Sweethearts (1938)

(On Cable TV, October 2022) If you want to cut straight to the conclusion, let’s just say that Sweehearts’ most distinguished characteristic is to have been shot in colour at a time when such productions were rare. (It counts as MGM’s first full-colour musical.)  Sure, you can also watch it to see the frequent Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald couple: after a number of historical features, this was their first film set in then-modern times. Still, there’s not a lot to this musical comedy: jumping from Broadway as its starting base, the film describes a couple attempting to reconcile work with their private lives, and derives much of its comic value from having them attempt an escape to Hollywood to the dismay of their self-interested entourage. It’s not that memorable: despite some flashy self-conscious colour cinematography (including a runway sequence for the very cute MacDonald), the plot is serviceable and the songs are forgettable—perhaps even annoying if you don’t like the Eddy/MacDonald operetta style. Watch Sweethearts in black-and-white, and there’s not much left there.