100+ New Code Films – #12. “Rose Marie” from 1954; Love with a Girl, a Trapper, and a Mountie
Today is Saturday, so it's time for this week's first 100+ New Code Films article. The name of this series may be confusing for people who have not been following it during 2021, so I will explain the name. Firstly, a Code film is an American movie released between July 1934 and 1954. During those…
https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico
pure entertainment preservation society
Today is Saturday, so it’s time for this week’s first 100+ New Code Films article. The name of this series may be confusing for people who have not been following it during 2021, so I will explain the name. Firstly, a Code film is an American movie released between July 1934 and 1954. During those twenty years, Hollywood films were carefully self-regulated by the Production Code Administration (PCA) to ensure that they complied with the Motion Picture Production Code.

Today’s topic is Rose Marie from 1954. My family has enjoyed the 1936 Rose-Marie for a few years. About a year ago, I learned that there was a 1954 remake of this Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy musical. I use the term remake loosely, since the story is almost completely different. Basically, the only similarities are the Canadian setting, the inclusion of the title song, “Indian Love Call,” and the character of a Mountie! Nevertheless, when my mother learned that Howard Keel was in this remake, she was eager to see it. The film was recently added to Amazon Prime Video, so we added it to our watchlist. We watched this film for the first time last night.

Plot

A Mountie catches a wild French girl in her Canadian wilderness home after her father’s death leaves her alone. He brings her back to the fort, where she grows up while training as an honorary Mountie! Eventually, the inspector visits the fort and notices that the ward is no longer a little girl but a mature young lady. He insists that she be sent to a local town to learn how to be a lady from his cousin, a hotel proprietress. Despite the girl Mountie’s initial hostility towards the idea, the Mountie who first brought her and has since become her friend convinces her that she may one day want to be a young lady whom men find attractive. En route to Maple Rock, they meet a French trapper, who saves the girl from a cougar and gains her admiration. While the girl learns to be a lady in town, the renegade trapper gets himself in trouble with a nearby tribe of Indians. The chief frowns on his friendship with a native girl, who is madly in love with him. The Indian also tells him that the land he has been working to buy has now doubled in price, driving the trapper to robbery to pay for it. The now-refined young lady begins to develop a romance with the trapper. Little does she know that her old Mountie friend plans on asking her hand in marriage.

Cast

This movie stars Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, and Fernando Lamas. Supporting actors include Bert Lahr, Marjorie Main, Joan Taylor, Ray Collins, and Chief Yowlachie.

Production Notes

This movie was directed and produced by Mervyn LeRoy. The production company was MGM. The screenplay was written by Ronald Millar and George Froeschel, loosely based on the operetta of the same name by Otto A. Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The score includes two songs from the original stage play, “Rose Marie,” “Indian Love Call,” and “Mounties,” all of which feature music by Rudolf Friml and lyrics by Otto A. Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. Four new songs were written for this film, featuring music by Rudolf Friml and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. A fifth added song, “I’m a Mountie Who Never Got His Man,” featured music by George Stoll and lyrics by George Stoll and Herbert Baker.

Code Compliance

This is a fair Code film. For the most part, it is a decent, wholesome movie. However, there are a couple of Code violations, which make it less than a good Code film. Just as a reminder, a good Code film is a Breen Era film which contains no violations of the Motion Picture Production Code. Although every film had to receive a Production Code Administration (PCA) Seal of Approval to be distributed in the United States, not every film met the ideal standards of the Code and its enforcers. That is why we created the idea of Code classification. It is not intended to criticize the brilliant work of the PCA or Hollywood’s Golden Age film geniuses. We acknowledge varying levels of Code compliance to deepen the understanding of the Code and its enforcement. To return to this specific film, there are two reasons why I classify it as a fair Code film, which is one level below a good Code film. The first objection is a line which Lady Jane Dunstock (Marjorie Main) says to Rose Marie (Ann Blyth). After lacing up the latter’s corset, Lady Jane asks her young protegee how it feels to be a feminine woman. “Kinda sexy, ain’t it?” she adds. The italicized word was generally forbidden under Joseph Breen’s tenure at the PCA, since it is an unduly pointed reference to Section II of the Code (Sex). The other objection is a costume which Wanda (Joan Taylor), the Indian girl, wears during the tribal dance. The 1936 film of Rose Marie features surprisingly revealing costumes for the male Indians during the comparable native dance scene. This film is more standard, since it features a rather skimpy costume for the well-shaped female dancer, in addition to the sparse loin cloths on the male dancers. Also, Wanda’s dancing is rather suggestive, featuring isolated shaking of her hips and shoulders. Other than those things, it is Code compliant.

Recommendation

I recommend this movie. If you see the 1936 musical with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy first, you will notice that this film is extremely different. In fact, the only similarities are the inclusion of three Rudolf Friml songs in each, the theme song, “Indian Love Call,” and “The Mountie Song,” albeit with some different lyrics. Of course, they both are set in Canada and feature a Mountie and a leading lady named Rose Marie, but the comparison ends there. I don’t think these films should be compared, in fact. Both are entertaining films with very talented stars, dramatic stories, beautiful musical numbers, and high production quality. Let’s focus on some of the best things about the 1954 film. I would say that its most outstanding quality is its location footage from Canada. Filming outside of a Hollywood soundstage at all was rare when the 1936 Rose Marie was filmed at Lake Tahoe, California. It was really unprecedented when the later MGM film was filmed out of the USA! The scenery is truly gorgeous, acting more as a feature of the film than a backdrop. The leading characters are played by three major Hollywood stars. The lovely Ann Blyth is perfect as the spirited Rose Marie, affecting a convincing French accent to accompany her beautiful singing. Howard Keel was a natural choice for the Mountie in this story, who is named Sgt. Mike Malone in this version of the story. His rich baritone voice lends itself perfectly to the dramatic music. The third leading character in this story is the French trapper, James Servern Duval, who is played by Fernando Lamas. He sings, too, providing the male vocals for the famous “Indian Love Call.” He is quite dashing in this part, although his appearance and accent are undeniably Spanish, not French. The supporting cast is classic, too. Bert Lahr, alias The Cowardly Lion, plays a comical Mountie who “never gets his man,” according to a song he sings. Marjorie Main plays Lady Jane in her inimitably brash style. Joan Taylor plays Wanda, the Indian girl who is dangerously passionate in her love for James. I don’t know why an Indian girl who doesn’t even seem able to speak English has an Anglo name like Wanda, but Miss Taylor is very dramatic in the part. In all, I think this movie is almost as good as the 1936 film. It includes some extra songs, most of which aren’t very memorable, but the location footage makes up for any flaws. It’s definitely worth watching for musical fans!

For the Blogathon

This is one of my entries in The Unhappy Valentines Blogathon, which we are hosting here at PEPS this weekend in honor of the holiday of love. This blogathon is dedicated to star-crossed lovers, frustrated sweethearts, unrequited affection, and cold corners of love triangles! Following this theme, I decided to write about Rose Marie (1954), which, unlike the 1936 version, has a prominent love triangle.

Whenever a story has a love triangle, there must be at least one unhappy sweetheart, since someone must be left in the cold. As a matter of fact, the romance in Rose Marie is actually a love square, since Wanda loves James, too. As is often the case in love squares, the four sweethearts can’t form two happy couples, since both men are in love with one woman (Rose Marie), and two women are interested in one man (James). Ultimately, Rose Marie chooses the trapper over Mountie Mike. Wanda also doesn’t get her man, but the audience can’t feel too sorry for her, since she did try to kill him in a jealous rage.

I wished that Rose Marie had chosen Mike. I assumed that she would, since I was used to the Mountie romance from the predecessor. Personally, I preferred Mike to James, since he seemed more gentlemanly and considerate. I suppose that James is more exciting, but he seemed like a bit of a scoundrel. I also personally prefer Howard Keel to Fernando Lamas, so that could be why I was hoping for that couple. However, once Rose Marie and James sang the “Indian Love Call” together, I knew that they would be true loves, while Mike would remain an unhappy valentine.

What’s a film love triangle which you wish had resulted in a different happy couple ending together?

Happy St. Valentine’s Day!

Please join our other upcoming holiday blogathon!

The Luck o’ the Irish Blogathon!

Follow us to bring back the Code and save the arts in America!

We are lifting our voices in classical song to help the sun rise on a new day of pure entertainment!

Only the Code can make the sun rise on a new day of pure entertainment!