Search a film or person :
FacebookConnectionRegistration
Bitter Sweet is a american film of genre Drama directed by W. S. Van Dyke released in USA on 8 november 1940 with Jeanette MacDonald

Bitter Sweet (1940)

Bitter Sweet
If you like this film, let us know!
Released in USA 8 november 1940
Length 1h34
Directed by
OriginUSA
Genres Drama,    Musical theatre,    Musical,    Romance
Rating57% 2.854312.854312.854312.854312.85431

Bitter Sweet is a 1940 American Technicolor musical film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, based on the operetta Bitter Sweet by Noël Coward. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Cinematography and the other for Best Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons and John S. Detlie.

The film is based on Coward's stage operetta, which was a hit in 1929 in London. It was filmed twice, first in 1933 in black-and-white (in Britain, with Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravet in the leading roles). The 1940 film is much cut and rewritten, removing much of the operetta's irony. The opening and closing scenes are cut, focusing the film squarely upon the relationship between MacDonald's character, Sarah, and her music teacher, Carl Linden. The opening scene was a flash forward, in which Sarah appears as an elderly woman recalling how she fell in love. One reason for dropping this scene is that it had been appropriated for MGM's 1937 film Maytime. Coward disliked the 1940 film and vowed that no more of his shows would be filmed in Hollywood. In 1951 he told The Daily Express, "I was saving up Bitter Sweet as an investment for my old age. After MGM's dreadful film I can never revive it" on stage.

Synopsis

Set in late 19th century Vienna, the story focuses on the romance between music teacher Carl Linden (Nelson Eddy) and his prize pupil Sarah Milick (Jeanette MacDonald).

Actors

Jeanette MacDonald

(Sarah Millick)
Nelson Eddy

(Carl Linden)
George Sanders

(Baron Von Tranisch)
Ian Hunter

(Lord Shayne)
Sig Ruman

(Herr Schlick)
Trailer of Bitter Sweet

Bluray, DVD

Streaming / VOD

Source : Wikidata

Comments


Leave comment :

Suggestions of similar film to Bitter Sweet

There are 266 films with the same actors, 71 films with the same director, 71098 with the same cinematographic genres (including 159 with exactly the same 4 genres than Bitter Sweet), 6745 films with the same themes (including 147 films with the same 3 themes than Bitter Sweet), to have finally 70 suggestions of similar films.

If you liked Bitter Sweet, you will probably like those similar films :
Rose Marie
Rose Marie (1936)
, 1h53
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke, Lucien Hubbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical theatre, Adventure, Musical, Romance, Western
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Operetta films
Actors Jeanette MacDonald, Joan Crawford, Nelson Eddy, Reginald Owen, James Murray, Polly Moran
Rating66% 3.3451853.3451853.3451853.3451853.345185
Marie de Flor (Jeanette MacDonald) is a Canadian soprano performing in Roméo et Juliette in Montreal; the Premier of Quebec is in the audience. Inviting him and his entourage to supper after the performance, she learns from a 'half-breed' man called Boniface (George Regas), that her brother Jack, supposedly in prison for armed robbery, was wounded as he escaped from prison and has killed a Mountie in the process. Making her excuses, she leaves for the Canadian wilderness with Boniface, hoping to help Jack.
New Moon
New Moon (1940)
, 1h45
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke, Robert Z. Leonard
Origin USA
Genres Musical theatre, Adventure, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Operetta films
Actors Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Mary Boland, George Zucco, Ivan F. Simpson, H. B. Warner
Rating66% 3.3434953.3434953.3434953.3434953.343495
During the 18th century in New Orleans, Louisiana, a French nobleman in disguise as a bondsman, Charles (Nelson Eddy) leads his fellow bondsman in revolt against his ship's captain, commandeering the ship and heading out to sea.
Naughty Marietta, 1h45
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke, Robert Z. Leonard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Films about music and musicians, Transport films, Pirate films, Musical films, Operetta films
Actors Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Elsa Lanchester, Douglass Dumbrille, Joseph Cawthorn, Frank Morgan
Rating64% 3.242293.242293.242293.242293.24229
To avoid an arranged marriage to Don Carlos, an elderly Spanish duke, Princess Marie masquerades as her uncle's former servant, Marietta, and escapes from France on a ship with casquette girls who are traveling to New Orleans to marry colonists. On board, Marietta befriends Julie.
Sweethearts, 1h54
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke, Robert Z. Leonard
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Mischa Auer, Florence Rice
Rating61% 3.0961953.0961953.0961953.0961953.096195
Broadway stars Gwen Marlow (Jeanette MacDonald) and Ernest Lane (Nelson Eddy) are appearing in a 6-year run of Victor Herbert's operetta Sweethearts (Ray Bolger dances the role of Hans). They are also very much in love after six years of marriage. Norman Trumpett (Reginald Gardiner) is a successful Hollywood talent scout under pressure to recruit Marlow and Lane for his studio, which their Broadway producer Felix Lehman (Frank Morgan) is equally determined to prevent.
San Francisco, 1h55
Directed by D. W. Griffith, W. S. Van Dyke
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical, Romance
Themes La fin du monde, Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Disaster films, American disaster films, Films about earthquakes
Actors Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy
Rating70% 3.546053.546053.546053.546053.54605
"Blackie" Norton (Clark Gable), a saloonkeeper and gambler in the notorious Barbary Coast, owns the Paradise Club on Pacific Street. He hires a promising, but impoverished, classically trained singer from Benson, Colorado named Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald), who becomes a star attraction at the Paradise. The piano player at the club, dubbed "The Professor" (Al Shean), can tell Mary has a professionally trained voice. Mat (Ted Healy), Blackie's good friend at the Paradise, wisely predicts that Mary is not going to stay on the "Coast".
Rosalie
Rosalie (1937)
, 2h3
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical
Themes Dance films, Monde imaginaire, Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Musical films, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals
Actors Eleanor Powell, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Edna May Oliver, Ray Bolger, Ilona Massey
Rating59% 2.99982.99982.99982.99982.9998
Dick Thorpe (Nelson Eddy) is a football star for the Army, and Rosalie (Eleanor Powell), a Vassar student who is also a princess (Princess Rosalie of Romanza) in disguise, watches a football game. They are attracted to each other and agree to meet in her country in Europe. When Dick flies into her country he is greeted as a hero by the King (Frank Morgan) and finds Rosalie. Rosalie is engaged to marry Prince Paul (Tom Rutherford), who actually is in love with Brenda (Ilona Massey); Dick, not knowing of Prince Paul's affections, leaves the country. The King and his family are forced to leave their troubled country, and Dick and Rosalie are finally re-united at West Point.
Cairo
Cairo (1942)
, 1h41
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Spy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about writers, Spy films, Films about journalists, Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Political films
Actors Jeanette MacDonald, Robert Young, Reginald Owen, Ethel Waters, Lionel Atwill, Grant Mitchell
Rating60% 3.0492153.0492153.0492153.0492153.049215
Marcia Warren (Jeanette MacDonald), while "between pictures" in London hires an American reporter, Homer Smith (Robert Young) as her butler. What Marcia doesn't know is that Smith is an American newspaperman, who strongly suspects that she is a Nazi spy (the real enemy agent is Mrs. Morrison (Mona Barrie).
Maytime
Maytime (1937)
, 1h40
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Films based on operas
Actors Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, John Barrymore, Russell Hicks, Frank Puglia, Sig Ruman
Rating72% 3.6402353.6402353.6402353.6402353.640235
At a small town May Day celebration, elderly Miss Morrison (Jeanette MacDonald) tries to console her young friend Kip (Tom Brown), whose sweetheart Barbara (Lynne Carver) has been offered a job on the operatic stage. Later Barbara goes for comfort to Miss Morrison, who reveals that years ago she was the internationally famous opera diva Marcia Mornay. Miss Morrison then relates her story: Marcia, a young American singer in Paris, is guided to success by famed voice teacher Nicolai Nazaroff (John Barrymore), who introduces her at the court of Louis Napoleon. That night, Nicolai proposes to Marcia and she accepts, even though they both know that she is not in love with him. Later, feeling restless, Marcia takes a ride, and is stranded in the Latin Quarter when her driver's horse runs away. In a tavern, she meets American Paul Allison (Nelson Eddy), who is also a singer, but not as ambitious as Marcia. Though they are attracted to each other, she at first refuses to see him again out of loyalty to Nicolai, but soon promises to lunch with him the next day. They enjoy their lunch together, but Marcia again says that they can no longer see each other and leaves. Paul then steals tickets to see her perform The Huguenots that evening, and after he is thrown out of his seat by the manager, he goes to her dressing room and only leaves when she promises to join him at St. Cloud for a May Day celebration. During the celebration, Paul tells her he loves her, but she says that she owes Nicolai too much and could never break a promise to him. They then part after vowing always to remember their day together.
Broadway Melody of 1936, 1h41
Directed by Roy Del Ruth, W. S. Van Dyke
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Dance films, Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Una Merkel, Frances Langford, Buddy Ebsen
Rating66% 3.3462253.3462253.3462253.3462253.346225
Irene Foster (Eleanor Powell) tries to convince her high school sweetheart, Broadway producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor), to give her a chance to star in his new musical, but he's too busy with the rich widow (June Knight) backing his show. Irene tries to show Gordon that she has the talent to succeed, but he won't hire her. Things become complicated when she begins impersonating a French dancer, who was actually the invention of a gossip columnist (Jack Benny).