Claysaba
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Portia Hilton
Blistering performances.
bbmtwist
Although only five songs are retained from the original Broadway production, they are wonderful and wonderfully performed by the entire cast. They are: I Married An Angel, Spring Is Here, I'll Tell The Man In The Street, A Twinkle In Your Eye, and La La Tira Lira La.The social satire and sarcasm of the script still goes over a lot of critics' heads, but I think it's a fun movie and the only one we have with MacDonald and Eddy that is not an operetta. They are both delightful in their last outing together.The production values are stunning. I believe it deserved, but did not receive, Oscar nominations in the categories of Art Direction, Scoring, and Costume Design. Especially in the latter area with costumes contributed by Broadway's Motley. The costumes for the ball early on are amazing in and of themselves, but the women's stylish outfits throughout the film are equally marvelous. Granted there was no Costume Design category at the Oscars in 1942, but still…I kept thinking I was seeing Celeste Holm as one of Willie's girl friends, but realize now it was Anne Jeffreys in an early role. They do look amazingly alike in the cheekbones.I recommend this as a sprightly, fun and clever take on the deceit required to make it in fashionable society.
TheLittleSongbird
That is not to say at all that I Married an Angel is a complete catastrophe because it isn't. If the songs are good and Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald sing well then things are already raised up a few notches. And that is the case with I Married an Angel. Unfortunately it does have a lot of things that didn't come off well. The story was paper-thin, then again that was expected as the stories in Nelson and Jeanette's films are far from the strongest aspects, but doesn't come across very well despite that. The first half did come across as too sickly sweet, and the plotting does get very clumsy and difficult to follow(it really showed how censorship chopped the story to bits) complete with a surreal dream sequence that went on for too long and was weird even for a sequence that was intended to be surreal.Some of the fantasy/romantic moments are charming though and heart-warming and there are a few witty quips from Jeanette MacDonald and Edward Everett Horton throughout the film. Scripting-wise, I Married an Angel could have benefited from a lighter and more satirical touch, it has its moments but if censorship hadn't reared its ugly head then the film would have felt less heavy and much sharper. Again like the story it has moments but they aren't enough. And as great as Nelson Eddy's singing is and his personal charm and handsome looks are, he did seem too stiff in his role, there are also a couple of unforgiving camera angles which suggests that he was also a little too old.Things are definitely made up for though by the lavish costumes and sets as well as the crisp photography. The songs are just lovely, especially the title number, A Twinkle in Your Eye and Spring Is Here. The choreography has its charm and energy too, the Jitterbug number between MacDonald and Binnie Barnes is a lot of fun and they seemed to be having fun too, which is a pleasure to see. Edward Everett Horton(though his roles Fred and Ginger films serve his talents better), Reginald Owen and Binnie Barnes delight in supporting roles, making the most of their material despite it not being the best to work with. Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald's pairing and singing are the best thing about I Married an Angel.While Eddy has been much better dramatically, he still has that wonderful baritone voice- the most beautiful of its type on film, those Howard Keel comes close- and he has the songs to show it off with, it sounds very rich, supple, beautiful and robust with a touch of sensitivity as well. MacDonald was always the superior actress and she is incredibly beautiful and sassy, and he sounds lovely too, singing delicately and with sweet understated tone in Spring is Here. Though maybe the Jitterbug number was not the right style for her and did seem like the sort of song that needed a bigger voice but she still sings the heck out of it. The two work really well together, and blend beautifully in their duets.All in all, the weakest of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald's collaborations, but from a personal perspective while flawed it was not as bad as heard. If it weren't for the censorship though, I Married an Angel might have been a different and better film. If you want to see a film more than worthy for this duo look to Maytime or New Moon. 6/10 Bethany Cox
blanche-2
Based on the Broadway musical, "I Married an Angel" is a fantasy that takes place in Budapest. Released in 1942, it proved to be the last film for Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, as Eddy bought out his contract and left MGM.The story concerns a secretary, Anna (again MacDonald) who is in love with the her playboy banker boss, Count Pilaffi (Eddy), and has been invited to his birthday party. Because it's a costume party, a jealous girlfriend of the Count's (Mona Maris) makes sure that Anna is in a cheap makeshift angel costume, complete with aluminum wings, one of which falls off, and a halo that hits the Count in the face when he tries to dance with her. After being hit one too many times, the Count excuses himself and goes upstairs, where he falls asleep.He dreams that an angel, Brigitta (MacDonald again) comes down from heaven to be his wife. She seems perfect, except that she's not used to the ways of the world - polite social talk, for instance - so she tells it like it is, thereby insulting a lot of important people. She gets some lessons from an earthy earth woman (Binnie Barnes) and manages to save the day for her husband.This film is often criticized by MacDonald-Eddy fans. In truth, MacDonald was never more beautiful, sings well, and Eddy is in fabulous voice. The title song is the big one, along with "Spring is Here." Granted the plot is paper thin, but the couple wasn't known for making heavy movies. Lovely singing, pretty music, a not overly long film, "I Married An Angel" doesn't try to be anything but what it is - light entertainment. Take it on that level, and you won't be disappointed.
AmyLouise
This film starts out promisingly, with some witty and sophisticated dialogue, but it deteriorates towards the end, when the joke has worn thin. The birthday party scene, with Jeanette in her tacky little angel costume, was delightful, as was the following segment where Nelson falls asleep and is visited in his dreams by a real angel, also played by Jeanette. The scenes where she slowly learns the art of being insincere and how to skirt around the truth are also a lot of fun.But the joke goes on for too long, and musically also the film takes a downward slide towards the end. Musically, both stars were capable of handling much better material than they were given in this film, and it's a shame that, while there are some pretty little songs in the early part, there is not one really memorable musical number that allowed them to shine as only they could.But the pair handle the inferior material as well as anyone could, and there is still a special magic between them.Just a pity about the heavy censorship of the Hayes Office, and the lack of a really good score.
