35: The GREAT CARUSO
(Year refers to British release)
Running Time: 109 minutes
Colour: Technicolor
Estimated Attendance: 12.4 million
What they said at the time...
Synopsis
A Technicolor biography of the famous tenor, covering his birth in Naples, his early struggles as a singer, his arrival in America, his triumphs and failures, his marriage to the daughter of a wealthy Metropolitan Opera patron, and the final loss of his voice, and death. The film is laced throughout with the musical illustrations of this dazzling career from cafe to Covent Garden and the "Met"., including brief extracts from Pagliacci, Tosca, Aida, Rigoletto, La Soheme, Martha, Cavalleria Rusticana, La Gioconda, Lucia dr Lanunermoor, as well as the inevitable "Ave Maria", "Because", and some Italian folk songs. It is a conventionally romanticised rather than a factual portrait, with a high-powered sound track, but Mario Lanza has an impressive voice and sings tirelessly, and the rest of the cast support him adequately.
Synopsis and Review from Monthly Film Bulletin Vol.18 No.209 June 1951 p.280
The Monthly Film Bulletin was published by the BFI between 1934 and 1991. Initially aimed at distributors and exhibitors as well as filmgoers, it carried reviews and details of all UK film releases. In 1991, the Bulletin was incoporated into Sight and Sound magazine.
