''The Chocolate Soldier'' is a 1941 American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

directed by

Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) ...

. It uses original music from the Oscar Straus 1908 operetta of the same name, which was based on

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

’s 1894 play ''

Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Aven ...

''. Unable to come to terms with Shaw, the studio used a story to which it already had rights: the

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial play ...

play ''The Guardsman'', (originally '' Testőr) .'' The plot centers on the romantic misunderstandings and professional conflicts between two recently married opera singers, played by Metropolitan Opera star Risë Stevens (in her film debut) and

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

, who perform excerpts from the operetta during the film. This screenplay was written b
Leonard Lee
an
Keith Winter
''The Guardsman—''a huge hit on Broadway in 1924— was brought to the screen in 1931, with

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway and West End productions. After th ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

reprising their stage roles as married actors.

Plot

The opening panel reads: “This story takes place in Balkany. The time we cannot fix it. When Russians Prussians Turks and Czechs were reticent to mix it.” Karl Lang and Maria Lanyi are not only successful opera stars, they have also recently been married. However, both suffer pangs of jealousy where the other is concerned, since both receive quite a bit of attention from members of the opposite sex. Karl's jealousy is heightened, however, when Maria tells him that she intends to leave their current

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

career and seek a career in

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

. Karl sees it as a pretext to spend more time away from him. In order to test his jealous suspicions, Karl hatches a plan to impersonate a Russian singer, Vassily Vassilievitch, and romance Maria in that guise. The plan goes awry, however, when Maria seemingly begins to respond to Vassily's advances. Unknown to Karl, Maria has seen through his impersonation and is thrilled that her husband would go to such lengths for her attention. Even the couple's dog sees through Karl's disguise. When events come to a head with an on-stage confrontation between a disguised Karl and Maria, she reveals her knowledge all along that Vassily was really Karl, and the two live happily ever after, except, of course, for Maria's continued flirtations.

Cast

as Karl Lang, aka Vassily Vassilievitch * Risë Stevens as Maria Lanyi, Karl's Wife * Nigel Bruce as Bernard Fischer, Critic *

Florence Bates Florence Bates ( Rabe; April 15, 1888 - January 31, 1954), was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles. Life and career Bates was the second child born to Jewish immigrant par ...

as Madame 'Pugsie' Helene
Dorothy Raye
as Magda (as Dorothy Gilmore) *

Nydia Westman Nydia Eileen Westman (February 19, 1902 – May 23, 1970) was an American actress and singer of stage, screen, and television. Early years Westman's parents, Theodore and Lily (Wren) Westman were active in vaudeville in her native New Y ...

as Liesel, Maria's Maid
Max Barwyn
as Anton, Karl's Valet * Charles Judels as Klementor, Double Eagle Manager

Reception

In his November 1, 1941, review in The New York Times,

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

told readers

“Once you are properly acquainted with the contradictory fact that Metro's "The Chocolate Soldier" ...is not Oscar Straus's "Chocolate Soldier”... but is Ferenc Molnar's "The Guardsman" in a versatile disguise, then we can safely commend it as a tidy and tuneful musical film...."The Guardsman," by previous demonstration, is a story that's hard to beat; the score from the Straus operetta, on which the present title is based, is packed with melodious songs... Miss Stevens and Mr. Eddy are not only able to sing at proper intervals the score of "The Chocolate Soldier," in which they are presumably playing—such old favorites as
My Hero
�� ... and the title song—but they are also able to wrestle amusingly off stage with the complications of "The Guardsman." And they can likewise slip in a couple of extra numbers on reasonable excuse—most charming of which, incidentally, are " My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice" from " Samson and Delilah," sung by Miss Stevens, and "
The Song of the Flea ''The Song of the Flea'' () is a song with piano accompaniment, composed by Modest Mussorgsky in 1879. The lyrics are from the Russian translation of Goethe's ''Faust''. Background In 1879, Mussorgsky quit a civil service job, and, from August to ...
," by Mr. Eddy, plus a new number, "When My Lady Sleeps.”...

As to the performances, Crowther praised Stevens as “...a charming and talented singer with a surprising ability to act ...nicely suited for the role of the wife to a man who is so jealous that he assumes the disguise of another in order to test her.” On the other hand, Crowther observed of her co-star: “Mr. Eddy is an utter revelation in the character and costume of a mad Cossack, which is what he temporarily pretends to be. As a matter of fact, he manages to alter his style so much that we have a generous suggestion: why not stick to the Russian...?” On TCM.com, Leonard Maltin gives the film 2 out of 4 stars, commenting: “ Much too talky and not enough music.”

Awards

The film was nominated for three

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

: * Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Karl Freund) * Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture: Scoring of a Musical Film (Herbert Stothart) and Musical Adaptation and Direction (Bronislau Kaper) *

Sound Recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...

(

Douglas Shearer Douglas Graham Shearer (November 17, 1899 – January 5, 1971) was a Canadian American pioneering sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures. The elder brother of ac ...

)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chocolate Soldier 1941 films 1941 musical films American musical films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films Films based on works by Ferenc Molnár Films directed by Roy Del Ruth Films set in Vienna Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Victor Saville 1940s American films