Much of this film is a surrealistic dream sequence, which the movie may not have made clear enough. Watching this a second time usually brings clarity to plot development, although this one will never win on plot points.
The strength of I Married An Angel is in the leading actors. Jeannette McDonald is exuberant beyond words here and Nelson Eddy fits as the object of her affections. Their songs, as usual, are pop songs (add a beat and many of these would be rock and roll), but the natural way McDonald and Eddy approach their musical roles is magical everytime they do it. Their movies in the 1930s saved MGM from bankruptcy; even in this lesser known vehicle, we can see and hear why. This is musical heaven.
To a boy who was born decades later and raised on rock n roll, this music just fills my entire body with warmth and happiness. That is the gift of McDonald. It's extremely unfortunate Louie B. Mayer could not handle McDonald and Eddy better, but this is a topic in MGM and Mayer biographies. McDonald and Eddy deserved better movies with higher production values; this would have paid off in great measure for the studio. The two wonderful songs in this film are worth the perfect rating I'm giving it.
The strength of I Married An Angel is in the leading actors. Jeannette McDonald is exuberant beyond words here and Nelson Eddy fits as the object of her affections. Their songs, as usual, are pop songs (add a beat and many of these would be rock and roll), but the natural way McDonald and Eddy approach their musical roles is magical everytime they do it. Their movies in the 1930s saved MGM from bankruptcy; even in this lesser known vehicle, we can see and hear why. This is musical heaven.
To a boy who was born decades later and raised on rock n roll, this music just fills my entire body with warmth and happiness. That is the gift of McDonald. It's extremely unfortunate Louie B. Mayer could not handle McDonald and Eddy better, but this is a topic in MGM and Mayer biographies. McDonald and Eddy deserved better movies with higher production values; this would have paid off in great measure for the studio. The two wonderful songs in this film are worth the perfect rating I'm giving it.