the leading man is my tpye

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

There's little to find fault with in this practically perfect early talkie musical comedy, directed by the master of early 30's art decco-Ernest Lubitsch. Jeanette MacDonald is the bored fiancée of an extremely effeminate duke who can't believe it when she runs off on their wedding day. So who does she fall in love with? A hairdresser, of course! There is plenty of homosexual innuendo in this VERY pre-code farce. Of course, there's the duke who will never be confused with a soon-to-be Western movie star or even all those large dogs named "Duke" by their owners. Then, there's the hairdresser that lovelorn count Jack Buchannan takes over for so he can do MacDonald's hair himself. The celluloid closet was filled to the rim with curlers, creams and powder puffs, and I suspect that the closet door for this delightfully stereotypical characters was slightly ajar.I have mixed feelings about Jack Buchannan's performance as the count, but I think it is because he was perhaps too British for American taste. Perfectly cast as the eccentric producer in 1953's MGM masterpiece "The Band Wagon", Buchannan's hellion laced voice made him lack in the romance department. MacDonald is radiant throughout, especially singing "Beyond the Blue Horizon" on a moving train. Her comic timing is impeccable. Zasu Pitts sadly is wasted as her maid. The music is interestingly dropped into the plot which in spite of its leading man makes the film rank in the list of precode gems.

Found in the Eclipse set of Lubitsch Musicals, this is probably the least good movie in there. The first thing that strikes you is that it could be just as good as the other three (Love Parade, One Hour with You and The Smiling Lieutenant) if Lubitsch had cast Maurice Chevalier as the lead once again. I don't know the story, but it seems meant for the charming Chevalier, and instead went to Jack Buchanan (best known for playing the Orson Welles-based character in The Bandwagon). Buchanan is, to be polite, not leading man material. He comes off here as a sniveling wimp. In fact, he's so similar in character to his rival, goofy Claud Allister, that you have to wonder what Jeanette MacDonald is getting by the trade. I'm sure this pretty much ruined the film for me the first time around, but, I have to say, I got over it this time. I like the film a lot - it's still very charming. Jeanette MacDonald is wonderful again, and the songs are great. Buchanan is a black hole of charm, but the rest of the film escapes from him.

102: Monte Carlo (1930) - released 8/27/1930, viewed 6/23/08.KEVIN: I feel compelled to keep this brief, because I don't think this movie will stick with me. I didn't hate it, I just couldn't fall in love with it like I usually do with Ernst Lubitsch. There were plenty of enjoyable moments to keep me watching until the end, but I found the love story somewhat confusing. I blame this on Jack Buchanan as the male lead. His character is not only a liar, but a manipulator and stalker, and I must say there wasn't anything terribly charming about him. Buchanan played him just too creepy for me to root for him. Jeanette MacDonald was excellent, as usual, but her growing infatuation with this creep was what really confused me. I suspect when we've watched all of Lubitsch's other hits, this one will not rank so high.DOUG: Only Ernst Lubitsch could make such a breezy, likable comedy with such despicable characters. Jeanette MacDonald plays the flighty, naïve Countess Helene, who ditches her wedding to head off somewhere fun and ends up in Monte Carlo. Jack Buchanen plays Count Rudolph, a total creep who decides to court Helene by getting hired as her barber and stalking her at every turn. Claud Allister plays Prince Otto, the dim-witted older man Helene is set to marry. The proceedings are amusing in that fun Lubitsch kind of way; everyone's just on the edge of crazy throughout and are all the more enjoyable for it. The love story is rather dated though; I found Rudy to be an obsessive manipulative loon, scheming his way into her bedroom and saving locks of her hair. Because it's Lubitsch, it's all fluffy and lighthearted, but this is maybe my least favorite of his films so far.Last film viewed: The Divorcée (1930). Last film chronologically: The Big House (1930). Next film viewed: The Criminal Code (1930). Next film chronologically: Animal Crackers (1930).

Monte Carlo fail to attain the rate of other Lubistch musicals like "Love Parade" or "One hour with you".But this is anyway a very cute,funny and surprising movie who contains some great sequences and some holes.A sort of musical "Bluebeard's eight wife".Jeanette Mac Donald gives one exhilarating performance.She's used to play the noble lady charming and snob and she excels at it.Just watch the scene where she breaks her hair and shut,while crying:"Here!I'm going to the Opera and i'll say to everyone you dressed my hair!" I couldn't stop laughing.About Jack Buchanan-well,he's not Maurice Chevalier to say the least.He doesn't seem very comfortable with his part.In some scenes (mainly the one where the count and his friends laugh endlessly) he is mechanical and unnatural.He drift from cynic to genuine lover in a very disturbing way. Anyway,it must be said that in certain sequences he's not bad at all.I liked the way he shook his head when Jeanette calls him Rudolph and at the end,when he affect indifference each time the countess looks at him then smile irrepressibly. The supporting cast is excellent but some characters (as the fiancé's father disappear in the middle of the movie and left a strange impression.The songs are quite good -except the funny but forgettable little number about hairdresser- Jeanette Mac Donald sings the legendary,Lubitsch favorite song "Beyond the blue horizon" and there is a beautiful duo between the two leads "Always in all ways".At a certain moment of the song,you feel an almost palpable atmosphere of joy.Verdict: "Not bad,not bad at all".Forgive the script's incoherences and Buchanan's weaknesses and enjoy.