Love Me Tonight
by Rouben Mamoulian
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charles Butterworth, Charles Ruggles, Jeanette MacDonald, Maurice Chevalier, Myrna LoyDirector: Rouben Mamoulian
Brand: Kino International
Cinematographer: Victor Milner
Producer: Rouben Mamoulian
Writer: George Marion Jr.
Writer: Léopold Marchand
Writer: Paul Armont
Writer: Samuel Hoffenstein
Writer: Waldemar Young
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
Published: 2003-11-01
DVD Release Date: 2003-11-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 3222
Studio: Kino Video
Product features:
- LOVE ME TONIGHT (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of Love Me Tonight
Movie Review: "A tailor! A tailor! The bounder is a tailor!"
Summary: 5 Stars
"Once upon a time there was a princess and a Prince Charming... who was not a prince but who was charming."
To me, habitually, "delicious" is an adjective that applies only to food. Except that, once in a blue moon, you could apply it to something like this musical film, because it's that good. 1932's LOVE ME TONIGHT is delicious fare. It counts as one of the most scintillating and influential of the early musicals. It doesn't hurt that it's farcical, too, and madcap, and very funny. And if you're a fan of Maurice Chevalier and of the beautiful, heavy-lidded Jeanette MacDonald, well, then, your cup runneth over like a mother.
Easy-going Parisian tailor Maurice Courtelin doesn't give a stitch if he doesn't get rich, but still one can't live on carefree attitude alone. And so off he goes to the posh chateau of an aristocratic client to collect on an outstanding bill. But, as Maurice finds, it's practically impossible to try to squeeze funds from a scion of old nobility. Because of this and that (but mostly because of a beautiful princess), he ends up posing as a baron.
LOVE ME TONIGHT is a treat from start to finish. Director Rouben Mamoulian had never done a musical before, and so wasn't at all confined to conventions of the genre. The camera work here is innovative, and the witty musical numbers have a scope to them, and a vibrancy and are so imaginatively staged. The film's opening moments are a marvel, as Parisians go about tending to their morning routines, the various noises of their activities merging into this symphony of harmonizing rhythms.
And note how Mamoulian stages the film's most memorable track, "Isn't It Romantic?" This classic tune, as arranged in the film, assumes a domino effect. Chevalier kicks it off, and the song is passed on from one singer to the next, to eventually grace Jeanette MacDonald's ears so many miles away. Even before they formally meet, the "Isn't It Romantic" sequence links the two leads together, the playful tailor and the moonlit princess. It's worth noting that Chevalier launches the song in sardonic fashion, and yet by the time MacDonald has had a crack at it, the song's taken on a softer, more romantic tone. That should tell you something about our two leads.
I harbor mad love for several of the songs here, and Rogers & Hart's smart lyrics. "Isn't It Romantic?", of course. But also MacDonald's comic rendition of "Lover" and Chevalier's lecherous take on "Mimi." "Lover" and "Mimi" are two songs introduced one almost immediately after the other and which reflect the two characters' differing viewpoints on love and romance. "Mimi, you funny little good for nothing Mimi." Watch the saucy expressions flitting across Chevalier's face, and MacDonald's offended reaction. That's gold. I also enjoyed "The Son of a Gun Is Nothing But A Tailor," the terrifically clever musical number the chateau's outraged household goes into once Maurice's secret is out.
The sets are lavish, the costumes exquisite. The script sparkles and is chock full of wit and witty innuendo. The supporting cast is marvelous. Charlie Ruggles and Charles Butterworth are two very good comics. There's something frightfully delicious (damn, there it is again!) in watching the gruff and imposing C. Aubrey Smith belt out a verse of "Mimi." Myrna Loy steals all the scenes she cares to, as the horny Countess Valentine, and she owns some of the movie's best quotes. She delivers maybe her most memorable line after the princess had again fainted, and Valentine is asked if she could go for a doctor. Loy's instant reply: "Certainly. Bring him right in." Heh. Sucks to say, thanks to the censorship bureau, we lose out on a deleted scene featuring Loy in a racy negligee singing her own verso of "Mimi." But never mind. What an operetta! Rouben Mamoulian is brilliant! I really do think LOVE ME TONIGHT is one of the most perfect musicals ever made. In 1932, it was certainly ahead of its time.
The DVD's extras: An informative Audio Commentary (and a booklet essay) by Miles Kreuger, Founder / President of the Institute of the American Musical Inc.; Screenplay Excerpts of Deleted Scenes; Hollywood on Parade presents Maurice Chevalier singing "Louise" and Jeanette MacDonald singing "Love Me Tonight"; Production Documents (we get a peek at the film's budget sheets, shooting schedule, Rodger & Hart's signed note of authenticity, etc.); Censorship Records - Lists of cuts required by various censor boards and memos exchanged from the MPPDA, a chunk of it concerning film dialogue which may be too suggestive or may be offensive to the French Royalists (as such, the nuances of addressing Jeanette MacDonald's character as "Your Highness" versus "Princess" are explored); the theatrical trailer; and a gallery of images & promotional material.
Summary of Love Me Tonight
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