ZAUBER DER BOHEME (1936) Just as the B'way musical RENT updated LA BOHEME to '80s lower Manhattan, here's a silly Viennese variant from the mid-'30s starring the soon to be married operatic couple Jan Kiepura & Marta Eggerth, each handsome of face & voice. (Now in her 90s, Eggerth still is.) They made dozens of light musicals before leaving German territories during WWII, but you might recall Eggerth as the star who steals Gene Kelly from Judy Garland in FOR ME AND MY GAL/'42, so it's doubly amusing to note how much Kiepura looked like Kelly. In this far-fetched version, Eggerth's consumptive character is actually cast to sing Mimi, dying on stage for real just as the curtain falls. What an exit! The old print only gives glimmers of the great Franz Planer's cinematography, but it's an interesting treat for canary fanciers.
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maksquibs4 May 2007
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There were two primary reasons for seeing 'Zauber Der Boheme' ('Charm of La Boheme'). One was my love of Puccini's opera, which 'Zauber Der Boheme' updates. The other was Marta Eggerth, who has really grown on me recently.
'Zauber Der Boheme' may not be a great film, but it is a good one with wonderful music and two leads on top form. It is agreed that it does a little too excessively melodramatic in places, though to be fair there was always going to be the trap of that happening, and momentum sags occasionally The film's print is not always great, with the picture quality in need of more clarity and focus which would have allowed one to appreciate the otherwise beautiful cinematography better.
However, Eggerth is on top form, her performance is delicate, charming and moving with flashes of humour. She has an attractive presence too, while being believably frail when necessary, and sings a dream (singing music here that her voice is perfect for). Her real life husband Jan Kiepura is handsome, youthful and dashing, with the right touch of ardour and idealism. He doesn't fare too badly as an actor, if not as good as Eggerth, and while his singing does have a finesse in places it is a truly lovely sound and he sings with feeling and lively style. The two are magical together.
Eggerth and Kiepura are served well by a good supporting cast, with fun turns from Paul Kemp, Oscar Sima and Theo Liggins. It's all directed very capably and it's rarely dull.
Imperfect print aside, 'Zauber Der Boheme' is beautifully shot and sumptuously but also atmospherically produced in costumes and sets. The music is wonderful, as to be expected, while there is a lovely mix on the most part of wicked humour and tender pathos. The story compels and draws one right in, even though the surprises factor is low, right up to the heart-wrenching ending.
Overall, has a lot of charm, well performed and it delivers on the emotion. 7/10 Bethany Cox -
The best way to understand and appreciate this movie is to compare it with a similar, and much better, one, Moonstruck. This movie attempts to integrate the plot of Puccini's great opera, La Boheme, into a real life setting. It does so, sometimes with wonderful humor, but also, too often, with a lot of excessive melodrama.
Kiepura and Eggerth both sing beautifully in this picture. They also look their roles, which if you're used to Pavarotti and Scotto in Boheme will come as a very pleasant change. Eggerth is really a very fine actress. Kierpura gets along on good looks, a great smile, and a very beautiful voice.
One thing that did surprise me was his way of singing the pop tunes in the movie, one of which, Weine nicht, is really a great number. There is no finesse to his singing. He sings them loud almost without variation. Yes, he sounds great loud, but his contemporaries in this repertory, Richard Tauber, Wittrich, Herbert Ernst Groh, would have used more finesse, especially Tauber.
It's definitely worth a watch. But it's definitely not Moonstruck. -
mmcgee2829 April 2015This is not a direct film version of La Boheme,but ,a story that subtly incorporates the music with the characters,that come close to the opera.Marta is no Mimi,but, a aspiring opera singer,who's father ,is a cellist,played by Alfred Gerasch, at the Opera.You also got three struggling Artist ,who rooms together ,Jan ,also An aspiring opera singer ,Paul Kemp , a frustrated composer, Oscar Sima a painter and Theo Ligens as an Astronomer .It's when Both Martha an Jan meets at the room mates party,that sparks fly .He makes up a story that he knows the main director of the opera house,played by Richard Romanknowsy, by calling him up on the telephone .She works to try to help Jan to get an audition ,by seducing Karl Gunthers.After the audition he starts getting famous,but,Marta turns down his proposal ,since she had promise to get engaged to Carl ,in order to help Jan's career. At first Jan mad ,until he founds out why.Like La Boheme , Marta's character ,as she ascends in to the opera,gets tuberculosis and is actually really dying on the stage at the near end of the opera La Boheme.Others ,in the film ,are Mimi Sharp,who showed up in Eva,The factory Girl. and Austrian character actor Fritz Imhoff.Excellence music and opera Adapted from La Boheme ,plus some added songs . Ernst Marischka ,wrote the screen play,would later make film about historical characters and subject them from the facts .04/9/15