What a shame Novello had died before this movie was made. Errol Flynn was near the end of his life and appeared to be inebriated throughout, though admittedly still possessed that well-known charm. I remember Novello from my very early childhood as everyone knew him then, he was so famous and so popular and his death put the country into mourning. I remembered always some of the songs from this musical, that were played over and over of course, and Vanessa Lee singing the poignant Some Day My Heart Will Awake which was a major hit. So it was interesting to see the movie on TV some years ago. But what a shame there isn't some recording of Novello playing the part.
This is of course Novello's most famous musical although I myself think I would place Glamorous Night and Perchance to Dream above it if only I could see a version of them.
Whatever, the music is of course the first and foremost attraction. Beautiful as always. Novello like Johann Strauss and Franz Lehar never failed when it came to music. The story is charming and like so much of Novello's work, bitter-sweet. Wasn't it one of our royals who told Novello after seeing Glamorous Night that she'd love to see a happy ending please so he added that in for her in Careless Rapture?
There is a wonderful and poignant book by Hester W. Chapman based on this musical. Chapman extends the story skilfully and this book of hers is so much less frustrating than some others of her fiction containing as they often do men who seem to be completely heartless, twisted, and severely emotionally damaged individuals who confuse the poor heroine (and the reader) into despair with what seems to be love, and then they walk off uncaring leaving the poor woman totally bereft. In other words, men who are massively emotionally damaged. In Chapman's King's Rhapsody the King has a heart and a soul and is a decent human being - presumably Chapman was determined to keep to Novello's style of hero on this occasion - and his frustrating life is fascinating as in the musical. It was a book I read many years ago after guessing it probably related to the famous old musical and it was and still is a very rewarding read. As I recall, this play was very loosely based on a true story of an Eastern European Prince's love life but I may be wrong about that.
This is of course Novello's most famous musical although I myself think I would place Glamorous Night and Perchance to Dream above it if only I could see a version of them.
Whatever, the music is of course the first and foremost attraction. Beautiful as always. Novello like Johann Strauss and Franz Lehar never failed when it came to music. The story is charming and like so much of Novello's work, bitter-sweet. Wasn't it one of our royals who told Novello after seeing Glamorous Night that she'd love to see a happy ending please so he added that in for her in Careless Rapture?
There is a wonderful and poignant book by Hester W. Chapman based on this musical. Chapman extends the story skilfully and this book of hers is so much less frustrating than some others of her fiction containing as they often do men who seem to be completely heartless, twisted, and severely emotionally damaged individuals who confuse the poor heroine (and the reader) into despair with what seems to be love, and then they walk off uncaring leaving the poor woman totally bereft. In other words, men who are massively emotionally damaged. In Chapman's King's Rhapsody the King has a heart and a soul and is a decent human being - presumably Chapman was determined to keep to Novello's style of hero on this occasion - and his frustrating life is fascinating as in the musical. It was a book I read many years ago after guessing it probably related to the famous old musical and it was and still is a very rewarding read. As I recall, this play was very loosely based on a true story of an Eastern European Prince's love life but I may be wrong about that.