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The Great Caruso

Play trailer Poster for The Great Caruso G Released Apr 16, 1951 1h 49m Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Enrico Caruso's (Mario Lanza) only passion is to sing. For that, he leaves his hometown of Naples, Italy, and travels to America to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. At first his lack of education and poor background make him an outcast in the high-class opera world. Eventually, his amazing voice wins him both fans and the hand of his love, Dorothy (Ann Blyth). But his nonstop pace and desire to perform at any cost eventually take their toll on the singer's health.

Critics Reviews

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com This conventional biopic of the famous Italian tenro was one of 1951's biggest commercial hits due to Mario Lanza's popularity at the time. Rated: C+ Dec 31, 2010 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Hits a few high notes over the music but hits too many low notes after fudging the biography with too much fictionalization. Rated: C+ Feb 5, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Worth watching just to see Mario Lanza sing Vesti La Giuba - even Domingo said "no one ever performed it better". Its a shame Lanza didn't ever perform a full opera even if just to prove he could - most people who know say that if Mario Lanza had become a serious opera singer he would have been one of the greatest - after all Pavarotti said of Mario Lanza - " A fantastic voice....not just a wonderful voice but a fantastic voice"and that's fair praise indeed. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member The best musical movie ever made! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review s r Great music, but beyond that it was good to learn a little about Caruso. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member People who love opera will like this film as it has many operatic songs and tunes in it. On the whole it was an enjoyable film until the ending : ( spoiler alert), the film did a good job of describing Caruso's life but at the end when he drops down dead the film immediately ended and did not tell us how he died, which was a shame. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Lavish MGM musical was the zenith of both Mario Lanza and Joe Pasternak's careers; Lanza's hit single "The Loveliest Night of the Year" is sung in the film by Ann Blyth. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Biographical but largely fictional pic on legendary opera singer and the top grossing film of 1951. Opera fans will rejoice in the 27(!) numbers performed by Mario Lanza, who built himself a legend after dying young in the wake of a rapid rise to fame aided by his film career. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Great Caruso

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The Great Caruso

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Movie Info

Synopsis Enrico Caruso's (Mario Lanza) only passion is to sing. For that, he leaves his hometown of Naples, Italy, and travels to America to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. At first his lack of education and poor background make him an outcast in the high-class opera world. Eventually, his amazing voice wins him both fans and the hand of his love, Dorothy (Ann Blyth). But his nonstop pace and desire to perform at any cost eventually take their toll on the singer's health.
Director
Richard Thorpe
Producer
Joe Pasternak
Screenwriter
Sonya Levien, William Ludwig
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rating
G
Genre
Biography
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 16, 1951, Original
Runtime
1h 49m