The Great Caruso is a 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Mario Lanza in the title role. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer from a screenplay by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig. The original music was by Johnny Green and the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg. Costume design was by Helen Rose and Gile Steele. The film is a highly fictionalized biography of the life of tenor Enrico Caruso. Mario Lanza stars in the title role as Caruso and Ann Blyth stars as his wife Dorothy; the cast also... includes Richard Hageman, Carl Benton Reid, Eduard Franz, Ludwig Donath and Nestor Paiva. It features a large number of Metropolitan Opera stars, notably sopranos Dorothy Kirsten, Teresa Celli, Lucine Amara, Marina Koshetz and Jarmila Novotná, mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom, baritone Giuseppe Valdengo and bass Nicola Moscona. A couple of the duets Lanza sang for the film's soundtrack were recorded with soprano Elaine Malbin. The film, while following the basic facts of Caruso's life, is largely fictional. The Caruso family successfully sued MGM for damages because of this.
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| Release date: | 1951 |
| Directed by: | Richard Thorpe |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 109 Minutes |
| Producer: | Joe Pasternak, Jesse L. Lasky |
| Music by: | Johnny Green, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi |
| Cinematography: | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Genre: | Musical, Biography |