A choppy story makes this musical drama seem rather complete although it's leading lady, Evelyn Laye, is excellent. Much of the film seems chopped up as it jumps several decades from a post World War I tragedy to when she is an elderly singer fighting to stay prominent as other classic singers rise above her. When you first see her, it's difficult to get past the rather shrill voice that now seems rather dated. But perhaps it's the song that she chose to sing in the beginning of the film as when she gets into more well-known classic songs, they are easy to listen to.
I felt I really didn't get to know anything about the real life Nellie Melba whose life this is loosely based on. You get to see how she rises to the top of her field, and how world events impact her career, especially with the men in her life, one of whom is gravely wounded in the war. It's the middle part of the film that is the best as she gets to sing some fabulous arias and goes through suffering as a result of what happens to the man she loves. But all of a sudden, it's pretty much the present day, and she's an old lady, gravely embittered that she's almost forgotten. It's like she's two different people. I actually wouldn't want this to be any longer but it definitely needed a stronger structure to fully work as a successful musical biography.
I felt I really didn't get to know anything about the real life Nellie Melba whose life this is loosely based on. You get to see how she rises to the top of her field, and how world events impact her career, especially with the men in her life, one of whom is gravely wounded in the war. It's the middle part of the film that is the best as she gets to sing some fabulous arias and goes through suffering as a result of what happens to the man she loves. But all of a sudden, it's pretty much the present day, and she's an old lady, gravely embittered that she's almost forgotten. It's like she's two different people. I actually wouldn't want this to be any longer but it definitely needed a stronger structure to fully work as a successful musical biography.