Dennis Morgan's THE DESERT SONG? (1 Viewer)

[carlak038]

The Desert Song (1943) with Dennis Morgan is a title that is not available on Home Video. I have been searching to buy the VHS or DVD of this movie for my Dad for over 10 years now. Some folks have been searching for 20 years. There are three versions, and unconfirmed reports has led me to believe that only the 1929 version is illegal for exhibit or viewing in the U.S. The 1955 version with Nelson Eddie is available on VHS but it is this 1943 version with Dennis Morgan that my Dad has been asking for. I'd love to buy this and enjoy watching it with my Dad. Please go to this website: www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/72841/The-Desert-Song/user-reviews.html and vote so that one day this version will be released on DVD or VHS. Thanks in advance! Cordially, a loving daughter to her 86 year old Dad. Thanks again, Carla

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by carlak038 /t/256442/dennis-morgans-the-desert-song#post_3937634
The Desert Song (1943) with Dennis Morgan is a title that is not available on Home Video. I have been searching to buy the VHS or DVD of this movie for my Dad for over 10 years now. Some folks have been searching for 20 years. There are three versions, and unconfirmed reports has led me to believe that only the 1929 version is illegal for exhibit or viewing in the U.S. The 1955 version with Nelson Eddie is available on VHS but it is this 1943 version with Dennis Morgan that my Dad has been asking for. I'd love to buy this and enjoy watching it with my Dad. Please go to this website: www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/72841/The-Desert-Song/user-reviews.html and vote so that one day this version will be released on DVD or VHS. Thanks in advance! Cordially, a loving daughter to her 86 year old Dad. Thanks again, Carla

Gordon MacRae was the star of the 1953 The Desert Song, not Nelson Eddy.

I've been hoping since the Warner Archives came into existence that we'd get all three versions there. So far, no luck.

 

[bryan4999]

Gordon MacRae was the star of the 1953 The Desert Song, not Nelson Eddy.
I've been hoping since the Warner Archives came into existence that we'd get all three versions there. So far, no luck.

Nelson Eddy did a television version in 1955, not a big screen version.

 

[Thomas T]

The 1955 Nelson Eddy version for TV is available on DVD. Although originally telecast in color, the DVD (mastered from a kinescope copy) is in B&W. Simply put "The Desert Song Nelson Eddy" in the search engine and it will take you there.

 

[bryan4999]

The 1955 Nelson Eddy version for TV is available on DVD. Although originally telecast in color, the DVD (mastered from a kinescope copy) is in B&W. Simply put "The Desert Song Nelson Eddy" in the search engine and it will take you there.

Nelson Eddy's version is actually fairly entertaining IMO.
My primary complaint applies to all filmed versions - not one of them is really true to the orginal stage show. Music, story, period and characters are all variously manipulated in every filmed version one way or another. I also dislike many reviews of the property which suggest that DS is a piece of fluff. The central theme (besides romance of course) is that The Red Shadow is fighting for equality and fairness for all people. This was often a theme for Oscar Hammerstein, and you see it in Show Boat, The King and I, South Pacific, etc. I know this isn't a forum about the stage, but as much as there are delights to be found in the various filmed versions I wish the stage show had been better represented.

 

[ajabrams]

Actually the first version of DESERT SONG is very faithful to the original stage show. I performed in a summer stock production of the show using the original script and the 1929 version follows that script very closely. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on finding a message in this show. It was meant to be glitzy, romantic and comedic and for me that's how it works best. It's the introduction of "relevance" (i.e. Nazis in the 1943 version, etc) that spoils the fun.

 

[bryan4999]

Actually the first version of DESERT SONG is very faithful to the original stage show. I performed in a summer stock production of the show using the original script and the 1929 version follows that script very closely. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on finding a message in this show. It was meant to be glitzy, romantic and comedic and for me that's how it works best. It's the introduction of "relevance" (i.e. Nazis in the 1943 version, etc) that spoils the fun.

Well, I surely respect your opinion but I will continue to see more in it than glitz. It can also depend partly on the intent of the production, IMO. I have seen many, many productions over the years and they have been quite different. I saw a production at Lincoln Center in the 1980s (not sure if it was The Met?) that was very stiff, all about the music (which was lovely) and the style of it seemed to give the story more heft than perhaps it really has (which can often be true of classical operas, as well). On the other extreme, I saw a production at The Sacramento Music Circus in the mid 1990s that was absolute melodrama, "tie the girl to the railroad tracks" style - they even used strobe lights in parts to give the impression of a silent movie. Interesting, but not my favorite approach and unfortunately I suspect many people who saw that version wrote off the show itself as pure silliness. One of my favorites was in Pasadena in the mid 1980s. Dale Kristien starred as Margot, just before she got the role of Christine in Phantom opposite Michael Crawford in LA. It had a nice balance between romance, drama and comedy. It was beautifully lighted - during the song "The Desert Song" the lighting changed from dusk to night, complete with stars coming out. I will stick to my guns here because I do see a bit of nobility in the story; no, it's not South Pacific or West Side Story, but it is for the most part an "integrated" musical and has a more cogent story than many other musicals of the 1920s, IMO, even touching *lightly* on the plight of the oppressed.
Ethan Mordden, the noted theater historian, wrote an interesting essay about The Desert Song in his book, Make Believe - the Broadway Musical in the 1920s (1997, Oxford University Press). Quoting from page 163: "...The Desert Song, to my mind the best of the classic twenties operettas, boasting a score as strong as those of The Student Prince and Rose-Marie with a much stronger story. In fact, a unique one. For once in operetta, the authors...actually make an inquiry into the nature of this 'romance' that operettas take for granted. To whom does romance apply and for what reasons? Is it based entirely upon physical attraction, power-or are trust and security at least as important?"
My point ultimately is really only that none of the filmed versions satisfy me personally as representative of the potential of the stage version, that's all. That being said, I hope they all become available on DVD one day, sooner than later, hopefully, as they have many pleasures to offer.

 

[ajabrams]

Hi Bryan - I certainly respect your views as well. The Lincoln Center production was done by New York City Opera and was directed by David Johanson who based it on his prior staging at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Donal Henahan's NY Times review had some interesting things to say about how DESERT SONG plays to modern audiences. I think that whether the plot is to be taken seriously or not is secondary to the fact that Romberg produced some really thrilling music that if performed well, really can still please and excite today's audiences. Lets hope that all the filmed versions become available!!

 

[bryan4999]

Hi Bryan - I certainly respect your views as well. The Lincoln Center production was done by New York City Opera and was directed by David Johanson who based it on his prior staging at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Donal Henahan's NY Times review had some interesting things to say about how DESERT SONG plays to modern audiences. I think that whether the plot is to be taken seriously or not is secondary to the fact that Romberg produced some really thrilling music that if performed well, really can still please and excite today's audiences. Lets hope that all the filmed versions become available!!

Wow! Thanks for jogging my memory - and for the reference to the review. I was able to google it and read it, but for some reason I am unable to paste the link here.
I had forgotten that Richard White was The Red Shadow. He was wonderful and I have seen him as The Red Shadow in various productions of Desert Song around the country. Always terrific. (And of course he was the voice of Gaston in Disney's Beauty and the Beast). Interesting how 25 years can blur the memory - I don't recall that NY Opera production as being as old-fashioned as Mr. Henahan suggests, but then, I often disagree with critics anyway, so maybe it's me. I just remember it as being rather formal and stately. Anyway, thanks again - I had somehow lost my program and such for that production and this was a great reminder. Appreciate it!
You are so very right about the music. Romberg's best, IMHO. I do wish for a modern recording of the entire score, in the manner of some of the great new recordings of the Gershwin scores, for example. Richard White could surely still sing it. There are some nice existing recordings, but none are the complete score. There is a complete modern recording of The New Moon that's marvelous; The Desert Song needs and deserves the same.

 

[ajabrams]

Hey Bryan - I was away for a few days and just read your post. Yes, it would be wonderful to have a DESERT SONG recording that equalled that terrific NEW MOON from the ENCORES series. Maybe they'll take it on in the near future. These shows always seem to work best with their original orchestrations and it's always a pleasure to hear them that way. Hope you're surviving the heat!!

 

[bryan4999]

For anyone who might be interested, the wonderful 1958 Living Stereo recording of THE DESERT SONG with Giorgio Tozzi (voice of Emile de Becque in the film of SOUTH PACIFIC and Metropolitan Opera star) has finally been released in all its Living Stereo glory. Mr. Tozzi passed away not long ago.
Although this recording is not quite the complete score, it is nonetheless one of the more complete available. It also presents the music in the order heard in the show, unlike most other recordings of DS. And the other thing I like about it is that it is more than just pretty songs; you can hear the story in the music, and that is my favorite kind of show album.
It is available as mp3 download from amazon.com or as a CD from arkivmusic.com.
I am so happy it is finally available. I can finally retire one of the last of my LPs. It seems almost odd to hear it without cracks and pops. I am hearing nuances in the orchestration I never heard before.

 

[Katty]

I love this musical. I have copies of all the films mentioned in this forum. I have the John Boles version, the "Red Shadow" short, the Dennis Morgan version, and the 1950s version. The Dennis Morgan version was in color. I do have the color version (colors are not very good and the quality is only fair). However, I have a much better copy in black and white. A store used to rent these online but has since gone out of business. The John Boles copy is black and white although it was filmed in color. Far as I know, there is not a color copy that has survived. Too bad.

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by Katty /t/256442/dennis-morgans-the-desert-song/30#post_4014623
I love this musical. I have copies of all the films mentioned in this forum. I have the John Boles version, the "Red Shadow" short, the Dennis Morgan version, and the 1950s version. The Dennis Morgan version was in color. I do have the color version (colors are not very good and the quality is only fair). However, I have a much better copy in black and white. A store used to rent these online but has since gone out of business. The John Boles copy is black and white although it was filmed in color. Far as I know, there is not a color copy that has survived. Too bad.

I'm very jealous of you. I have never seen either the Boles or Morgan versions. I cannot understand why TCM doesn't show these. Certainly there are other early talkies that get shown quite often (The Love Parade from 1929 was just on a few nights ago and Marilyn Miller's Sally and Sunny also make sporadic appearances), and I wonder if there is some sort of rights problem because the Gordon MacRae version doesn't get shown often either. I have it on videotape.

 

[Katty]

I have collected rare movies for quite some time. I especially love the old musicals. I believe the reason that TCM does not show the Dennis Morgan "Desert Song" is because of a dispute over one song----"The Gay Parisian." I believe Robert Osborne gave this explanation several years ago. I don't see why they cannot edit out this song if they could otherwise show it. I know it is in the 1950s version with no problem. These are my thoughts and I may be wrong. But I did lots of research when I first began collecting.
I did record the Marilyn Miller movies. Love those.
I never sell movies but I do share free of charge if possible.
The Gordon MacRae version of "Desert Song" has shown several time over the past few years. I put it over to dvd for my own enjoyment. I have watched it many times. It used to play on tv when I was a child, but back then there were no machines to record things. Thank goodness for TCM and dvd recorders. Also, "The Red Shadow" short does show on TCM from time to time. However, I have not seen it lately. I only wish the original color version of the John Boles' version were available, but, as I understand it, there are no color copies that exist today. What a shame.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Per our forum rules please cease discussing the trading of
bootleg materials.

Thank You

 

[billiethekid]

I saw this movie in the theater in 1943 or 1944, right after it was released I have been trying to find at least the soundtrack for at least 30 yrs. The story is a bit trite, but the music is great. I have not seen the later releases. Billie Scott

 

[Katty]

I wish I could help supply the Dennis Morgan "Desert Song," but sharing movies is against this forum's policies. It is a great film and in year's past it could be rented online. That option is no longer available as far as I know. I have watched it many times. Let's hope that one day a channel like TCM will show it. In another post I said that Robert Osborne stated that there is a legal dispute over one song. I feel sure that sooner or later it will be shown. Let's hope so. Several years ago I heard that Dennis Morgan's wife had a mint copy but never shared it. I never knew any more details. I love the old musicals and have collected them for quite a while.

 

[KPmusmag]

I nearly fell off my chair - Warner Archive is releasing both the 43 and 53 on DVD.

 

[bryan4999]

I got that email, too. It's great news.

 

[JoHud]

Wonder why the '29 version couldn't make it. Still in rehab?