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The Cat and the Fiddle

Released Feb 16, 1934 1h 30m Musical Comedy List
Tomatometer 2 Reviews 17% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
In this film based on the Broadway musical, Victor Florescu (Ramon Novarro) is a composer desperately trying to get his operetta to opening night. First his leading lady (Vivienne Segal) leaves, taking the bulk of their budget with her. Then the male lead splits, leaving Victor to fill his role. Next he calls upon an old love, songstress Shirley Sheridan (Jeanette MacDonald) to be his ingénue, but she insists she's leaving the theater to marry her affluent but unfaithful fiancé (Frank Morgan).
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The Cat and the Fiddle

Critics Reviews

View All (2) Critics Reviews
Helen Brown Norden Vanity Fair The original Jerome Kern music is as enchanting as ever, and both Miss MacDonald and Mr. Novarro sing it very prettily indeed, but the acting is uniformly of the variety which can be euphemistically known as less than adequate. May 17, 2019 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Only the music is solid. Rated: C+ Aug 11, 2013 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member MacDonald & Novarro are an awkward pairing, but the story is pleasant and the songs (including "She Didn't Say Yes") are lovely. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member If you know me at all well, you will know that I am not a fan of musicals and of all the musicals I've seen only one or two of them I thought was good. Cat and Fiddle doesn't change this opinion. The actors weren't even good singers and it feels way longer than only 90 minutes. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member The best part of this Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach musical isn't the songs or the singing (Ramon Novarro was really no match for Jeanette MacDonald) but the slapstick charms of Charles Butterworth and the chemistry in the acting between Novarro & MacDonald. Great support from the always reliable Frank Morgan who is trying to steal MacDonald away. Also worth seeing for the early technicolor sequence at the end. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Cat and the Fiddle

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this film based on the Broadway musical, Victor Florescu (Ramon Novarro) is a composer desperately trying to get his operetta to opening night. First his leading lady (Vivienne Segal) leaves, taking the bulk of their budget with her. Then the male lead splits, leaving Victor to fill his role. Next he calls upon an old love, songstress Shirley Sheridan (Jeanette MacDonald) to be his ingénue, but she insists she's leaving the theater to marry her affluent but unfaithful fiancé (Frank Morgan).
Director
William K. Howard
Producer
Bernard H. Hyman
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Musical, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 16, 1934, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 30m
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