He was overweight, struggling and stumbles through this story based on a cheap thriller but it was still worth the price of admission. The guy could sing like no one else. His acting was often wooden, his lines delivered like the Pennsylvania Grocer's kid he was. His music was marginal, his phrasing and articulation shoddy but damn, he sang like an angel. This guy was living proof that technique does not always an artist make. The story here, with Joan Fontaine miscast as a man-eater and Kathy Jurado as a Mexican Maja who saves the soul of a lost tenor, is a wide departure from the book which touched on themes of homosexuality, a taboo subject back in the 50s. Sadly, there's no video. No big deal, I suppose, the screenplay story is whining and boring with fun moments provided by the beautiful Ms. Jurado and Vinnie Price as the Impresario. But, Mario's singing rescues it and makes another of the cult classics that all his films are. As a former singer, I'm always amazed at how bad he was as an opera singer but, wow. What a voice. If you get a chance to see this on the late show, check it out. Mario's voice will thrill you.
