Rose Marie is a 1954 musical adaptation of the 1924 operetta
of the same name, the third by MGM, following a 1928 silent movie
and the best-known of the three, the 1936 Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy version.
It is directed by Mervyn LeRoy and stars Ann Blyth, Howard Keel and Fernando Lamas.
The story adheres closely to that of the original libretto, unlike the 1936 version.
It is somewhat improved by a tomboy to lady conversion for the title character
(reference ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, CALAMITY JANE, and later GIGI).
Only 3 numbers are retained: ROSE MARIE, INDIAN LOVE CALL, THE MOUNTIES.
Five new songs were written for the film: THE RIGHT PLACE FOR A GIRL,
FREE TO BE FREE, THE MOUNTIE WHO NEVER GOT HIS MAN, I HAVE THE LOVE,
LOVE AND KISSES. The last was filmed, but deleted from the release print -
it is a special feature on the dvd version of the film.
An Indian totem dance with choreography by Busby Berkeley (his last) takes the place
of the original number TOTEM TOM TOM.
This new number does not make use
of that song's music or lyric, despite a claim on the dvd cover.
This version is beautifully filmed in the Canadian rockies in CinemaScope.
It was MGM's first film in the new widescreen medium and the first movie musical
of any studio to be released in this format.
User Review
Quote16 April 2003 | by Greg Couture (Portland, Oregon)
Saw this on a massive CinemaScope screen during its first-run release at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California. If memory serves (since I haven't caught it on a Turner Classic Movies broadcast recently) it was enjoyable and nicely mounted, although I seem to recall that a lot of it was done on some massive MGM soundstages rather than outdoors in the northern California and Canadian locations. Of course that was usually the case with musicals with outdoor settings. Technical considerations prompted the studios to go the easy route of utilizing the more easily controlled environments of, in MGM's case, their Culver City, Calif. lot and stages subbing for the great outdoors. Howard Keel and Ann Blyth (and Fernando Lamas, too) acquitted themselves quite nicely in the vocal department. And any movie that gives us Marjorie Main and Bert Lahr for some expert comic relief is to be fondly remembered. Although its popularity may not merit it, it would be nice to add a DVD version, not yet available, it appears, of this widescreen/stereo remake to one's video library.