TONIGHT WE SING (1953)

Innocuous biopic of Sol Hurok, classical music manager extraordinaire for most of the last century, a final credit in a career of innocuous, mostly musical films produced by America’s Toastmaster General, ex-vaudeville comedian George Jessel.*  (Innocuously directed by Mitchell Leisen for 20th/Fox just before CinemaScope came in to help these pageant-like shows.)  David Wayne causes little stir as Hurok, talent-challenged music lover, and Anne Bancroft (before Hollywood figured out what to do with her) even less as his wife, always taking second place to the talent.  And talent is the reason to watch these things . . . or not.  Here, lens-friendly soprano Roberta Peters and Jan Peerce’s tenor emanating from handsome non-starter Byron Palmer may not have voices for the ages, but Tamara Toumanova as Anna Pavlova pirouettes to beat the band while Isaac Stern is in youthful prime as violinist Eugene Ysaye, even getting an acting scene.  But the real draw is Ezio Pinza, past prime, but still sounding like a God, as Feodor Chaliapin.*  The great basso cantante of his era fell flat in Hollywood after his classical-to-pop breakthru on B’way in SOUTH PACIFIC with two major M-G-M duds.  Limping to 20th/Fox for redemption, he’s spot on if you don’t mind an Italian accent on the Russian singer.  Very funny too, especially in a late scene where he explains himself to a despairing Hurok.  Alas, too late as the film didn’t catch on and Pinza went back to B’way for success in Harold Rome’s touching musical FANNY.  (Pinza died before the run ended and the filmed version had Charles Boyer in the role with all the tunes repurposed as background score.)

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: *Jessel owned the single most bone-headed decision in all Hollywood lore when he ankled on the late-‘20s film version of his recent stage hit because the studio refused to pay him extra for the newfangled synch-sound system they were planning on trying out.  The movie?  THE JAZZ SINGER/’27.  Al Jolson took the part.

ATTTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Pinza knew Chaliapin well, playing Pimen to his Boris Godonov at The Met in the ‘20s, singing in Italian with the rest of the cast while Chaliapin alone sang in Russian.  Later, Pinza took on Boris, still in Italian.  Here, he sings it in Russian.