That Man Edmund Goulding's musical film 'Mardi Gras' (1958) became the last film in the career of a director, who successfully worked in cinema in 30s and 40s years and filmed such works as 'Grand Hotel' (1932), 'To Defeat the Darkness' (1939), ''The True Nymphal' (1943), and >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Needless to say, Mardi Gras will not repeat their success.
The plot of the film: Military school in Lexington, Virginia. The cadets of this school, especially Barry Denton (Tommy Sands) and Tony Collins (Gary Crosby) dream of meeting the French movie star Michelle Marton (Christina Carer). They play the lottery, which of them will have to get acquainted with the movie star, inviting her to the graduation school. It becomes known that cadets are sent to New Orleans for the parade in honor of the holiday "Mardi Grass" ( Catholic analogue of Maslenitsa), where Marton is supposed to appear.
The winner of the lottery is Paul Newell (Pat Boone), who is least interested in this adventure. In the midst of the carnival, Paul meets a girl who is Michelle Marton, but pretends to be another. However, the novel of a cadet and a movie star is a very tasty topic for the press, which complicates the lives of both. . .
Well, the film Edmund Goulding can not be called original from any point of view, since the plot by construction "film star + cadet = love / trouble" (sometimes both) has been used in Hollywood many times before.
Back in 1943, at Studio MGM filmed a very successful musical"Best legs forward" with Lucille Ball, where the arrival of the movie star at the prom caused a lot of trouble to the cadet who invited her.
Seven years later, in 1950, Warner Bros. releases film "West Point Story", where the movie star comes to the dance and falls in love with a cadet, which is not included in the plans of her film studio, and the director of the cadet play, which began this story. The film was not so successful, but the presence in the film James Cagney, Doris Day and Virginia Mayo pulled it to the proper level of viewability.
And now, after another 8 years, the studio 20th Century Fox releases Mardi Gras, in which this holiday, in fact, remained the only innovation. In the rest, this picture adheres to the already tested stamps and clichés , but here they do not work fully.
It is impossible to say that everything in this film is so hopeless - the studio 20th Century Fox ( rarely shone in the genre of musical) earlier and more useless musical paintings , like There is no better business than show business (1954) and Carousel (1956), and only a couple of years after "Mardi Gras"I" kind of love / b>>>>, which I am not so bad for the world, >>>>>>>>>
However, it is worth admitting that this film is also characterized by a certain secondary of the already not the most original (even unnecessarily simple) plot and noticeable protracted . Operating work is also not distinguished by special delights, although a certain number of beautiful shots from the holiday (and the festive atmosphere itself) Wilfred M. Kline visually transfer manages.
The cast, in this case, turned out to be quite heterogeneous. Pat Boone as a cadet meeting a movie star, impresses with his quite a pleasant voice and such, if I may say so, "honest appearance". Kristina Carer (Singing duplicates Eileen Wilson) in the role of a movie star is more like a "doll from a music box", rather than a "man of flesh and blood>
Tommy Sands as a friend of the main character is hardly noticeable. Slightly more colorful Gary Crosby (son of Bing Crosby) in the role of another friend of the hero Boone - and, if you look closely, it is noticeable that Gary is in many ways trying to copy his father.
Screen time Shiri North as a press agent is very limited, although she manages to perform incendiary, but short dance and sing one of the most memorable numbers of the film - That Man'.
Also distinguished are Fred Clarke as a producer, Dick Sargent as one of the cadets, and Barry Chase as a stripper dancer who disguises herself as a decent student.
The musical numbers in the picture stand out mainly in the song quality (not counting the short dances Shiri North and Barry Chase). You can’t say that the songs are so memorable, but some sound very pleasant. I'll Remember Tonight, Bigger Than Texas, Bourbon Street Blues, and That Man.
In general, before us, definitely is not the best musical in the history of cinema, which is best to watch under a certain mood, when you just want to rest and relax, without thinking about anything - otherwise, the film is unlikely to make an impression. I will not give special recommendations for viewing - in this case, each viewer should decide for himself/herself whether to watch or not. Thank you very much.
7 out of 10