Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

atlasmb Philadelphia's own crooner, Mario Lanza, looks positively svelte in his real film debut. He also sounds as good as he ever will and shows his acting talents in this formulaic story of an amateur singer who longs for a big break in the opera world. It's a story not unlike Lanza's own.Jose Iturbi--MGM's resident maestro--is the impresario Lanza's character, Johnny Donnetti, seeks to impress, with the help of Kathryn Grayson.Whether one is a fan of opera or not, this is the film to watch to best appreciate Mario Lanza's film contributions and his leading man potentiality. The musical selections, including "They Didn't Believe Me", allow Lanza to demonstrate his ability to master both pop and classical songs.The romantic storyline is tepid and predictable. The comedic elements are tolerable distractions. Mario Lanza almost singlehandedly makes this production worth watching with his sterling presence.

writers_reign This came at the tail end of the vogue for musicals combining Classical and Popular - in fact it would mark Jose Iturbi's (who seemed to appear in all of them) last appearance in feature films. Usually - Anchor's Aweigh for example - the emphasis tended to be on popular music with perhaps one or two 'classics' thrown in but here the emphasis is definitely on Classical music with only three examples of the 'popular' song plus half a chorus of It's Three O'Clock In The Morning rendered by J Carroll Naish on the dance floor. This is understandable given that co-star Mario Lanza was making his debut and lacked the clout of Sinatra who was able to load Anchors Aweigh with Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn numbers and it is fitting that Iturbi should bow out with such a high percentage of screen time. It's actually a fine cast with support led by Ethel Barrymore who has merely to look regal and toss off dialogue far unworthy of her. Marjorie Reynolds never really broke out on her own but Holiday Inn and this entry look good on her CV. Keenan Wynn and Jules Munshin supply most of the comedy, Thomas Gomez enjoys hamming it up and Arthur Treacher is droll in the background. All in all a pleasant diversion.

marioncap I vote 8 out of 10 just for the amazingly beautiful singing of Mario Lanza. How sad that he never achieved the great opera career his talent deserved! His acting is only passable, but his personal charisma is quite impressive.It drives me crazy that squeaky-voiced sopranina, Kathryn Grayson, who in real life could not even dream of a job as a chorus soprano in an actual functioning opera company, is presented as a plausible leading lady (Lucia di Lammermoor or Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto)! Her voice might be cute in a small room singing folk songs (if you could forgive her hideously spread vowels), but there is no way in Hell that such a tiny sound would ever in a million years carry over an orchestra.(Was there really no soprano with a real voice who could have co-starred with Mario Lanza back in the early 50's? Alas, there probably was, but she probably wasn't a tiny skinny Barbie doll like Kathryn Grayson.)

blanche-2 Mario Lanza made his film debut in "That Midnight Kiss" costarring Kathryn Grayson, Ethel Barrymore, Jose Iturbi, Keenan Wynn, Thomas Gomez, Marjorie Reynolds, and Jules Munshin. The script was tailor-made for Lanza, set in his home town of Philadelphia. It was this film that nearly ruined my own singing aspirations. My mother always thought that if I were really good, someone would discover me - I guess hauling a piano - the way that Lanza was in this film. Nevertheless, I put all that aside when I watched it.Johnny is a truck driver discovered testing out the piano he delivers to Abigail Budell (Barrymore), patron of the arts. She's just founded an opera company for the benefit of her daughter Prudence (Grayson). When the current tenor (Gomez) quits in a huff, Johnny steps in. He and Prudence are in love, but before either one of them can really act on it, Prudence is told by another woman (Marjorie Reynolds) that she wants to marry Johnny. How to get these two songbirds back together? "That Midnight Kiss" is a big budget, glossy MGM musical extravaganza and as such, it's delicious to watch and makes for joyful listening. Lanza, attractive and a natural before the cameras, really commercialized opera in the U.S. with his clarion tenor. His IMDb bios were obviously written by fans. Though he certainly had a fantastic voice, he was evidently hard to work with, especially for his female costars. Alcohol and crash dieting eventually made his heart give out while he was still in his thirties. Also, he had his own sound; in recordings, Caruso sounds much more baritone-y, though Lanza's IMDb bio claims the voices match. It's hard to know what Lanza's voice sounded like on the opera stage. People who heard him in person claim the voice was not very large. Nevertheless, it was perfect for film. Pretty and petite, Kathryn Grayson does a lovely job both in her acting and singing. Both singers shine in the more lyrical pieces sung outside Prudence's window and show their versatility. A side note - it's a little questionable what opera the company is doing - Grayson and Gomez sing a duet from "Lucia" in rehearsals, but the final product was in English and definitely NOT Donizetti! The rest of the cast is superb - Keenan Wynn has impeccable comic timing, and Jules Munshin is given some great bits throughout. Thomas Gomez is hilarious as the bombastic tenor Betelli. Ethel Barrymore is stately and classy as Prudence's grandmother. Iturbi, playing himself, is delightful and plays some beautiful piano. Celeste Aida and the Lucia duet were conducted at pretty swift tempi, as was the "Caro Nome" that Grayson starts to sing at the piano.Highly entertaining and recommended if you're a lover of classical music.