in the same year as It Happened One Night (1934) which feels as though it has not aged a day. Aspiring opera singer Mary Barrett, Grace Moore, is compelled to move to Milan, Italy so that she can further her career leaving behind a loving and supportive family that she misses greatly. She is quickly spotted by famed vocal coach Giulio Monteverdi, Tullio Carminati, who takes her under his wing but quickly proves to be controlling as she is forced to live with him but he reacts violently to any suggestion of romance between the two of them. She blossoms as a singer under his tutelage and finds herself to performing to larger and larger crowds but her anxieties threaten to derail her career as Monteverdi tortures her due to her growing feelings for him. She pretends to have laryngitis to get out of performing but he discovers her deception leading to an argument between them. Her belief that he has returned to former lover Lally, Mona Barrie, propels her into the arms of his friend Bill Houston, Lyle Talbot. The two eventually find their way back to one another and Barrett successfully performs at the Metropolitan Opera. One of the most disturbing things about the film is that it supports an abusive relationship as Monteverdi is controlling and constantly puts down his supposed love interest. I refuse to believe that this was simply a product of the time as films released within the same year present relationships in which men love and support their wives instead of putting them down. In The Thin Man (1934) we see a married couple who are openly affectionate and understanding of each other's desires to lead careers. The woman supports her husband without giving up her own ambitions and does not berate him when he is not at his best. Comparatively this film is in support of an older man who takes on a younger woman who is essentially his student and purportedly falls in love with her all the while verbally attacking her for doing the same. He doesn't change or became a better human being in any way and the arc of the film seems to be Barrett accepting his abuse rather than their relationship evolving in any real way. Moore's performance also left something to be desired as she transfers her wobbly, high pitched singing voice into her speaking voice and every line is spoken in the same tone. She seems far too old for her role as we are expected to believe her as an extremely young ingénue but she would be more convincing as a mature veteran trying to make a comeback. Her big dramatic scenes always seem slightly off as she broadcasts every emotion loudly and I was never emotionally moved with her as she suffers on for nearly 90 minutes. I also cannot say that I was enamored of her as a musician with her voice annoying me more than drawing me in, I am not a huge fan of opera, and her posture seeming stiff as she sings to large crowds. This film is not popular with modern audiences and it is fairly easy to see why as it presents little of interest as it's story feels stale, Pygmalion (1938) is far more exciting, and the performers were flash in the pan stars. 1930s musicals are not my favorite as I find far more to appreciate in the brighter, more fantastical 1940s and this film would be forgettable if not for the abusive relationship due to the weak songs. I doubt this will receive any reevaluation as it deserves to remain in the past. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member The best musical movie ever made! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review john l Opera and Grace Moore fans will rate it five stars. Everyone else will be bored to tears. It succeeded in 1934 because audio recording technology was able to capture operatic stars much better than before, and the method of recording was a film making technological advancement. In short, AMPAS voters were wow'ed by this. Absent that, the movie has nothing to offer. The extremely thin story was created to feature Grace Moore and her operatic singing. John Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member An opera lover's dream, with Grace Moore, the film,and the title song all achieving hit status. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

One Night of Love

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now