The Firefly (1937 film)
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The Firefly | |
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File:Poster - Firefly, The 01.jpg | |
Directed by | Robert Z. Leonard |
Produced by | Robert Z. Leonard Hunt Stromberg |
Written by | Otto A. Harbach (play) |
Screenplay by | Frances Goodrich Albert Hackett Ogden Nash |
Based on | The Firefly (operetta) |
Starring | Jeanette MacDonald Allan Jones |
Music by | Herbert Stothart Rudolf Friml |
Cinematography | Oliver T. Marsh |
Edited by | Robert Kern |
Production
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Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release dates
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Running time
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131 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,495,000[1][2] |
Box office | $1,244,000 (Domestic earnings)[1][2] $1,430,000 (Foreign earnings)[1][2] |
The Firefly is a 1937 musical film starring Jeanette MacDonald and Allan Jones. The film is an adaptation of the operetta of the same name by composer Rudolf Friml and librettist Otto A. Harbach that premiered on Broadway in 1912. The film used nearly all of the music from the operetta but jettisoned the plot in favor of a new storyline set in Spain during the time of the Emperor Napoleon I. It added a new song, "The Donkey Serenade" (a reworking by Herbert Stothart of Friml's 1918 orchestral piece 'Chanson'[3]), which became extremely popular, as was one of the Friml songs, "Giannina Mia". The original release prints of the film were elaborately tinted with Sepia-Blue, Sepia-Orange and Sepia-Blue-Pink.[4]
Plot
Secret agent Nina Maria Azara (Jeanette MacDonald) is working undercover for the King of Spain (Tom Rutherford) as a singer known as the "Mosca del Fuego" or "Firefly."[5] Despite her love for Captain Andre (Allan Jones), she tricks him so that his general will change the French defensive positions, thus allowing the Duke of Wellington to win the Battle of Vitoria. In the end Nina and Andre leave together for a new life in peace.
Cast
- Jeanette MacDonald as Nina Maria Azara
- Allan Jones as Don Diego / Captain Andre
- Warren William as Colonel de Rouchemont
- Billy Gilbert as Inn Keeper
- Douglass Dumbrille as Marquis de Melito
- Henry Daniell as General Savary
- Leonard Penn as Etienne DuBois
- Tom Rutherford as King Ferdinard (as Tom Rutherfurd)
- Belle Mitchell as Lola
- George Zucco as St. Clair, Secret Service Chief
- Corbet Morris as Duvall (as Corbett Morris)
- Matthew Boulton as Duke of Wellington
- Riley Hill (credited as Roy Harris) - Lieutenant
- Frank Campeau as Beggar (uncredited)
- Alan Curtis as Soldier (uncredited)
- Brandon Hurst as General (uncredited)
Musical Numbers
- LOVE IS LIKE A FIREFLY
- Music by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach, Bob Wright and Chet Forrest
- Sung by Jeanette MacDonald
- DANSE JEANETTE
- Written by Herbert Stothart
- Danced by Jeanette MacDonald
- Sung by Jeanette MacDonald
- THE DONKEY SERENADE
- Music by Bob Wright, Chet Forrest, and Herbert Stothart, adapted from "Chanson" by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Bob Wright and Chet Forrest
- Sung by Allan Jones
- SYMPATHY
- Music by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach
- Sung by Jeanette MacDonald
- A WOMAN'S KISS
- Music by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Bob Wright and Chet Forrest
- Sung by Allan Jones
- Backgroung vocal by Jeanette MacDonald
- GIANNINA MIA
- Music by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach
- Sung by Allan Jones
- HE WHO LOVES AND RUNS AWAY
- Music by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Gus Kahn
- Sung by Jeanette MacDonald
- WHEN A MAID COMES KNOCKING AT YOUR HEART
- Music by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach, Bob Wright & Chet Forrest
- Sung by Jeanette MacDonald
- I LOVE YOU DON DIEGO
- Music by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach
- Sung by Jeanette MacDonald
- OJOS ROJOS (uncredited)
- Argentine Folk Song
- Arranged by Manuel Alvarez Maciste
- Played by Manuel Alvarez Maciste
- PARA LA SALUD
- Arranged by Herbert Stothart
- Danced by Jeanette MacDonald
- THE DONKEY SERENADE
- Music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart
- Lyrics by Bob Wright and Chet Forrest
- Sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Allan Jones
- FINALE: "GIANNINA MIA"
- Music by Rudolf Friml
- Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach
- Sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Allan Jones
- ENGLISH MARCH
- Sung by Chorus
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found..
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Turk Edward Baron "Hollywood Diva: A Biography of Jeanette MacDonald (University of California Press, 1998)"
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation ISBN 0-634-00765-3 page 74
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- Articles with short description
- Pages with broken file links
- 1937 films
- English-language films
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- 1930s historical musical films
- American black-and-white films
- American historical musical films
- Films based on operettas
- Films directed by Robert Z. Leonard
- Films set in Spain
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Napoleonic Wars spy films
- Operetta films
- Cultural depictions of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
- 1930s American films