''Rose Marie'' is a 1954 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of the 1924 operetta of the same name, the third to be filmed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, following a 1928 silent movie and the best-known of the three, the 1936 Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy version. It is directed by

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies. During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...

and stars

Ann Blyth Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. For her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film ''Mildred Pierce (film), Mildred Pierce'', Blyth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting ...

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer, known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the CBS te ...

and

Fernando Lamas Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos (January 9, 1915 – October 8, 1982) was an Argentine-American actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas. Biography Argentina Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos was born in Buenos Aires, Ar ...

. This version is filmed in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

. It was MGM's first US produced film in the new widescreen medium (having been preceded by the British-made ''Knights of the Round Table''), and the first movie musical of any studio to be released in this format. It was part of a revival of large-budget operetta films produced in the mid-1950s. The story adheres closely to that of the original libretto, unlike the 1936 version. It is somewhat altered by a

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

-to-lady conversion for the title character.

Plot

Rose Marie Lemaitre, an orphan living in the Canadian wilderness, falls in love with her guardian, Mike Malone, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The feeling is mutual But, when she leaves to learns proper etiquette, she meets a trapper named James Duval, who also falls for her.

Soundtrack

Only three numbers are retained from the original musical: "Rose Marie", " Indian Love Call", and "The Mounties". Five new songs were written for the film: "The Right Place For A Girl", "Free To Be Free", "The Mountie Who Never Got His Man", "I Have The Love", and "Love And Kisses". The latter was filmed, but deleted from the release print (it is included on the DVD version of the film). An Indian totem dance with choreography by

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

(his last) takes the place of the original number "Totem Tom Tom". This new number does not make use of that song's music or lyric, despite a claim otherwise on the DVD cover.

Cast

as Rose Marie Lemaitre *

as Captain Mike Malone *

as James Severn Duval *

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...

as Barney McCorkle *

Marjorie Main Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and 1 ...

as Lady Jane Dunstock * Joan Taylor as Wanda * Ray Collins as Inspector Appleby *

Chief Yowlachie Chief Yowlachie (August 15, 1890 – March 7, 1966), also known as Daniel Simmons; was a Native American actor from the Yakama tribe in the U.S. state of Washington, known for playing supporting roles and bit parts in numerous films. He is p ...

as Black Eagle

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $2,835,000 in the US and Canada and $2,442,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $284,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{Mervyn LeRoy 1954 films American romantic musical films 1954 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) musical films Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction Films about law enforcement in Canada Operetta films Films directed by Frank Tashlin Remakes of American films 1950s romantic musical films CinemaScope films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s Western (genre) musical films