Search - Hollywood Musicals - Second Chorus / Mr. Imperium on DVD

The flop that Lana Turner was ashamed of!

Dave | Tennessee United States | 06/09/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"To begin with, no one can claim to be a bigger fan of Lana Turner than me. I usually love her films but in this case I was majorly disappointed. In Lana Turner's autobiography she wrote, "I thought the script was stupid. It was the story of a European prince who falls in love with an American nightclub singer. I fought against doing the picture but I lost." Lana also wrote that her co-star, Ezio Pinza, was arrogant, had bad breath, and tried unsuccessfuly to seduce every woman in sight when not working on "Mr. Imperium". Even though I knew what Lana thought of the movie, I still bought the movie (for a dollar), refusing to believe that such a glamorous star could make a flop. I was wrong.

Lana Turner plays the sexy nightclub singer that a European prince (Ezio Pinza) falls in love with, and although she's already got a boyfriend, she slowly falls for the prince. They begin a love affair that will prove to be shortlived. Marjorie Main, Barry Sullivan, and a very young Debbie Reynolds were in supporting roles, but like Lana they certainly deserved better than this near disaster. Ezio Pinza's singing is extremely annoying and pairing him romantically with the beautiful Lana Turner is simply ludicrous and totally unconvincing. The only reason I gave this movie 2 stars is simply for Lana's beauty, but that alone can't save the film. The video from Madacy "Hollywood Classics" is awful, with a shaky picture quality and terrible sound. Trust me, this one just isn't worth watching."

Not as advertised

bonnie dean | 07/30/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"first this movie is not in color. second there is initials in the lower right hand corner of the film that is very distracting. third the sound is terrible. i saw this movie on tv and it was in color. so dont buy this."

Even Lana can't save this one

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 11/22/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"MR. IMPERIUM is, not surprisingly, one of the lesser titles in Lana Turner's resume. Not even her beauty and charm can save this lumbering turkey of a musical.

Turner plays Fredda Barlo, an American cabaret star who becomes romanced by a down-to-earth member of European royalty--known simply as Mr. Imperium (and played by talented opera basso Ezio Pinza). Featured in thankless supporting roles are Debbie Reynolds and Marjorie Main.

Fans of musicals are likely to enjoy it (despite a song about "presto anti-pasto"--what the...?). There's a reason why this movie is now in Public Domain."