Mark Waltz said: "It's ironic that "Song of Norway" was a huge hit in 1943 and did not get filmed until 1970. I recall reading about the 1958 Jones Beach Theater production which was done outside on a bay which really added to the impact of the show. Apparently, the stage is out on the water, and there were boats and icebergs and other props utilized to make it absolutely gorgeous. There was a cast album for that, too. I've only seen the movie once (along with Andrew L. Stone's "The Great Waltz", his flop follow-up), and at times, I probably did the holding nose reaction that Emma Thompson does in the movie "The Tall Guy" during a production number in "Elephant! the Musical!"."
No more ironic than all the other such operettas--which take the music of a famous composer and create a show around it--went unfilmed. The only one I can think of that was filmed in Hollywood was Kismet. Blossom Time was done by a British studio. Operettas went out fast after the Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald series ended. No audience for them.
Song of Norway was an attempt to cash in on The Sound of Music (with the lead of the stage version's National Tour, Florence Henderson). It's generally reviled as one of the worst of the mid-60's-early 70's attempts to cash in on that movie adaptation's success.
I'm baffled anyone is looking forward to the Blu-ray. Are there Lost Horizon fans here, too?
Updated On: 1/21/20 at 01:40 PM