Monte Carlo

1930
Passed
1h 30m

IMDb RATING

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Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (1930)

A countess flees to Monte Carlo on the day of her wedding, where she is courted by a count posing as a hairdresser.A countess flees to Monte Carlo on the day of her wedding, where she is courted by a count posing as a hairdresser.A countess flees to Monte Carlo on the day of her wedding, where she is courted by a count posing as a hairdresser.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

1.5K

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See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
A silent version was produced for theaters not yet equipped for sound films. This version runs 20 minutes shorter than the sound version. The silent version was long thought lost until 1968. Historian and film preservationist David Shepard donated a copy, along with many other Paramount titles on nitrate film, to the American Film Institute.

Goofs
Jeanette MacDonald is referred to as a blonde early on in the dialogue. She was actually a redhead, and no attempt was made to lighten her hair to make her look blonde. Her hair photographed the dark grey red hair usually reproduced as on the black-and-white film used in 1930.

Quotes
Train Conductor: Are you the lady who jumped on this train after we had started?
Countess Helene Mara: Yes, and I shall complain about it. Trains don't go until I get on them!

Connections
Featured in Legends of World Cinema: Jeanette MacDonald

Soundtracks
Beyond The Blue Horizon
(uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting and W. Franke Harling
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by Jeanette MacDonald

User reviews33

Review

Featured review

Beyond the Blue Horizon is the highlight!

Though a bit flawed, "Monte Carlo" is still one of Ernst Lubitsch's most dynamic and inventive musicals. A follow-up to Lubitsch's delightful "The Love Parade", "Monte Carlo" regains Jeanette MacDonald but unfortunately it lacks Maurice Chevalier whose Gallic, continental charm was one of the things that made "Love Parade" (and also Lubitsch's later sublime musicals - "The Smiling Lieutenant", "One Hour with You" and "The Merry Widow") such a joy to watch.

Still, it has one priceless musical number: Jeanette MacDonald rendition of "Beyond the Blue Horizon" while riding a train - a sequence so inventive and spectacular that you forget the rest of the film. It is powerful enough to make the whole countryside alive with song and elation. The song will stick with you long after you completed watching the film.

Frank Tashlin pays an homage to this sequence in his hilarious 1956 musical "Hollywood or Bust": a number called "A Day in the Country", a duet between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.