Boxoffice-June.09.1951

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Metro's 'The Great Caruso'
Wins May Blue Ribbon Award
By VELMA WEST SYKES
J^ETRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER chalks up another family picture to its cn^
fourth consecutive month, with "The Great Caruso" winning the Ei .-
Award for May. National Screen Council members voted it this honor, 'lej
tribute to the direction of a picture which appeals to the class trade as (i
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masses. For the class trade, there is the opera music and the vivid portrays f,|l
the great singers of the world. For the mass trade, there is the lively persoE ;y >»
peasant boy with the wonderful voice, who insisted upon singing instead (liiiV
the wealthy miller's daughter and spending his life making flour. There is \ltM
and marriage in America, with amusing episodes in his career. Certainlj *er^
picture which the family can enjoy together and feel rewarded for having in
That this is the way patrons feel about it 14-plus rating, the highest it
is attested by the first run reports from key for ballot comments, they are lollin!'''
cities which show it doing gratifying busi- of its entertainment qualities. I,
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ness in all of them. The lowest percentage William R. Thomas of the G.P.h. ,j'
gross reported is UO per cent at the State picture committee at Cleveland:*!,,',
in Omaha, the highest 250 per cent at the ture that can cause a previa i^ai
Music Hall in Seattle, and the average is 166 including two motion picture ci;s,
per cent. It is being held over in almost plaud at its conclusion, is a ipj
all its playdates. Small town and neighborhood
production. I just returned frC'-,N(i
houses will profit from the exten-
leans and Houston and in both -lieil
sive advertising done for the first run were long lines of both you
houses, and from the fact it is the kind
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people at the theatres to see thi |
beautiful picture."
of picture which many patrons will want
to see more than once. In BOXOFFICE for
April 21 of this year, the reviewer commented:
. . .
"Superb and Stirring'
"For lovers of classical music, here is a
superb and stirring parcel of entertainment
which will have them—be they critics or
customers—leaving the theatre shouting
their 'bravos.' Such enthusiastic initial reactions—plus
the picture's many highly exploitable
angles and its basic subject matter—should
carry its appeal to the subsequent
engagements, although a bit of intensive
merchandising may be necessary
for that accomplishment The story
which knits together the dominant operatic
footage has many heart-warming touches
of comedy, pathos and humor for the less
musically inclined."
BOXOFFICE Review Digest gives this a
Helen Waters of the Long Ij
cate writes it is "great entertl
young and old." . Mrs. Henrjjjirljl
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of the Sheboygan Better Films (J
ments: "We had this for our (
fast and it was 100 per cent
yet.' "... "Lanza has a marve ^'s tV,'
voice and an appealing person |^;y.| "^
on his way!"—Malcolm Mills;
Journal.
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Phil Willcox of Parents' M'
lieves that "Everybody will wei'M f
new star in a brilliant perforn icei I
made records at New York's Isia
According to Arthur D. Ma .e I
Jersey Journal, " 'The Great Caij)'i^i|(
as Mario Lanza makes an exce.itj
who still lives in song." . . .
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change from the usual fo:,jit.".,j^
Hochuli, Houston Press. i
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AN OPERA SCENE FROM THE PICTURE SHOWING LANZA
IN A CHA RACTERISTIC CARUSO POSE, AND SINGING
Enrico Caruso
Dorothy Benjamin
Louise Heggar
Maria Selka
Carlo Santi
Park Benjamin
Giulio Gatti-Casazza
Alfredo Brazzi
Jean de Reszke
Antonio Scotti
Gino
Fucito
Mario Lanza
Ann Blyth
Dorothy Kirsten
Jakmila Novotna
Richard Hageman
Carl Benton Reid
Edtjard Franz
Ludwig Donath
Alan Napier
Paul Javor
Carl Milletaire
Shepard Menken
The Cast
Tullio Vin;