Remember kids, just 10 more shopping days until Gene Raymond’s birthday! Today will be all about Jeanette and Gene cuteness. For now, some pictures, and later on a letter!
My Tears. They Flow. (From Facebook)
How are you two real. ❤ (From Facebook)
Arm wrestling contest*, Norma Shearer referee. (*I made that up.)
JAR bag. Also that look between them. Sigh.
Cinema Dilettante 
My favorite Gene Raymond: Zoo in Budapest. Do you recommend Smilin’ Through, the only film they made together?
It’s been about a thousand years since I saw ZIB. Would love to see it with fresh eyes! I’m anxious to see if Gene saved anything from filming, while the MacRaymond/Tessa Williams estate sale continues. (I’ll keep you posted if Loretta pops up. 🙂 )
I most CERTAINLY recommend ST! There is a lot of talk that Jeanette was only great with Nelson Eddy, and that definitely is not true. Her performance is stellar and Gene’s is such a careful, nuanced evolution of character. Super awesome!
Speaking of awesome, all her Luis ch movies are.
Lubitsch – spellchecker follies!
Great collection of pictures – thank you. Regarding “Smilin’ Through”, I would definitely recommend it. I showed it several months ago as part of my “Pass the Kleenex-Classic Hollywood Tearjerkers” class and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Further, the class, which was comprised of more than 2 dozen and none had ever seen the film, raved about the film and the performances. It’s a beautifully made film in color but the color doesn’t overpower the acting and delicacy of the storyline. It should also be noted that rumors and reports through the years indicating it was a box-office failure are incorrect. In fact certain “authors” for publication have noted the box-office failure of both “Bitter Sweet” and “Smilin’ Through”. In reality, according to the MGM studio ledgers sheets, “Bitter Sweet” earned a larger profit than the one earned by “New Moon” and “Smilin’ Through” earned the largest profit for a Jeanette MacDonald film since “Maytime”.
I love those pictures! Every relationship has its rough spots. But it appears, that for the most part, Jeanette and Gene had a loving, happy marriage. There are so many photos of them (some are true candids) that show them having such fun together. And that seems to be very important in all relationships.
As for Jeanette only being good with Nelson Eddy, I think she was better with most of her other leading men than she was with Nelson. She made far more movies without him than with him. It’s too bad that some fans reduce this mega talented woman to half of a singing/acting team. She was SO much more than that….
I agree Claire. There are a great many film critics and serious scholars who make it very clear that Jeanette was, in their professional opinion, an exceptionally skilled actress in the Lubitsch films and other films such as “Love Me Tonight” and “Annabelle’s Affairs” to name just a few. I also think she is quite extraordinary in “The Cat and the Fiddle” and “The Firefly” is a masterpiece. She also has a great on-screen chemistry with Robert Young in a trifle like “Cairo” and its that nice give and take that elevates the film. Not to diminish the MacDonald-Eddy pairings which are often exceptional, and to give credit, Nelson is a revelation in “The Chocolate Soldier” delivering a very skilled performance. However, the pairings with Nelson represent less than a third of Jeanette’s screen output (even less if you include the French versions of several of her films, shot simultaneously), and her screen career did not rely on being paired with Nelson. “Smilin’ Through” is certainly a prime example of her ability to convey a dramatic performance with heartfelt passion and genuine skill.