Product Details

• Actors: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Reginald Owen, Allan Jones, James Stewart
• Directors: W.S. Van Dyke
• Writers: Albert Hackett, Alice D.G. Miller, Frances Goodrich, Herbert Stothart, Oscar Hammerstein II
• Producers: Hunt Stromberg
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301978315
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,489 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of MGM's finest thirties musicals, February 23, 2002

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rose Marie [VHS] (VHS Tape)

There have been surprisingly few performers in the history of movies who have possessed operatic type voices. Mario Lanza, Kathryn Grayson, and Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald very nearly completes the list, though a nod should be made to Allan Jones, who, though never a star, managed a few notable appearances in various films, including two Marx Brothers films (A NIGHT AT THE OPERA) and this film, as Romeo to Jeanette MacDonald's Juliet early in the movie, and in TOSCA, near the end.

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy were, therefore, a unique aberration in the history of cinema history, the only operatic partnership in Hollywood, ever. They were the operatic equivalent of Astaire and Rogers, and if their films never achieved the polish or brilliance of those two, they nonetheless managed to make some very fine films. ROSE MARIE is probably their most famous, and perhaps their finest.

The various renderings of "Indian Love Call" in the film are what the film is best known for, but upon reviewing the film last night with my daughter (who loved it, although she found many moments so embarrassing that she had to hide her head under a pillow, especially during the movie's closing moments), I was amazed at how enjoyable the movie is as a whole. The movie is delightful from beginning to end, gorgeous to look at (filmed, unfortunately, at Lake Tahoe, instead of the Canadian Rockies), and infinitely less dated than one might expect from an operatically driven 1936 comedy. The movie was also enhanced from a barrage of excellent supporting players. Reginald Owen, David Niven, Alan Mowbray, Una O'Connor, the aforementioned Allan Jones, and Jimmy Conlin (familiar to anyone who has seen many Preston Sturges comedies) provide a deep cast. Jimmy Stewart has a smallish role in the last film he made before becoming a lead actor.

One of the more intriguing segments was filmed at an actual Indian camp. Visually, it is a stunning sequence, but unfortunately MGM in the best Hollywood fashion marred the scene with added orchestral music and choreography. And no, this is not the film that breaks the mould by having an actual Native American play a Native American. George Regas, who made a career out of playing Indians, was actually born in Greece.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, Genevieve Annabelle Caroline Rose-Marie - I love you!, June 10, 2003

By 

Mrs Baldwin (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rose Marie [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I don't know what kept me away from this movie so long. I'd seen it so many times browsing the shelves at the library, but had no idea who was in it or what it was about. Then I saw The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met, got entranced with baritones all of a sudden (yes, me the tenor fanatic), and decided to see some of Nelson Eddy's movies... the first one was The Phantom of the Opera, which I have reviewed separately, then I saw The Chocolate Soldier and I Married an Angel, which I shall review separately later, and then this one. Besides the fact that Nelson cuts a dashing figure in the spiffy uniform (okay, so the britches ARE a bit weird), I found it an incredibly touching, sweet little story, and also enjoyed all the songs. Coming from me that says a lot, because I am not in the least a musical fan - there are very few musicals I count as favourites.

Nelson and Jeannette have the ability to be very spontaneous in dialogue and work very well together, even depsite the fact that Nelson can be rather stiff at times - his singing more than makes up for it.

One thing I found particuarly striking was the scene toward the end when Jeannette is singing "Tosca": she is literally cracking up. We can hear what she hears - Nelson's Indian love call - and feel the discord between it and the words she must sing on stage. It reaches a pitch and then she faints.

I also felt that for a lightweight piece of "fluff" the character development wasn't half-bad, either - Right from the beginning it's well-established that as far as Jeannette is concerned the entire world revolves around her, so as the movie progresses it's good to see how Jeannette turns from a selfish, slave-driving diva to a sprightly, energetic, loving human being. Not everyone has the opportunity to cross the Canadian mountains with a mountie (unfortunately!), but I'm sure that figuratively there is something like that in each person's life, some backwoods experience that creates real character because of the necessity of facing adversity, learning what sacrifice and love are all about, and that life isn't all "me", and sometimes we have to eat bacon...

I found the totem pole dance scene rather amusing as well. I was very into Indians for a long time as a child, and learnt quite a bit about them, so it struck me funny that this tribe had it all - the totem poles of the Pacific Northwest, the feathered headdresses and tipis of the Plains... Still, it was an interesting sequence, despite the fact that it was very 1930's Hollywood and far from authentic.

James Stewart's small role as Jeannette's brother was fine as well - it was interesting how he really was only on screen for a few minutes, but all through the film, you were seeing the wanted posters and thinking about him to a point where he was really a main character.

I recommend this film very much, along with The Chocolate Soldier, which is another truly delightful musical.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MacDonald and Eddy Have Simpatico, October 1, 2001

By 

"maryn2" (Hampton, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rose Marie [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Rudoph Friml's "Rose Marie", filmed in the 1930s, stands strong, even in 2001. Its stars shine as a memorial to the era. At her elegant best as an opera singer seeking to save her brother, a young Jimmy Stewart, from a life of crime, Jeanette MacDonald follows his trail to the Canadian Rockies. There, Royal Mounted Police Sgt. Bruce played by Nelson Eddy, committed to his duty as an officer of law, uses MacDonald, (Rose Marie) as a decoy to get his man. Their words of love are painfully sacrificed in the echoing hollows of the magnificent Northwest. The music haunts the story throughout. The pace of the drama is flawlessly done, directed with total honesty to Friml's artistry. No detail is overlooked in this poignant drama of idealistic love, so masterfully commanded by both MacDonald and Eddy. It's almost as if they were not acting at all.