''Because You're Mine'' is a 1952 American
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
starring
Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...
. Directed by
Alexander Hall
Alexander Hall (January 11, 1894 – July 30, 1968) was an American film director, film editor and theatre actor.
Biography
Hall acted in the theatre from the age of 4 through 1914, when he began to work in silent movies. Following his military ...
, the film also stars
Doretta Morrow,
James Whitmore, and
Bobby Van.
Plot
Opera singer superstar Renaldo Rossano (
Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...
) is
drafted into the U.S. Army. His sergeant, "Bat" Batterson (
James Whitmore), is an opera fan who admires Rossano and wishes Rossano to appraise his sister's (
Doretta Morrow) singing voice. The rest of his platoon as well as the company commander disapproves of Batterson's showing favoritism to Rossano by excusing him from normal training.
Rossano schemes to have Batterson allow him to go to New York, supposedly to have his manager appraise Batterson's sister Brigit's singing voice but in reality allowing him to do a performance. After realizing he's been tricked, the sergeant sets out to make Rossano's military life considerably more difficult.
This leads to a public fistfight between Sargeant and Private that lands both of them in the brig and facing court martial.
Luckily, a United Nations delegation is visiting the base. They insist Rossano be freed from confinement to sing for them.
Rossano's Mother(Lovsky) manages to smooth over the romantic differences between her son and Bridget.
Cast
*
Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...
as Renaldo Rossano
*
Doretta Morrow as Bridget Batterson
*
James Whitmore as Sergeant 'Bat' Batterson
* Dean Miller as Ben Jones
*
Rita Corday as Francesca Landers (as Paula Corday)
*
Jeff Donnell as Patty Ware
*
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was an MGM contract player who appeared in films from the ...
as Mrs. Edna Montville
* Curtis Cooksey as General Louis Montville
*
Don Porter as Captain Burton Nordell Loring
*
Eduard Franz as Albert Parkson Foster
*
Bobby Van as Artie Pilcer
* Ralph Reed as Horsey Jackson
*
Celia Lovsky as Mrs. Rossano
* Alexander Steinert as Maestro Paradoni
* Terry Robinson as Witness in fight scene(he was Lanza's personal trainer)(uncredited)
* Thurl Ravenscroft as Radio Commercial Singer(uncredited)
* Dick Wessel as Sargeant Grogan (uncredited)
* Jo Ella Wright as Organist for "The Lord's Prayer" (uncredited)
* Peggy Bonini as dubbed singing voice for Francesca Landers (uncredited)
* John Maxwell as Chaplain at Sunday Services (uncredited)
* Larry Harmon as Sound Mixer (uncredited)
* Anthony Cocozza and Mary Cocozza as Autograph-seeking couple (Lanza's real parents)
Production
''Because You're Mine'' had an unpleasant and troubled production.
Principal photography of the film was interrupted and during the hiatus Lanza put on a considerable amount of weight. According to his manager, Lanza then began to lose weight and ended filming at less than 160 pounds. This resulted in some challenges for both the wardrobe artists and the film editors who had to deal with Lanza's substantial fluctuations in weight over the course of production. In one scene, Lanza's character is about to enter a church; in the exterior shot, filmed late in the production schedule, he is a trim 160 pounds in his military uniform; but, when he is inside the church, in a scene filmed earlier, he is an obese 230 pounds.
Lanza's notorious reputation for being temperamental and difficult to work with began with the production of ''Because You"re Mine''. Lanza hated the script and initially refused to appear in the film, viewing it as a much inferior follow-up to his previous film ''
The Great Caruso'', which was MGM's biggest box office success of 1951.
Dore Schary, MGM studio head at the time, has recounted Lanza's petulant and boorish behavior on the set, which included the brazen sexual harassment of co-star Doretta Morrow. Morrow found the experience of making ''Because You're Mine'' so harrowing, she refused to ever appear in another film. Lanza had requested
Lana Turner
Julia Jean "Lana" Turner ( ; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. ...
as his leading lady, but producer
Joe Pasternak
Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood Musical film, "Golden Age" of musicals ...
insisted on casting an actress who could sing.
The soldiers in the film wear a
shoulder sleeve insignia
Shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) are distinctive cloth patches worn on the left sleeve of the United States Army uniform just below the shoulder seam by soldiers assigned to divisions, corps, armies, and other specifically authorized orga ...
that resembles the
28th Infantry Division that is worn by actual soldiers in footage of a
military parade
A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...
used in the movie.
Music
The title song, "
Because You're Mine", earned an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nomination for Best Original Song. Written by
Sammy Cahn
Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premie ...
and
Nicholas Brodszky, it became Lanza's third and final million-selling single.
[
Musical highlights in the film included "]Granada
Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
", "The Lord's Prayer", and the duet "Addio, addio" from ''Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
''. "The Song Angels Sing" is a passage from Johann Brahms' Third Symphony with new English lyrics by
Aaronson and Webster.
Release
''Because You're Mine'' premiered September 25, 1952 in New York City, going into wide release on October 3. According to MGM records, it earned $2,267,000 in the US and Canada, and $2,304,000 elsewhere, resulting in profits of $735,000. It was the fifth most popular movie at the British box office in 1953,[ and was chosen for the inaugural Royal Command Film Performance of ]Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
's reign.[
Though popular at the box office, it was not a critical success.][ Bosley Crowther of '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' voiced a common opinion, finding the film's plot "banal" and observing, "It's really Mario Lanza's singing that should and will attract attention to this technicolored film."[
]
References
External links
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*
*
{{Alexander Hall
1952 films
1952 musical comedy films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
American musical comedy films
Military comedy films
Films directed by Alexander Hall
Films produced by Joe Pasternak
1950s English-language films
1950s American films
English-language musical comedy films