Heavily inspired by the success that opera singer Gracie Moore had found with picture ONE NIGHT OF LOVE, the considerably less successful ENTER MADAME follows the turbulent relationship between an Opera prima donna (Elissa Landi) and a wealthy fan (Cary Grant) as her career frequently interferes with the quality of their off-again/on-again marriage. The Italian-born Landi (whose singing voice is agreeably dubbed by Nina Koshetz) captures the appropriate poise and aura of a true diva, and Grant lends her able support, but the two have no real chemistry in their scenes together, which causes much of the film to fizzle. Although the simple story is effectively plotted, nicely placed, and features winning supporting performances by Lynne Overman, Frank Albertson, and Adrian Rosley, the picture is simply never able to fully recover from the lack of interest in the relationship between to film's two central characters. It becomes difficult to care much about the characters played by Lundi and Grant after their admittedly entertaining first meeting, and this prevents the otherwise well-made film from rising above mediocrity.

release year: 1935

star(s): Cary Grant