Rose Marie [Remaster]

Lovely Ann Blyth starred in two MGM musicals in 1954. One was "The Student Prince", and the other was ROSE MARIE, which has the distinction of being the first MGM musical filmed in the CinemaScope process. It plays fast and loose with the original operetta, but is a fantastically fun time all the same.Blyth plays the title role, Rose Marie Lemaitre, a tomboyish orphan who has been left in the care of Mike Malone (Howard Keel), captain of the Royal Canadian Mounties. After it becomes apparent that Rose Marie needs to be schooled in the art of being a lady, Mike installs her with saloon owner Lady Jane Dunstock (Marjorie Main). Rose Marie happily swaps her coonskin cap for hair-ribbons and her buckskins for dresses. In the meantime, Rose Marie's head is turned by trapper Jim Duval (Fernando Lamas), the local "bad boy" who soon is implicated in a murder involving local Indian chief, Black Eagle.ROSE MARIE had been filmed twice before - first in 1928 as a silent starring Joan Crawford (Blyth's screen mother in "Mildred Pierce") and most famously in 1936 with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. This 1954 screen version was filmed on location in Mammoth, California (doubling for the Canadian Rockies), and the results show on the screen.Ann Blyth had been singing since she was a child, but film producers curiously only started showcasing her in full-length musical roles quite late into her screen career. She had co-starred with Mario Lanza in 1951's "The Great Caruso", and following ROSE MARIE was meant to reunite with him in MGM's 'Scope production of "The Student Prince" (Lanza was later replaced by Edmund Purdom). "Kismet" would follow in 1955, but musicals were fast becoming a dying breed, as MGM's studio system began to implode. She went back to dramatic roles, but Warner Brothers' 1957 production "The Helen Morgan Story" (which turned out to be her last film) saw her once again in a musical setting; although her singing was doubled by Gogi Grant.Blyth is surrounded by a dream cast in ROSE MARIE, including Howard Keel, who gives Mike a lovely gravitating quality. In contrast, Fernando Lamas plays Duval with a sexy, devil-may-care edge, and he makes the most of his "Indian Love Call" duet with Ms Blyth. Playing the requisite comedic subplot, Marjorie Main and Bert Lahr (as Mountie Barney McCorkle) are just what is called for, although their big duet "Love and Kisses" wound up on the cutting-room floor.This 1954 screen version of ROSE MARIE only used a handful of songs from the original operetta ("Indian Love Call", "The Mounties", "Totem Tom-Tom" and the Title Song). Added to the tunestack were several new numbers including "Free to Be Free" for Rose Marie. It's a shame that Rose Marie's two big solos from the operetta, "Pretty Things" and "The Door of My Dreams", couldn't have been retained for Ms Blyth here.Warner Archive's DVD-R presents the film in a good 'Scope print, although there are some intermittent colour fluctuations. This is mainly due to the film being originally printed on Eastman Color film stock, a cheaper colour process which has the reputation for fading over time. The original trailer is included as a bonus, along with the cut number "Love and Kisses", giving us another look at Marjorie Main and Bert Lahr's comedic stylings. A sweet film.

This was a movie that I saw when I was child and always kept in my Memory. I was about 9 when it came out and never forgot the songs Rose Marie, Indian Love Call and the mountie song. Indeed, I think I forever fell in love with the idea of a mountie in the mountains. A number of years ago I bought the DVD with Jeannette McDonald and Nelson Eddy. It was good but didn't seem to be the one I saw. I thought it had been in color and that the male lead was stronger. About a year ago I read of this release from Brazil. It wasn't until now that I took a chance on it. There are pros and cons to the video. I am very happy to have it as it was the one I fondly remembered (not so much the story or whole movie but the songs, mounties and scenery). The color is beautiful. It is done in letterbox which squeezes the picture down. There seems to be some fluxuations in lighting but not too bad. It also seems to have some pixualation or shimmering effect especially in the outdoor scenes. There are also some black artifacts and a few other problems that show up in a lot of the older movies. They are often in many of the older movies I have, even some newer than this one and produced in the US. Both the coloring and film artifact problems were much less than the DVD's I purchased of Seven Alone.The story basiclly is good. The main problems for me were the indian ceremony which was way over the top, hollywood fashion, and Bert Lahr's performance, which seemed alot like the lion from The Wizad of Oz. Marjory Main played a good old gal as in Ma and Pa Kettle fashion. I believe the problems is that Lahr and Main are character acters who played their character type to the hilt in both movies. I kept remembering their main characters from their earlier movies and couldn't really accept them in Rose Marie. Both Howard Keel and Ann Blyth sing beatifully. I often found Ann Blyth to be delightful in her role. Howard Keel was a little more wooden but then again he was playing a stalwart mountie.I would definitely buy this again. I am glad that I have both versions to compare. The McDonald and Eddy one is on tape. I plan to review it again to see if I like it better enough to also get it on DVD. It never quite lived up to what I thought it should, but now that my memory is an actuality I'll have to see which one I prefer. I suspect I'll like them both for different reasons.I bought my DVD from Promocase. It arrived in 3 days from ordering and in good condition. This, despite being sent from coast to coast.

This is great entertainment. The singing/voices were very good.

Another great example of a Warner Archive release. This film has obviously not been given the royal restoration of the "box-office gold" films, but the picture is clear and crisp, the location scenery is astounding, and the sound is great. It's too bad that the story is ho-hum.I thought this would simply be a color remake of the classic 1936 Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald story, but it's not. This story lacks the wit and punch of the former. It's still about a Royal Canadian Mountie (Howard Keel in his usual resonate, powerful baritone), but that's about the only connection I could make. The girl is certainly not the citified, cultured and refined opera singer that Jeanette MacDonald played in 1936, but a rugged girl who definitely knows her way around the Rockies.I think lovely Ann Blythe is too delicate and beautiful for the part. And she has a lovely voice, but after seeing and hearing Jane Powell dominate the lead in the similarly Northwest-set film of earlier that same year (1954) "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"---also with Howard Keel---I felt this film could have benefited greatly if it had had her spunk and energy for the lead. Bert Lahr, to me, will always be the Cowardly Lion, no matter what role he is playing, and even here, he comes across as a caricature of the Cowardly Lion in a Mountie suit.And classic movie buffs will notice that the choreography for the Native American tribal dance unmistakably belongs to Busby Berkeley!Well, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but the most this film has going for it is the colorful, amazing scenery. Give me the black-and-white 1936 version any day.

This was one of the early Cinemascope films and one of the first musicals in the new process at the time,alas it doesn't help in any way to lift this movie from tedious at best.Yes the song and the singers are pretty good but as for the rest of it totally forgettable.

I have given this product one star because I can not watch it as it is in Spanish and not English and seeing as I don't speak Spanish it makes things a bit difficult, I did complain at the time of purchase and was not given any choice of changing it for and English version only instructions of how to re-tune my DVD player, I have tuned my DVD player to English and still am unable to watch this DVD, so I have something of no good to me what so ever, so I have waited my money.

A bit dissappointed to begin with as couldn't read spanish to work out how to get it in english.Sent an email on Christmas day not expecting a reply till maybe New Year but the supplier had replied that day with instructions on how to sort it.

I am sure it is great as I love the film but it is in Spanish!! most DVD these days have a choice of languages within, nope just Spanish!

Love this film but it was very poor quality and sound out of sinc with picture. Hence i sent it back for refund. Have since purchased one from US region 0 and its fabulous. Avoid imports.