New Moon (1940 film)

Last updated
New Moon
Poster - New Moon (1940) 01.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
W. S. Van Dyke
Written by Robert Arthur
Jacques Deval
Based on The New Moon
1928 operetta
by Sigmund Romberg
Oscar Hammerstein II
Produced byRobert Z. Leonard
Starring Jeanette MacDonald
Nelson Eddy
Mary Boland
George Zucco
Cinematography William H. Daniels
Edited by Harold F. Kress
Music by Herbert Stothart
Production
company
Distributed by Loew's Inc.
Release date
  • July 19, 1940 (1940-07-19)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,487,000 [1]
Box office$1,290,000 (domestic earnings) [1]
$1,237,000 (foreign earnings) [1]

New Moon is a 1940 American musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Robert Z. Leonard, with uncredited direction by W. S. Van Dyke.

Contents

It is the second film adaptation of the operetta The New Moon , which premiered on Broadway in 1928. The stage version featured music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and others. The first film adaptation, also titled New Moon , which premiered in 1930, was less faithful to the stage version.

Plot

During the 18th century in New Orleans, Louisiana, a French nobleman in disguise as a bondsman, Charles (Nelson Eddy) leads his fellow bondsman in revolt against his ship's captain (George Irving), commandeering the ship and heading out to sea.

Cast

Reception

The film was included in the 1978 book, The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and How They Got That Way) , by Harry Medved, Randy Dreyfuss, and Michael Medved. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>San Francisco</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by D. W. Griffith, W. S. Van Dyke

San Francisco is a 1936 American musical-drama disaster film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, based on the April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The film stars Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy. MacDonald's singing helped make this film a major hit, coming on the heels of her other 1936 blockbuster, Rose Marie.

<i>One Hour with You</i> 1932 film

One Hour with You is a 1932 American pre-Code musical comedy film about a married couple who are attracted to other people. It was produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch "with the assistance of" George Cukor, and written by Samson Raphaelson from the play Only a Dream by Lothar Schmidt. It stars Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Genevieve Tobin, Charlie Ruggles and Roland Young.

<i>Naughty Marietta</i> (film) 1935 American operetta film

Naughty Marietta is a 1935 American romantic musical film based on the 1910 operetta of the same name by Victor Herbert. Jeanette MacDonald stars as a princess who flees an arranged marriage. She sails for New Orleans and is rescued from pirates by Captain Richard Warrington. Five of Herbert's most famous songs come from the score of Naughty Marietta, with words by lyricist Rida Johnson Young: "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life", "Italian Street Song", "Neath the Southern Moon", "I'm Falling in Love with Someone" and "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! ". Additional lyrics for several of Herbert's songs were penned for the film by Gus Kahn. The film was written by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, John Lee Mahin and Rida Johnson Young.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanette MacDonald</span> American singer and actress (1903-1965)

Jeanette Anna MacDonald was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy. During the 1930s and 1940s she starred in 29 feature films, four nominated for Best Picture Oscars, and recorded extensively, earning three gold records. She later appeared in opera, concerts, radio, and television. MacDonald was one of the most influential sopranos of the 20th century, introducing opera to film-going audiences and inspiring a generation of singers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson Eddy</span> American actor and singer (1901–1967)

Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald. He was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing both to shrieking bobby soxers and opera purists, and in his heyday, he was the highest paid singer in the world.

<i>The New Moon</i> 1927 operetta by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II

The New Moon is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and Laurence Schwab. The show was the third in a string of Broadway hits for Romberg written in the style of Viennese operetta. Set around the time of the French Revolution, the story centers on a young French aristocrat in disguise, who has fled his country and falls in love with the daughter of a prominent New Orleans planter.

<i>Phantom of the Opera</i> (1943 film) 1943 horror film directed by Arthur Lubin

Phantom of the Opera is a 1943 American romantic horror film directed by Arthur Lubin, loosely based on Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera and its 1925 film adaptation starring Lon Chaney. Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film stars Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster and Claude Rains, as well as being composed by Edward Ward.

<i>The Goldwyn Follies</i> 1938 film by George Marshall

The Goldwyn Follies is a 1938 Technicolor film written by Ben Hecht, Sid Kuller, Sam Perrin and Arthur Phillips, with music by George Gershwin, Vernon Duke, and Ray Golden, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Sid Kuller. The Goldwyn Follies was the first Technicolor film produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Rich</span> American writer

Sharon Rich is an American author and film historian, best known for the biography Sweethearts about 1930s singing stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Raymond</span> American actor (1908–1998)

Gene Raymond was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a singer, composer, screenwriter, director, producer, and decorated military pilot.

<i>Maytime</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

Maytime is a 1937 American musical and romantic-drama film produced by MGM. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, and stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The screenplay was rewritten from the book for Sigmund Romberg's 1917 operetta Maytime by Rida Johnson Young, Romberg's librettist; however, only one musical number by Romberg was retained.

New moon is a lunar phase.

<i>Parnell</i> (film) 1937 film by John M. Stahl

Parnell is a 1937 American biographical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, starring Clark Gable as Charles Stewart Parnell, the famous Irish politician. It was Gable's least successful film and is generally considered his worst, and it is listed in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. The movie addresses the adulterous relationship that destroyed Parnell's political career, but its treatment of the subject is highly sanitized in keeping with Hollywood content restrictions at the time.

<i>The Merry Widow</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by Ernst Lubitsch

The Merry Widow is a 1934 film adaptation of the 1905 operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. The film was directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch and stars Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. A French-language version was produced at the same time and released in France the same year as La veuve joyeuse. Lorenz Hart and Gus Kahn wrote new English lyrics for some of Lehar's songs under the musical direction of Herbert Stothart.

<i>The Girl of the Golden West</i> (1938 film) 1938 film

The Girl of the Golden West is a 1938 American musical Western film adapted from the 1905 play of the same name by David Belasco, better known for providing the plot of the opera La fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini. A frontier woman falls in love with an outlaw.

<i>Rose Marie</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by W. S. Van Dyke

Rose Marie is a 1936 American musical Western film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy and Reginald Owen. It is the second of three Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptations of the 1924 Broadway musical of the same name. A silent version was released in 1928 and a color film in 1954. All three versions are set in the Canadian wilderness. Portions of Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart's original score for the Broadway musical are included in both the 1936 and 1954 films.

<i>Bitter Sweet</i> (1940 film) 1940 film

Bitter Sweet is a 1940 American Technicolor musical film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, based on the operetta Bitter Sweet by Noël Coward. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Cinematography and the other for Best Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons and John S. Detlie.

"Naughty Marietta" is an American television episode of the 1910 operetta Naughty Marietta. The music for the operetta was composed by Victor Herbert. The book and the lyrics were written by Rida Johnson Young. First telecast live in the United States on January 15, 1955, the conductor for the production was Charles Sanford. The television version, which is slightly different from the operetta, as well as different from the film, was made twenty years after the film version with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. "Naughty Marietta" marked the first musical television appearance by Alfred Drake.

<i>Balalaika</i> (film) 1939 film by Reinhold Schünzel

Balalaika is a 1939 American musical romance film based on the 1936 London stage musical of the same name. Produced by Lawrence Weingarten and directed by Reinhold Schunzel, it starred Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey.

<i>I Married an Angel</i> (film) 1942 film by W. S. Van Dyke, Roy Del Ruth, Hunt Stromberg

I Married an Angel is a 1942 American musical film based on the 1938 musical comedy of the same name by Rodgers and Hart. The film was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starred Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, who were then a popular onscreen couple. Supporting cast members included Edward Everett Horton, Binnie Barnes, Reginald Owen, Douglass Dumbrille, Mona Maris, and Odette Myrtil.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Turk, Edward Baron (1998). Hollywood Diva: A Biography of Jeanette MacDonald . University of California Press. ISBN   0-520-22253-9.
  2. Medved, Harry (1978). The Fifty Worst Movies of All Time (and how They Got that Way) (First ed.). Angus & Robertson. p. 288. ISBN   9780207958915 . Retrieved 16 May 2021.