Serenade (1956 film)

Serenade

Original movie poster
Directed by Anthony Mann
Produced by Henry Blanke
Written by Ivan Goff
Ben Roberts
John Twist
Starring Mario Lanza
Joan Fontaine
Sara Montiel
Vincent Price
Joseph Calleia
Vince Edwards
Harry Bellaver
Music by Nicholas Brodszky
Cinematography J. Peverell Marley
Edited by William H. Ziegler
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • March 23, 1956
Running time
 121 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1,585,000 (US)[1]

Serenade, a 1956 Warner Bros. release, was tenor Mario Lanza's fifth film, and his first on-screen appearance in four years. Directed by Anthony Mann and based on the 1937 novel of the same name by James M. Cain, the film also stars Joan Fontaine, Sara Montiel (billed as Sarita Montiel), and Vincent Price.

Plot

Serenade tells the story of a poor vineyard worker who becomes an operatic tenor, and is involved with two women — one a high society hostess, the other a Mexican bullfighter's daughter. Highly melodramatic in nature, the film features a large amount of operatic music, all of it sung by Lanza. Of note are the Act III Monologue from Verdi's Otello and an extract from the duet "Dio Ti Giocondi" from the same opera featuring Metropolitan Opera soprano Licia Albanese. Reviewing the film in The New York Times, A.H. Weiler wrote that, "Mr. Lanza, who was never in better voice, makes this a full and sometimes impressive musical entertainment."

The movie differs greatly from the James M. Cain source novel. In the book, Juana (Montiel) is a prostitute and she and Damon (Lanza) set out to open a brothel together. She comes into conflict with the local police and the two flee to Los Angeles and then move to New York, where Damon struggles to overcome his bisexuality. Obviously, none of this material could be made into a popular movie in the US in 1956, so the story becomes merely that of an opera singer torn between an overbearing, worldly patron of the arts (Fontaine) and a Mexican bullfighter's daughter. The tenor has a breakdown because of his unrequited love for the society woman, but finds love (and a happy ending) with the Mexican girl.

Cast

Reception

The film made a purported loss of $695,000.

References

  1. ↑ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', Variety Weekly, January 2, 1957

Cesari, Armando. Mario Lanza: An American Tragedy. (Fort Worth: Baskerville 2004)

External links