The Great Victor Herbert
5.5
“Hear 28 Victor Herbert Melodies”
In his last film assignment, portly Walter Connolly fills the title role (in more ways than one) in The Great Victor Herbert. Very little of Herbert's life story is incorporated in the screenplay (a closing title actually apologizes for the film's paucity of cold hard facts); instead, the writers allow the famed composer's works to speak for themselves. In the tradition of one of his own operettas, Herbert spends most of his time patching up the shaky marriage between tenor John Ramsey (Allan Jones) and Louise Hall (Mary Martin). Many of Herbert's most famous compositions are well in evidence, including "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life", "March of the Toys" and "Kiss Me Again", the latter performed con brio by teenaged coloratura Susanna Foster. Evidently, the producers were able to secure the film rights for the Herbert songs, but not for the stage productions in which they appeared, which may explain such bizarre interpolations as having a song from Naughty Marietta.
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Cast
15 people
Allan Jones
John Ramsey
Known for
A Night at the Opera
A Day at the Races
Mary Martin
Louise Hall
Also in
Peter Pan
Birth of the Blues
Walter Connolly
Victor Herbert
Known for
It Happened One Night
Twentieth Century
Lee Bowman
Dr. Richard Moore
Known for
House by the River
Cover Girl
Susanna Foster
Peggy
Known for
Phantom of the Opera
Judith Barrett
Marie Clark
Known for
Cimarron
Jerome Cowan
Barney Harris
Known for
The Maltese Falcon
Miracle on 34th Street
John Garrick
Warner Bryant
Also in
Just Imagine
The Lottery Bride
Pierre Watkin
Albert Martin
Known for
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Meet John Doe
Hal K. Dawson
George Faller
Known for
Superman and the Mole Men
The Tin Star
Richard Tucker
Michael Brown
Known for
Wings
The Jazz Singer
Mary Currier
Mrs. Victor Herbert
Also in
The Secret of the Whistler
Voodoo Man
Andrew L. Stone Director · Robert Lively Screenplay Russel Crouse Screenplay
United States release December 29, 1939 · Produced in United States
Production
Paramount Pictures
Production · Studio
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English
Release dates
United States · December 29, 1939
Theatrical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.