By Frank Miller
I'll Take Romance
Brief Synopsis
An opera manager tries to woo a soprano back to his company.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Edward H. Griffith
Director
Miss Grace Moore
Elsa Terry
Melvyn Douglas
James Guthrie
Helen Westley
Madame Della
Stuart Erwin
"Pancho" Brown
Margaret Hamilton
Margot
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Release Date
Dec
1,
1937
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.
Distribution Company
Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 25m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9 reels
Synopsis
James Guthrie and his pal, Pancho Brown, visit theatrical agent Will Kane because they are concerned that Madame Della is preventing her niece, opera singer Elsa Terry, from fulfilling a contract to perform in Buenos Aires, as she has received a better offer to sing in Paris. Guthrie and Pancho attend Elsa's performance in La traviata , but Guthrie is unable to meet her when he sneaks backstage between acts. The next day Guthrie deluges Elsa's apartment with candy and flowers, and that night he and Pancho attend her performance of Martha . Pancho is not the only one in the audience who is bored, and his game of dice becomes popular during the show. In order to meet Elsa, Guthrie rents an apartment next to hers. Elsa is friendly, and Guthrie even succeeds in making friends with the authoritarian Della. Guthrie and Elsa subsequently go out every night. Overhearing Guthrie tell Pancho that he will have to abduct Elsa if she will not go to Buenos Aires with him, she decides to refuse to go in order to enjoy being kidnapped. That night, Elsa tells Guthrie she has decided against going to Argentina with him, and she later allows herself to be put on the wrong boat with him. Guthrie has fallen in love with Elsa, but when she receives a telegram from Della explaining that Guthrie romanced her only to get her to sing in Argentina, she refuses to speak with him. Desperately, Guthrie abducts her again and takes her to his hacienda, but releases her in time for opening night. After the next performance, Pancho kidnaps Guthrie and takes him to the hacienda where Elsa, who realizes that they really love each other, is waiting for him.
Director
Edward H. Griffith
Director
Cast
Miss Grace Moore
Elsa Terry
Melvyn Douglas
James Guthrie
Helen Westley
Madame Della
Stuart Erwin
"Pancho" Brown
Margaret Hamilton
Margot
Walter Kingsford
William Kane
Richard Carle
Rudi
Ferdinand Gottschalk
Monsieur Ginard
Esther Muir
Pamela
Frank Forest
Pinkerton
Walter O. Stahl
Johan
Barry Norton
Juan
Lucio Villegas
Señor Montez
Gennaro Curci
Bondini
Marek Windheim
Henri
Franklin Pangborn
Secretary
Greta Meyer
Opera singer
Albert Conti
Lepino
Adia Kuznetzoff
Conductor
George Andre Beranger
Male dressmaker
John Gallaudet
Photographer
Ernest Wood
Hotel clerk
Marco Vico
Charles Gerard
Al Hill
Taxi driver
Allan Garcia
Allan Garcia
Bruce Sidney
Stage manager
Mildred Gover
Maid
Bruce Wyndham
Young German
Alphonse Martell
Waiter
Carrie Daumery
Dowager
Bill Lally
Steward
George Hickman
Page boy
Lew Davis
Sailor
Marion "bud" Wolfe
Bartender
Bing Conley
Bartender
Louis Mercier
Meeka Aldrich
Mariska Aldrich
Irene Crane
Alex Palasthy
Genaro Spagnoli
Manuel Paris
Ann Doran
Mary Emery
Manuel Emanuel
Crew
Lucien Andriot
Photography
Stephen Morehouse Avery
Story
Lionel Banks
Art Director
Arthur Black
Assistant Director
Harry Cohn
Company
Marie Costa
Composer
Milton Drake
Composer
Friedrich Von Flotow
Composer
Friedrich Wilhelm Friedrich
Composer
Giuseppe Giacosa
Composer
Philippe Gille
Composer
Frank Goodwin
Sound Engineer
Stephen Goosson
Art Director
Oscar Hammerstein Ii
Composer
Luigi Illica
Composer
Babs Johnstone
Interior Decorator
Kalloch
Gowns
William Lyon
Film Editor
Jules Massenet
Composer
Henri Meilhac
Composer
Otto Meyer
Film Editor
Jane Murfin
Screenwriter
Ben Oakland
Composer
George Oppenheimer
Screenwriter
Francesco Maria Piave
Composer
Giacomo Puccini
Composer
Everett Riskin
Producer
Morris Stoloff
Music Director
Isaac Van Grove
Opera seq Conductor by
Giuseppe Verdi
Composer
Wilhelm Von Wymetal Jr.
Opera seq staged by
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Release Date
Dec
1,
1937
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.
Distribution Company
Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 25m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9 reels
Articles
I'll Take Romance
Opera singer Grace Moore finished her Columbia contract with this genial screwball comedy. She stars as a diva whose aunt (Helen Westley) has convinced her to break a contract to sing in Buenos Aires for a more lucrative engagement in Paris. To get her back, the head of the Argentine company (Melvyn Douglas) courts her. By the time he's fallen in love, she's learned the truth, setting the stage for some fiery comic confrontations. Moore had defied the odds to become one of the Metropolitan Opera's first American-born stars. She tried filmmaking at the dawn of the talkie era, when she fell victim of the glut of musicals on the market. In 1934, she returned with a six-picture deal at Columbia, scoring a big hit with One Night of Love. Her films helped popularize opera among the masses, and I'll Take Romance was no exception, with scenes from Manon, Martha, La Traviata and Madama Butterfly. In a rarity for Hollywood, the scenes are presented with few interruptions, capturing her stage presence. Moore has strong support from some expert comic actors, including Douglas, Westley, Stuart Erwin, Margaret Hamilton and Ferdinand Gottschalk.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
I'll Take Romance
Opera singer Grace Moore finished her Columbia contract with this genial screwball comedy. She stars as a diva whose aunt (Helen Westley) has convinced her to break a contract to sing in Buenos Aires for a more lucrative engagement in Paris. To get her back, the head of the Argentine company (Melvyn Douglas) courts her. By the time he's fallen in love, she's learned the truth, setting the stage for some fiery comic confrontations. Moore had defied the odds to become one of the Metropolitan Opera's first American-born stars. She tried filmmaking at the dawn of the talkie era, when she fell victim of the glut of musicals on the market. In 1934, she returned with a six-picture deal at Columbia, scoring a big hit with One Night of Love. Her films helped popularize opera among the masses, and I'll Take Romance was no exception, with scenes from Manon, Martha, La Traviata and Madama Butterfly. In a rarity for Hollywood, the scenes are presented with few interruptions, capturing her stage presence. Moore has strong support from some expert comic actors, including Douglas, Westley, Stuart Erwin, Margaret Hamilton and Ferdinand Gottschalk.
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This was the last American film of opera singer Grace Moore. She made one additional motion picture in France in 1939, entitled Louise. Moore died in a plane crash in 1947. Her life was the basis for the 1953 M-G-M film So This Is Love, directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Kathryn Grayson as Moore.
