Monte Carlo (1930)

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Hans Müller (play)
Booth Tarkington (novel) ...

Release Date:

27 August 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

As intimate as a lady's boudoir! (original window card poster)

Plot:

Countess Vera von Conti checks into Monte Carlo. She's down to her last 10,000 francs and has fled from her husband-to-be...

Plot Keywords:

Countess | Love | Monte Carlo | Prince | Opera

Cast

Jack Buchanan	...	Count Rudolph Falliere a.k.a. Rudy the hairdresser
Jeanette MacDonald	...	Countess Helene Mara
Claud Allister	...	Prince Otto Von Seibenheim
Zasu Pitts	...	Bertha
Tyler Brooke	...	Armand
John Roche	...	Paul, the 'Real' Hairdresser
Lionel Belmore	...	Duke Gustave von Seibenheim
Albert Conti	...	Prince Otto's Companion / M.C
Helen Garden	...	Lady Mary in Stage Opera
Donald Novis	...	Monsieur Beaucaire in Stage Opera
Erik Bey	...	Lord Windorset
David Percy	...	Herald

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The song "Beyond the Blue Horizon," introduced here, became Jeanette MacDonald's theme song for the rest of her life. During World War Ii she changed the line, "Beyond the blue horizon lies the rising sun" to " ... lies the shining sun" because the Rising Sun was the symbol of America's enemy, Japan.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jeanette MacDonald is referred to as a blonde early on in the dialogue. She was actually a redhead, and no attempt was made to lighten her hair to make her look blonde. Her hair photographed the dark grey red hair usually reproduced as on the black-and-white film used in 1930.

Quotes:

Train Conductor: Are you the lady who jumped on this train after we had started?
Countess Helene Mara: Yes, and I shall complain about it. Trains don't go until I get on them!

Soundtrack:

Give Me A Moment Please

Beyond the Blue Horizon is the highlight!

Though a bit flawed, "Monte Carlo" is still one of Ernst Lubitsch's most dynamic and inventive musicals. A follow-up to Lubitsch's delightful "The Love Parade", "Monte Carlo" regains Jeanette MacDonald but unfortunately it lacks Maurice Chevalier whose Gallic, continental charm was one of the things that made "Love Parade" (and also Lubitsch's later sublime musicals - "The Smiling Lieutenant", "One Hour with You" and "The Merry Widow") such a joy to watch.

Still, it has one priceless musical number: Jeanette MacDonald rendition of "Beyond the Blue Horizon" while riding a train - a sequence so inventive and spectacular that you forget the rest of the film. It is powerful enough to make the whole countryside alive with song and elation. The song will stick with you long after you completed watching the film.

Frank Tashlin pays an homage to this sequence in his hilarious 1956 musical "Hollywood or Bust": a number called "A Day in the Country", a duet between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.