That Midnight Kiss / The Toast of New Orleans

A Kid From Philadelphia,: Mario Lanza: The Voice of the Poets I love these two movies. The story is simple, it has a happy ending but most of all, it has Mario Lanza. He was amazing. These were his first films and they were hits. I recommend them. It is impossible not to enjoy this amazing star of yesteryear who is as fresh today as he was over 50 years ago.Mario Lanza was the most versatile tenor who ever walked on a stage. He could sing opera like the greatest tenors of all time. He was a master at "crossing over" from lyric opera to popular singing. As a result, he was a top recording artist and concert performer. After making these two movies, he made the film that made his a legend. In the "Great Caruso" he also showed he could be a global movie sensation. The movie about the amazing Neapolitan tenor actually was about Mario Lanza. It turned the Great Caruso into the Great Lanza. He exhibited all of his splendid qualities.The movie inspired me to write my recent book about Mario Lanza: "A Kid from Philadelphia, Mario Lanza, the Voice of the Poets." It is not a biography. There have been several excellent bios about him. This is a book from a fan. It exhibits his qualities, talents, passion and love for his art. I wanted it to be a "page turner" that would be impossible to put down while listening to the magnificent voice of Mario Lanza.Anyone who loves Lanza the movie star, the tenor, the popular singer and the human being who did so much in such a short time will love these two films.

Mario Lanza was the greatest tenor of all time. And his vibrant personality was like a super-nova that burns so brightly that it incinerates itself. This is most evident In "The Toast of New Orleans”. The life force that burned inside him was so powerful that it electrified the entire movie. You can feel the energy radiating from him like a nuclear furnace. In one scene, the shocked expression on Kathryn Grayson’s face says it all.Mario’s expansive and exuberant love of life was too much for any physical body to contain, and sadly, the world lost his earthly presence. But he left behind some wonderful movies and recordings of his magnificent voice that have never been equaled... at least not until now...Suddenly...as if from nowhere, an unknown young tenor with the same "fire" has appeared on the music scene. Could he be the reincarnation of Mario Lanza? How else can you explain a 17-year-old who sings operatic arias as naturally as he breathes, and already sounds better than the leading tenors of today. His name: Jonathan Antoine.(If this review was helpful in any way, please click on the "Helpful" key below, or write a comment. Thanks).

Mario Lanza the "Voice of the Century"

SPOILER ALERT: Watch The Toast of New Orleans first. It's a far superior movie with better sound. That Midnight Kiss is not recorded quite as well, but the main problem with it is that it's packed with blatantly, irritatingly artifical plot elements and the ending doesn't make any sense. At the end, when Johnny shows up on stage instead of Betelli, Prudence still has no way knowing that he will not be marrying Mary and that he hasn't been using her, Prudence, just to get into opera. Yet she falls into his arms. I was very disappointed. Five stars for The Toast of New Orleans and three, at best, for That Midnight Kiss.

These are his first two Motion Pictures. And in my opinion, the best, especially The Toast of New Orleans. So much talent in one person is awe striking. He can sing, he can dance, he can act, he can be serious, and he can be funny. I love these two movies.

I enjoy both DVD's very much. For some reason I cannot play Midnight kiss on my DVD Player, only on my Computer. It is not very convenient forme. It just tells me it cannot perform this disk when I try. I was confused about the other items I wanted to order. It didn't make it clear if the olderChristmas Mario Lanza was a CD or an old 78 recording. Please advise, hopefully you are selling CD's now and not old 78. Thanks

That Midnight Kiss and The Toast of New Orleans take us back to a time in the history of film making that has never been equalled. Everything about these films seems to work. The stars were superb, and the costumes and sets were magnificent. The stories were light and frothy, and there were no real attempts to create "real" stories. The audiences happily suspended their disbelief, and were contnent to be carried away by the beauty and purity of the music. Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza were magnificent singers and were perhaps at their best in opera and operatic inspired music, a regular feature of films starring these two singers. We may well have been seeing the beginning od "crossover" music here. These films represent the best in production values of their day, and were made in 1949 and 1950 when the world was still expressing the joys of the early Post-War period. Definitely 5 star.

I saw this movie (The Midnight Kiss) when I was 13 years old and became a fan of Mario Lanza's after that and still am at over 70 years. I believe he looked his best in this movie. It looked like they lightened his hair a little and it was styled better than some of his other movies. His eyes are so expressive and sexy in this movie also. Love his voice. Enjoy any movie he is in. Toast of New Orleans was a cute movie that showed Mario could act pretty well to be a "country bumpkin" and change into a gentleman. Love the scene of "Madam Butterfly" which I thought showed Mario had quite a bit of sex appeal. "Wow". Even an "old" lady can appreciate that.

Love Mario Lanza ❤️ Love all his movies ❤️ Brilliant singer and actor. So happy with my order. Thank you very much from a VERY HAPPY customer!.

Bought as a gift for my daughter's in-laws, they are delighted with the DVD having seen the movies many moons ago.I was a bit wary ordering this American Region 1 DVD but played fine on my old player and new Blu-ray machine and more importantly on their machine. No problem either regarding Customs and Excise warning.

The first two films from Mario Lanza, very good quality and songs from the fifties.

I love all the old movies, and Mario Lanza is one of old time greats. Used to watch his movies as a young girl

Bought it for my Mum she loves it thank you!