In "Balalaika," Nelson Eddy plays Prince Peter Karagin, an officer in the Cossack army. One night he sees the beautiful Lydia Marakova, who sings in a St. Petersburg café.
Lydia is truly of the people, not one to like royalty, so he poses as a voice student in order to meet her. He wins her over.
In fact, Lydia, her father, and her brother are part of a revolutionary movement. When Peter and his Cossacks break up a rally and her brother is killed, both learn the truth about one another. However, Lydia is still in love with him. When she learned that the rebels were going to assassinate Peter and his uncle at the opera house on her opening night, she tells him not to come, that she will be too nervous with him and his uncle there.
On stage, just as she feels she can relax because they're not there, they show up in their opera box. In the middle of the opera, war with Germany is announced.
Not much of a movie - Massey is lovely, kind of a cross between the young, stunning Zsa Zsa Gabor and Scarlett Johansson -- but in order to play opposite the wooden and unexciting Eddy, you need Jeannette McDonald's fire and sparkle. What Eddy had going for him, besides good looks, was one of the greatest voices in film, and he sings here like an absolute dream. Massey had a pretty voice, but her top was screechy, and in the first number she sings, she's flat.
The rest of the cast is good - Lionel Atwill, Frank Morgan, Charles Ruggles, and C. Aubrey Smith, all top pros.
Mildly entertaining, notable for Eddy's vocals.
