Louisa E
I was nervous about this movie as I'm not a Maurice Chevalier fan. I'm also not a Jeanette Macdonald fan either. I felt like I had seen the movie before, but it's just that it has many of the same actors as The Big Pond. The butler singing at the start was quite fun. There were some good comedic moments. I liked the lady's face after the gunshot scene. There were some very risqué moments. I take issue a little with the ending due to slightly feminist leanings but it was pretty expected for the time. The acting was quite good. Jeanette's singing is fantastic, even though I can't understand the lyrics. I softened towards Maurice during the movie, and now I am a fan of his, but just not his singing. He looks like a good hugger. The sound was very innovative for its time. It's often touted as the first real musical. The cinematography was good, and the costumes were divine! A must-watch for fans of old musicals or those interested in their history.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
05/09/23
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Audience Member
This is the film debut of Jeannette MacDonald and the first talkie by Ernst Lubitsch. This wa also released in French. Chevalier had thought he would never be capable of acting as a Royal courtier. This appeared just after the Wall Street Crash and saved the fortunes of Paramount.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/08/23
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peter w
In what is considered to be the first cinematic musical, the fourth wall is regularly broken to draw in the in audience. The story line had some parallels to the depiction of Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip in The Crown. The big difference, however, is that in the real world, the queen does have the last word and needs to use it strategically.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
steve d
Cute because of its stars.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The best musical comedy romance movie ever made!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Director Ernst Lubitsch's final silent film, The Patriot (a Best Picture nominee the previous year), is a lost film unfortunately, but, thankfully, his first talkie and musical has been preserved and is available on home video as part of the Eclipse series released by the Criterion Collection. It also airs occasionally on TCM. The Love Parade received the most nominations of any film at the 3rd Academy Awards with a total of six, including nominations for Maurice Chevalier and Ernst Lubitsch, but it did not win in any category. This film is allegedly the first movie musical to incorporate songs and performances into the narrative, as opposed to a backstage musical, such as The Broadway Melody, in which the characters are singers and dancers.
Lubitsch, who had directed many silent films, takes to talking pictures quite well right out of the gate. There is nothing clunky or awkward with the composition and staging of shots or overall style that suggests someone working through a learning curve. Of course The Love Parade has several strong elements working together in addition to Lubitsch's skill behind the camera. Based on the play The Prince Consort, the script is loaded with lively dialogue, a sharp sense of humor that does not shy away from innuendo, and likeable characters. Maurice Chevalier plays Count Alfred, who is recalled from Paris to his homeland of Slyvania after (several) scandals involving married women.
Lubitsh transitions from silent filmmaking to working with sound and dialogue smoothly. He does not over indulge in dialogue and music and still uses silent visuals to great effect. When a servant in the Queen's palace asks why Alfred has a French accent, Alfred says that he went to see a doctor about a cold but was greeted by the doctor's wife. The movie cuts to an exterior shot of the palace and through a window we see Alfred whisper the rest of the story to the servant. When the movie cuts back inside Alfred says that the cold was gone, but he had that terrible accent. I had never seen a movie starring Maurice Chevalier before and he is as charming and lively and French as I'd imagined.
Jeanette MacDonald, in her screen debut, plays Queen Louise who in addition to having the responsibilities of a governing queen is also under pressure from her ministers and advisors to marry. The trouble with finding her a suitor is that he would be only Price Consort and have no power or responsibility in governing. She meets Count Alfred to reprimand him for his scandals, but they both quickly charm each other and flirt through song.
Aside from a dolly shot or two, I must confess that I was so caught up with the characters and story that I hardly noticed the camerawork, or lack thereof. Lubitsch fills the screen with entertainment, so even static shots are hardly dull. The songs are pleasing and catchy. The palace sets and costumes are opulent and impressive. There are memorable scenes both with and without music. From his balcony at the beginning of the film, Chevalier sings his goodbye to Paris and the women on nearby balconies. His valet, Jacques, played by Lupino Lane, joins in and sings goodbye to Parisian maids. Then Chevalier's dog sings, by barking, to the female dogs of Paris. We see none of Alfred and Louise's first date. Instead we see the Queen's advisors, her ladies in waiting, and Jacques and the Queen's maid spying on the date and reporting to each other like a game of telephone. The Queen's maid, Lulu, played by Lillian Roth, and Jacques have some good songs together too.
The Love Parade is almost overwhelmingly enjoyable, up to a point. There are two distinct halves to this movie. The first half is very funny, jaunty, and romantic. The second half, after Alfred and Louise are married, deals with their marital problems. There is still humor and entertainment value in this half of the film but at a diminished level. Queen Louise and Alfred seem to misunderstand and mistreat each other immediately after they are married and solely for the sake of dramatic conflict. Their main conflict is that Alfred does not have the traditional role of a man in their marriage or in the monarchy. Queen Louise runs the country and palace. Traditional gender roles in marriage and government being the central conflict of a musical from 1929 is interesting, however, as you might imagine, these issues are addressed but not challenged. The two tonally different halves of The Love Parade make for an uneven but overall enjoyable musical. There is still a lot to enjoyed in The Love Parade and it is a good step forward for the nascent musical genre.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
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