blanche-2 1930's New Moon is "New Moon" in name only, but it has two world-famous operatic singers, Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore, even if a lot of the songs from the original production were scrapped.MGM moved the story from France to Russia, as evidenced by the opening cossack dance. It reminded me of a New Year's Eve many years ago where a friend of mine, in his cups, leaped into the air, came down on bent knees, arms across his chest and did a cossack dance. The next day he couldn't move.The story concerns a ship, New Moon, going across the Caspian Sea. Lt. Petroff (Tibbett) meets Princess Tanya (Moore) and they fall in love.Petroff learns when they dock in Russia that Tanya is engaged to a governor (Menjou). Long story short, the governor, to reward Petroff for finding a lost bracelet for Tanya (which was just the excuse they used when he found them together), he sends him to a remote fort, where a huge battle is about to take place.I couldn't understand too much of what was being said because the sound was fuzzy, but I have to say the singing was magnificent from both Moore and Tibbett. The 1940 version with Nelson Eddy and Jeannette MacDonald is more the actual "New Moon," including the music. While Eddy also had a beautiful baritone voice, he could accommodate it for the movies, whereas Tibbett used the full power of his voice. Despite this, I prefer Eddy; neither were great actors, but Tibbett looked like Snidley Whiplash from Fractured Fairy tales.Jeanette MacDonald was a better actress than Grace Moore but though she had some beautiful tones, she couldn't touch Grace's singing.Both versions are worth seeing. Softly, As In the Morning Sunrise, which is such a beautiful song, is missing from the 1930 version due to no tenor. In the 1940 version, the tenor and baritone roles were combined into Eddy's part.If you like opera, check this out.

MartinHafer I was a bit surprised when I noticed that the leading man (Lawrence Tibbett) looked an awful lot like John C. Reilly! See for yourself."New Moon" is an operetta starring two big-time opera singers of the era, Tibbett and Grace Moore. In many ways it's a lot like a Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy film, though Moore and Tibbett clearly had stronger voices and were singers first and movie stars second. Now I must admit that I hate films with this sort of singing and why I decided to see this film escapes me! On an ocean voyage during the latter days of Czarist Russia, the Lieutenant (Tibbett) meets the Princess (Moore). Despite the huge disparity in their social classes, the two quickly fall in love. However, when they reach port Moore goes off with her fiancé (Adolph Menjou) and seems to completely forget about Tibbett (what a creepy thing to do!). Clearly this lady is interested in marrying for money and prestige.When the fiancé meets the Lieutenant, he decides to get him out of the picture and assigns him to a fort in the middle of nowhere--and a very dangerous one at that. And, Moore does absolutely nothing--again, it's hard to like or respect her. Well, she actually does something--she whips him in the face!! And, you wonder why the film will end with them falling in love for good as per the formula)! I agree with the other reviewer that felt that Moore's character was totally unlikable!! And, as a result, the film seems oddly unromantic and a bit silly. But, being an MGM production, at least it looked nice and the singing, for what it was, was very good.By the way, if you do see the film, get a load of the battle sequences, as they are surprisingly brutal. I liked the guy hopping about on one leg during the height of battle.

st-shot There is no escape from the overt silliness in this stage operetta slapped together by director Jack Conway featuring the magnificent voices of Met opera stars Lawrence Tibbet and Grace Moore. The acting is stiff and the the plot inane but it is easy to forgive when one or both launch into song.Michael Petrov, a Russian officer with a roving eye falls for Princess Strogoff on board The New Moon. She reciprocates but withholds the fact she is engaged to his commanding officer (Adolph Menjou) who sensing the spark between the two sends Petrov off to command a fort on the frontier where the soldiers have a habit of murdering commanding officers. He establishes order by shooting a few malcontents but soon finds the outpost surrounded and grossly outnumbered by the enemy. As tensions mount the princess comes roaring up in a Stutz Bearcat to the front gate to find some closure with Petrov. Like I said, quite silly.Pre-dating the more famous singing sweethearts Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald Tibbet and Moore are their vocal equals and then some. With finer production values, technical improvements, better chemistry and the fact that McDonald was a fine actress, the others just superb singers, everything about New Moon is inferior, but watching the pair sing Wanting You and Lover Come Back to Me is solid gold. It nearly makes up for the ridiculous plot and execution of the film which can be remedied in some way by embracing its unintentional humor.

jaykay-10 Having deleted much of the music in the stage production, the film makers injected a lengthy battle sequence - presumably to offer something the original could not. This was a regrettable decision for an operetta, as it alters the tone of the film to such an extent that the romance, sweetness and charm of the earlier segments are pushed to the background, and music seems inappropriate for what follows. The editing of this film, particularly in those battle scenes, is heavy-handed; but even the light moments are pockmarked by overly-long pauses, and shots of sets that remain empty for several seconds, until someone walks into the frame.Lawrence Tibbett lacks the commanding presence of a leading man. He and Grace Moore do not make for an electrifying couple. She looks old enough to be his mother (or, more charitably, he looks young enough to be her son). Of course, they sing beautifully and/or vigorously, as required. That's why they're in the picture. But it's not enough. Little or no help from Roland Young and Gus Shy in supposedly humorous supporting roles.