The Desert Song

As a fan of Macdonald/Eddy works, this was thrilling to see and hear like an unreleased Eddy film after 50 years! All the hallmarks of an Eddy's films with Jeannette Macdonald are covered so well by Eddy's current answer to his call, the soprano Gale Sherwood. All the vocals with a chorus (male or female) when necessary are well-preserved in a luster the original television audience would not have heard. An additional bonus of this production is the marvelous dancers and actors who accompany the screen legend, Eddy. Although some footage might have been edited out, the pacing and entertainment provided by the dancers and soloists never lets up. At the end of Act I, by then Sherwood and Eddy have had at least 2 duets to express their affection for one another, he as elusive leader of the Riffs who terrorize the French Foreign Legion. Eddy (Pierre) is the son of the legion commander (Otto Kruger). Two dancers mirror the affection expressed by Sherwood and Eddy in a solo number dancing in the shadows of the trees with the dunes as backdrop that would be only more graceful if attempted on ice, very effective nonetheless in black and white. The astounding thing to witness is Nelson Eddy's voice at age 54. You can see the awe and admiration in chorus members when he delivers like he always has. He ascends the scale with ease and booms to catch the orchestra in pitch like the master he was in his 30s film musicals. Gordon Macrae and Ann Blyth did a technicolor movie version a few years before this that plays as a silly farce in comparison with too much comedy relief. Here, with a brief summary of intent by Eddy before this production begins, he sets the tone for those who want to dream along with the characters. With at least 3 cameras, including one that telescopes, this is as close as one could get to a movie musical and with Eddy and Sherwood this delivers a wonderful musical fable.

This was Nelson Eddy’s only live tv performance. He was out of place and past his prime except for his voice. Strong to the end.

Desert Song was Nelson Eddy's only full length performance on live TV.This print is remarkable considering it was remastered from a kinescope copy, of a live NBC color broadcast in 1955.Eddy and Sherwood head a brillant cast of Broadway and opera performers.The songs and dances are robustly performed, and Eddy & Sherwood's voices blended perfectly. Too bad this was their only film together, but their highly successful night club act lasted 15 years, until Nelson's death This film serves as a lasting reminder of that long and caring relationship.

was really looking more for one that he did when he was youngervery disapointed in this production by the time I was able to watch this I was sorry I could not return it

Devotees of theatre and musicals know there is worthy interest in this desert romance saga, from the early stage play at the turn to the 20th century "The Red Shadow" through the 1929ish movie, and the finally, glorious movie of 1953 with Gordon MacRae and the delicious Kathryn Grayson, a coloratura contender for the "Best Ingenue of all Time." Macrae was very good, Grayson, fantastic, but the plot sequence of the '53 movie was altered, stripping many of the beautiful songs and dances out. That was a neutering of the story. In this Eddy version, filmed on a stage presentation, the original plot sequences and all the missing songs AND DANCES -- scrapped from the 1953 movie -- are gloriously restored. Eddy was slowing down but still in excellent voice and Gale Sherwood was marvelous, not as pure as Grayson, but excellent nonetheless. One cannot fairly criticize the video of a well-staged stage presentation. The players are not in a real desert: they're on a stage! This is a faithful presentation of the original plot AND MUSIC and should please devotees, aficiandos and new lovers of musical theatre.

I LOVE NELSON EDDY AND SO LOOKED FORWARD TO SEEING THIS...THE DISK WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLAY BECAUSE OF SOUND AND SKIPPING...I AM SENDING IT BACK

This black and white TV production seemingly is the only one that exists of Nelson Eddy, one of the best baritones our country has ever known. While the 1955 production obviously use "Broadway Play" mentality, direction and staging, it never the less clearly shows Eddy at his best. Although an older man at this point in his life, he sang the role flawlessly- and as an added bonus, the production included Gale Sherwood, his partner to be in his night club act. Sherwood, while not able to hit some of the same notes as Jeanette MacDonald, was the perfect match for Eddy- you could clearly understand evry word she sang- such was not the case with MacDonald. A truly great find for the serious Eddy fan.

This was taken from a live performance of a TV performance. It has a disconcerting 'behind the scenes' bit at the front which detracts, but the actual performance works quite well. The two things that are off putting are (1) that, having been told it is set in Morocco in 1927, all the ladies are wearing very 1950 dresses, and (2) Nelson Eddy is way too old to be the son of the camp commander. If you shut your eyes and just listen, the music is great and the 'leit motif' of the French Military Marching Song is great.

Although dated, this musical was very topical in its time since it was written when the French were based in North Africa during the 1920's. In this staged version, Nelson Eddy was far too old to play the leading part and the production (black & white) shows its limitations. If you like the music the alternative film/DVD version with Gordon MacRae and Kathryn Grayson is much more extravagant and representative of this romantic musical.

Sigmund Rombergs Operette „The Desert Song“ brachte es nach ihrer Broadway-Premiere am 30. November 1926 in der ersten Aufführungsserie auf nicht weniger als 465 Vorstellungen und fand, wie viele Broadway-Hits, schnell auch den Weg nach Hollywood – die Industrie lechzte nach musikalischem Material für ihre neueste Errungenschaft, den Tonfilm. 1929 kam das Stück in einer aufwendigen Produktion (teilweise in Technicolor!) in die Kinos. Drei Jahre später folgte eine Kurzfassung, 1943 und 1953 dann weitere Großproduktionen.Während der Film von 1929 eng an die Bühnenversion angelehnt war, griffen die Autoren der späteren Verfilmungen tief in die Handlungsstruktur ein und ließen außer der Grundidee (ein junger Franzose unterstützt in der Maske des „Red Shadow“ den Freiheitskampf der marokkanischen Riff-Araber) kaum einen Stein auf dem anderen, wobei die Version von 1953, auch dank der glänzenden Hauptdarsteller (Gordon MacRae und Kathryn Grayson), besser gelungen ist als die von 1943.Obwohl die Hauptrolle des maskierten Helden für einen lyrischen Bariton geschrieben und damit ein ideales Vehikel für Nelson Eddy war, Hollywoods populärsten männlichen Gesangsstar der 30er und 40er Jahre, kam dieser erst 1955 zum Zuge, und auch dann nicht in einer großen Technicolor-Produktion, sondern lediglich in einem mit wenig Aufwand gedrehten Fernsehfilm. Dieser hat jedenfalls für diejenigen, die sich für Rombergs Original interessieren, jedoch den Vorzug, in Handlung und Musik tatsächlich dieses Original wiederzugeben, wenn auch mit heftigen Kürzungen. Die Bildqualität der hier vorliegenden DVD ist allerdings sehr bescheiden – Schwarzweiß-Fernsehbild mit schlechter Auflösung, teilweise intensivem Flimmern und etlichen Kratzern und Flecken. Sehr viel besser ist zum Glück der Ton geraten, so dass man den Film nicht nur (wie ich ursprünglich vermutet hatte) als historisches Dokument zur Kenntnis nehmen, sondern durchaus genießen kann.Das Hauptinteresse gilt natürlich Nelson Eddy in der Hauptrolle, dem zumindest gesanglich eine exemplarische Interpretation gelingt. Nach mehr als drei Jahrzehnten auf der Opern- und Konzertbühne zeigt seine Stimme nicht die geringsten Abnutzungserscheinungen, sondern klingt, ganz ohne Kurzatmigkeit und Altersvibrato, so kernig und strahlend wie eh und je; und dazu kommen eine souveräne Technik und – trotz der grundsätzlich sehr geradlinigen Rollenanlage – etliche Finessen, namentlich einige schöne Portamenti und feine dynamische Abstufungen.Darstellerisch kommt die Partie des jugendlichen Helden natürlich deutlich zu spät für den Vierundfünfzigjährigen, der sich auch gar nicht bemüht, Jugendlichkeit vorzutäuschen, sondern seine Runzeln und Furchen mit Würde trägt. Tatsächlich erscheint Eddy sogar attraktiver und viriler als in etlichen seiner Filme aus den Vierzigern, in denen er zwischenzeitlich recht feist geworden war – hier hat er die kernige Männlichkeit der Tage von „Naughty Marietta“ (1935) zurückgewonnen, nur eben um zwanzig Jahre gealtert. Insgesamt eine überaus sympathische Darstellung.Eddys Mitstreiter lassen dem Star, mit sichtbarem Respekt, den Vortritt, sind jedoch durchweg typgerecht besetzt und erfüllen ihre Aufgaben kompetent. Viel zu singen hat in dieser gekürzten Fassung sonst nur noch Gale Sherwood als Margot, die ihrer Glanznummer „Romance“ nichts schuldig bleibt; und in der kleinen Partie des Hassi macht Earl William Sauvain mit schönem Tenor auf sich aufmerksam.Insgesamt bietet diese sehr bühnennahe Verfilmung denjenigen Romberg- und Eddy-Fans, die sich mit der „historischen“ Bildqualität (dafür ein Stern Abzug) arrangieren können, ein überraschend großes Vergnügen.

Je recommande vivement ce dvd, tiré d'une opérette "Le chant du désert". Je l'ai acheté principalement pour la musique, ces airs sont différents des opérettes européennes. le charme opère, par exemple "je ne veux que ton amour", "only love" dans le cas présent.

Poor quality film with parts blurred.

I take this as being a bonus to all the other wonderful films Eddy made - I have them all. This was a bit different and I quite liked his co-star. They worked well together and of course they should as they did concerts together for years. He has however lost those 'looks to kill' by now but his voice is still that of the baritone I love to listen to and watch most in the world. I do wish he had done more films/TV shows. Why do most of the best always die young!