Serenade (Full Frame)

VHS, 121 minutes, WARNER

"Don't let anything sidetrack you," the impresario (Vincent Price) tells his new discovery The young tenor (Mario Lanza) doesn't know it but he's already careening off the tracks. He's fallen for a socialite (Joan Fontaine) who uses men like pawns in her game of love. A rising opera star's life is as turbulent as the on-stage roles he plays in this emotion-swept musical drama based on a James M. Cain novel and filmed almost entirely in Mexico. As the young vocalist who emerges from the obscurity of the vineyards, Lanza impressively hoists the lead role onto his wide shoulders. In a dazzling display of the power that made him a sensation of the musical screen, the renowned tenor sings "Ave Maria," excerpts from "La Boheme," "Don Giovanni," "Otello," and "Il Trovatore," plus other selections forma long songlist, including "Serenade" and "My Destiny," written for the film by Nicholas Bradszky and Sammy Cahn. Bravo, Mario!.