People are voting emotionally.

Not even bad in a good way

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Because this movie starred Fredric March, I was sure to see it. However, after seeing it, I can't exactly say it's a must-see film...or that I even liked it. It's not that it's a bad movie, but it's not all that great, either.March plays the title character--a man who was a goldsmith for the Medicis in Renaissance Italy. Through much of the film, Cellini spends his time chasing women and killing people in sword fights (wow...Freud would have had a field day if he'd ever met a guy like this). It's all very well acted yet stilted because it's essentially a costume drama--the sort of films I don't particularly like--though I am a huge fan of classic Hollywood. My problem with this film and others like it is that so much energy and time and money is spend on sets and costumes that the rest of the film usually suffers. The only real plus for the film is the nice and jovial performance by Frank Morgan--he was a lot of fun and quite in his element. Otherwise, it's just another costumer combined with a light comedic/romantic touch--the sort of film Errol Flynn or John Barrymore (during the silent era) would have excelled at if they'd been given such a role.As for me, I never got into the film very much as it seemed like a silly sort of trifle of a film, but also could see it was a quality production. Perhaps there were just too many knowing glances between Constance Bennett and March to make this a particularly rewarding film to watch.

Constance Bennett was born to play a Medici. Her combination of hauteur and ooh-la-la makes this role a perfect fit. Frank Morgan, as her dithering husband, is amusing but less plausible.Fredric March, as the title character, is good. He was always good. Possibly not the heartthrob he needs to be, he is nevertheless both cocky and handsome. Fay Wray is excellent as a commoner whose tastes are too prosaic for the dastardly lover Cellini. She looks beautiful (as does Bennett.) This is certainly atypical Gregory La Cava. It is probably not very accurate historically. But as costume pieces go, it's very compelling. A few years later, another studio made one that is more famous. That was "Marie Antoinette." It was better researched and is still somewhat well known. But it is really dull.The costumes here are gorgeous. Now and then the music is appropriate to the time. A theme that seems distinctly 19th Century Romantic runs through, though.The supporting cast is up to the task. It's hard to imagine what people sitting down in a theater in 1934 made of this. Bennett was still a big star so maybe they were happy to see her. It's an oddity, no doubt about it. But it's very good.

Benvenuto Cellini was a goldsmith in 16th-century Florence, and apparently he was also something of a hell-raiser and a swordsman (in the sexual sense as well as the literal one). However, it's my understanding that we have only Cellini's own memoirs (never published in his lifetime) as testimony of his sexual prowess. Fortunately, some of his artistic creations have survived, and they leave no doubt as to his skill as an artisan.This movie is based on a play by Edwin Justus Mayer, which also inspired 'The Firebrand of Florence', a musical (with songs by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin) that flopped on Broadway in 1945. I wish I could have seen that musical instead of this movie. What's wrong with it? Well, there's lots of sumptuous Hollywood spectacle on view here, which is part of the problem. This is supposed to be 16th-century Italy, but everything is spotlessly clean and everybody has good teeth. Late in the film, we get a glimpse of brawny Dewey Robinson in a Prince Valiant wig, galumphing about as a poncy steward. I was more impressed by Vince Barnett as Cellini's dogsbody assistant, wearing a wig that conceals Barnett's lug-ears.Some people enjoy Frank Morgan's performance. I don't, largely because he nearly always played a whinnying idiot. Here he's cast as the duke of Florence, who was apparently a whinnying idiot because that's how Morgan plays him. More impressive is Fay Wray, an actress of keen intelligence, who here very convincingly portrays a stupid peasant girl. The jumble of American accents are very annoying in this movie, constantly reminding us that this is 16th-century Florence by way of 20th Century-Fox.Constance Bennett gets top billing, but the real draw here is definitely Fredric March, who plays Cellini in full swashbuckler mode. March's stunt double makes an impressive entrance through the ceiling. The sets and costumes throughout this film are elaborate and impressive, as is the camera work. Still, this is one of those annoying movies in which the hero is the only 'real' man, who invariably comes up trumps in every encounter. I'll rate this movie 6 out of 10. It probably would have been a better movie if the duke had been played by Ralph Morgan, a much better (and more versatile) actor than his brother Frank

Nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actor for Frank Morgan (best known for his many roles in "The Wizard of Oz"), this film is a rare gem that's well worth it's 80 minutes. The film showcases wonderful performances from an all-star cast that includes Fredric March ("The Best Years of Our Lives"), Fay Wray ("King Kong"), and Constance Bennett. Witty and clever dialogue is a strong point in the film and everyone makes this comedy as funny as it can be.Fox Movie Channel is showing this from time to time, so definitely stop and see it if you have the chance. Not only will you get to a rare Oscar-nominated film, but a brilliant comedy with a remarkable cast.