SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

atlasmb There is a similarity between the films of Elvis Presley and some by Mario Lanza. A young man travels around, singing for people along the way, sometimes surrounded by his adoring fans. There is usually a fistfight, and always a girl. "For the First Time" even includes a dust-up, like a Presley film.The young lady in this film is a deaf girl Tonio (Maria Lanza) falls in love with. The fact that he is a singing superstar and she cannot hear his voice is a plot point. The fact that the title song is uninspiring is a weak point of the film.Lanza's career capitalized on his crossover appeal to fans of opera and popular music alike. Here, the viewer gets some of both. But the plot is weak and fails to capitalize on Lanza's tremendous voice. As an actor, Lanza is adequate, but he lacks the ability to engage the audience in drama the way his voice can capture feelings with heart-rending effect.Lanza's film career was plagued with concerns about his weight, so a brief bit involving a scale is a self-deprecating moment of levity. Not so funny is the fact that this was Lanza's last film and that his girth surely had something to do with it.

jjnxn-1 Lanza's last film is an enjoyable lightweight concoction with some lovely scenery and the star in glorious voice. The story is a bit hard to swallow but since his films were never the bedrock of reality this one is about par for the course. He performs many songs and as usual those are the strongest parts of the film since Mario was more of a personality than an actor but his part doesn't demand too much of him and he does fine with it. While Lanza sounds wonderful he's not looking his best, probably a result of his hard living ways which of course resulted in his passing shortly after the completion of this film. Someone who is a knockout is Zsa Zsa Gabor, her part is small but she perks up the picture every time she sweeps onto the screen beautifully dressed and oozing a sophistication that would be hard to find today.

edwagreen The voice of Mario Lanza carries this nicely done film. The plot is a good one as a unreliable opera star finds love with a deaf mute girl.Lanza was also a pretty good actor.Zsa Zsa Gabor is in this one as a countess. She looks young but when she speaks, you think it's sister Eva talking from the "Green Acres" television show.Lanza sings a variety of songs. His singing of the opera Othello is superb. I have to confess that I laughed when I saw a "dead" Desdemona besides him. The latter looked like a younger version of former Secretary of State Madeleine Allbright.Our deaf mute gains her hearing only to lose it again with fiancée Mario blaming himself. The plot becomes silly when Mario begins a bar-room brawl and then the patrons of the bar try to exonerate him in court.Sit back and listen to that beautiful golden voice of the late Lanza. What a talent was lost when he left us so unexpectedly.

jotix100 This MGM film showcases the great Mario Lanza, whose untimely death came right after this film was completed. It's a vehicle for the star, who had one of the most powerful tenor voices in the cinema. As such, "For the First Time" is an excuse to present its star in different European settings in a picture that is more of a travelogue than a musical.Rudolph Mate directed with an eye for the backgrounds being shown. We are taken to that magical island of Capri, then to Salzburg, among other places that go by too quickly. The DVD we watched had a faded look, and one can only guess the original copy had glorious colors.Mario Lanza plays an opera singer who goes to Capri to stay away from the scandal he caused at the Vienna Opera house for not showing for a performance, when in reality, he was outside entertaining the people that couldn't get inside. In Capri he meets sweet Christa, who happens to be deaf. They fall in love and she will not marry him unless she can hear him. Naturally, like in all fairy tales, everything comes true and everyone is happy at the end.Mario Lanza has some good moments in the film. He sings arias from Pagliacci, Aida and Othelo, as well as the theme song, "Come prima", in his usual style. Johanna Von Koczian is seen as Christa, the sweet girl who conquers Tonio Costa's heart. Kurt Kasznar plays Tonio's agent.This is a happy film without any pretensions. It's not Mr. Lanza's best film, but for all his fans it will be something to savor.