Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A Masterpiece!

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Although only five songs are retained from the original Broadway production, they are wonderful and wonderfully performed by the entire cast. They are: I Married An Angel, Spring Is Here, I'll Tell The Man In The Street, A Twinkle In Your Eye, and La La Tira Lira La.The social satire and sarcasm of the script still goes over a lot of critics' heads, but I think it's a fun movie and the only one we have with MacDonald and Eddy that is not an operetta. They are both delightful in their last outing together.The production values are stunning. I believe it deserved, but did not receive, Oscar nominations in the categories of Art Direction, Scoring, and Costume Design. Especially in the latter area with costumes contributed by Broadway's Motley. The costumes for the ball early on are amazing in and of themselves, but the women's stylish outfits throughout the film are equally marvelous. Granted there was no Costume Design category at the Oscars in 1942, but still…I kept thinking I was seeing Celeste Holm as one of Willie's girl friends, but realize now it was Anne Jeffreys in an early role. They do look amazingly alike in the cheekbones.I recommend this as a sprightly, fun and clever take on the deceit required to make it in fashionable society.

I guess in Hollywood's mind, when an angel commits the pleasures of the flesh (if that is possible), then they are going to loose their wings. And in the case of Jeanette MacDonald's angel here, she looses her wings twice: one a cardboard costume piece, the other one a feathered version which appears to be the real thing. MacDonald is a secretary in the bank run by wealthy Nelson Eddy who is invited to his birthday party and given a cheap looking costume obviously meant to embarrass her for giving fresh flowers to him every day by his jealous head secretary. She makes an awkward entrance to hoards of laughter by the snobbish ladies all decked out in their finery, but her innocence is bound to capture the handsome Eddy who for some reason dreams of her appearing to him as a real angel rather than the more sophisticated females who made fun of the lady.The opening of the party sequence is highlighted by a lavish "Ziegeld Follies" style production number where all of the wanna-be brides of the very single Eddy sing and dance in order to get his attention. Then, his sister (an outrageous Binnie Barnes) makes her entrance, and you see where the film intends to move into tongue-in-cheek in the dream sequence. This is fluff of the highest nature, and MGM goes overboard to give its war weary audiences something to sink their eyes into so they can forget about the issues of the day.An angel cannot tell a lie, we hear, and MacDonald's is no different than any other every day ordinary angel. "My husband and I are arguing over whether or not this dress makes me look fat", a stout party guest tells her. "The dress doesn't make you look fat. You are fat.", she tells the guest, turning the woman's smile into a shocked sneer. That's just the beginning as she reveals certain infidelities and other secrets that only an angel would know. This gains the amusement of one of Eddy's biggest stockholders (Douglas Dumbrille) and sets up the film for its only really serious plot as Eddy and MacDonald are separated as his bank is put in jeopardy by Dumbrille's threats to destroy him.Probably the lightest in atmosphere for the MacDonald/Eddy pairings, this is an underrated finale to their 7 year teaming. The chance to hear MacDonald singing a bit from "Carmen" is the highlight of a sequence where Eddy witnesses MacDonald heading all over the world with the scoundrel Dumbrille and realizes just what she has come to mean to him. W.S. Van Dyke, as with previous entries in the series, presents a lavish atmosphere, yet made more lighthearted with the comical storyline that is all fluff and yet delicious to look at.

Based on the Broadway musical, "I Married an Angel" is a fantasy that takes place in Budapest. Released in 1942, it proved to be the last film for Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, as Eddy bought out his contract and left MGM.The story concerns a secretary, Anna (again MacDonald) who is in love with the her playboy banker boss, Count Pilaffi (Eddy), and has been invited to his birthday party. Because it's a costume party, a jealous girlfriend of the Count's (Mona Maris) makes sure that Anna is in a cheap makeshift angel costume, complete with aluminum wings, one of which falls off, and a halo that hits the Count in the face when he tries to dance with her. After being hit one too many times, the Count excuses himself and goes upstairs, where he falls asleep.He dreams that an angel, Brigitta (MacDonald again) comes down from heaven to be his wife. She seems perfect, except that she's not used to the ways of the world - polite social talk, for instance - so she tells it like it is, thereby insulting a lot of important people. She gets some lessons from an earthy earth woman (Binnie Barnes) and manages to save the day for her husband.This film is often criticized by MacDonald-Eddy fans. In truth, MacDonald was never more beautiful, sings well, and Eddy is in fabulous voice. The title song is the big one, along with "Spring is Here." Granted the plot is paper thin, but the couple wasn't known for making heavy movies. Lovely singing, pretty music, a not overly long film, "I Married An Angel" doesn't try to be anything but what it is - light entertainment. Take it on that level, and you won't be disappointed.

It appears that there's no middle ground on this movie! Most of it takes place in a dream and, like most dreams, it's often foolish and illogical. It's also a gorgeous production with some great songs and fine performances, especially by our angel.Jeanette's deadpan, unknowing insults and various other faux pas at the dream reception are hilarious, and her jitterbug with Binnie Barnes is a surprise and a delight. At one point, she gets to sing a snippet from Carmen, followed by the final trio of Faust (holding a lapdog, for some strange reason), then "Aloha Oe" on the beach! It's a surreal comedy--tremendously entertaining if you can get into the groove.