Entrez Madame

A not widely known Cary Grant film is Enter Madame which I've just seen. Other than for Cary Grant completists it's not one of his better efforts even from his early nurturing days at Paramount.

Billed first is Elissa Landi who plays an opera singer of whom Grant is a devoted admirer and rich enough to buy out a box above the stage at every performance. Once during a production of Tosca Landi's dress catches on fire and Grant gallantly leaps to the stage and puts out the fire saving her life. That gets the romance going and soon they're married.

But despite warnings from her manager Lynne Overman, Grant likes married life at first, but soon just becomes another part of her entourage. They separate and soon Grant wants a divorce to marry social climbing Sharon Lynne.

Landi and Grant really never develop a chemistry between them. The film is OK nothing more. Landi's singing is superb, it's also dubbed. In two years Grant played the husband to another opera singer Grace Moore who did not have to be dubbed. Still that one also was not one of his best.

And there's no way I believe Frank Albertson was Elissa Landi's brother, even as a half-brother.

This one is for devoted fans of Cary Grant and the opera.