Back in the 1930s and 40s, quite a few studio execs thought it wise to sign the strangest actresses to starring contracts....so strange you wonder to day WHAT they were thinking. In an attempt to find 'the next Garbo', for example, a bevy of foreign ladies were signed to contracts although they could barely sing or act. And, a few really strange non-actresses were signed as well---such as the Olympic champion skater, Sonja Henie and a duo of opera singers, Colleen Moore and Lily Pons. Most of these discoveries turned out to be busts and today folks just shake their head at the studios for these oddball actresses.
Of the odd actresses, one of the oddest was Lily Pons. Not only was she French and had an accent so thick you could slice it, she also sang the highest pitch opera known to mankind. If she sang any higher, only dogs would have been able to hear her!! And, because it was so high pitched, it's simply painful to hear her sing...or talk. Fortunately, the famous singer only made four films...and "Theat Girl from Paris" is godawful....mostly because of Pons. Her character is spoiled, grating and difficult to watch unless you are deaf.
The story finds Suzette in the process of getting married. However, she doesn't love the man and is tired of him running her life...so she runs. Soon, inexplicably, she begins following and annoying Windy (Gene Raymond). In fact, she even stows away in the cabin he and his bandmates are sharing back to the States. Why they never turn her in for being a stowaway or for being an illegal alien in the US, I have no idea...especially since she keeps breaking into song...songs that could raise the dead because her voice was that piercing! Soon it becomes obvious she's fallen for Windy...though based on what you see, you have no idea why.
Let's face it....Pons might have been a nice person, but as an actress she was about as welcome as the plague! Audiences were not thrilled and her career (thankfully) was short in films. A painful movie to watch and not the least bit enjoyable. I rather felt sorry for Raymond and the rest of the cast being forced to work with her and endure her awfulness.
Of the odd actresses, one of the oddest was Lily Pons. Not only was she French and had an accent so thick you could slice it, she also sang the highest pitch opera known to mankind. If she sang any higher, only dogs would have been able to hear her!! And, because it was so high pitched, it's simply painful to hear her sing...or talk. Fortunately, the famous singer only made four films...and "Theat Girl from Paris" is godawful....mostly because of Pons. Her character is spoiled, grating and difficult to watch unless you are deaf.
The story finds Suzette in the process of getting married. However, she doesn't love the man and is tired of him running her life...so she runs. Soon, inexplicably, she begins following and annoying Windy (Gene Raymond). In fact, she even stows away in the cabin he and his bandmates are sharing back to the States. Why they never turn her in for being a stowaway or for being an illegal alien in the US, I have no idea...especially since she keeps breaking into song...songs that could raise the dead because her voice was that piercing! Soon it becomes obvious she's fallen for Windy...though based on what you see, you have no idea why.
Let's face it....Pons might have been a nice person, but as an actress she was about as welcome as the plague! Audiences were not thrilled and her career (thankfully) was short in films. A painful movie to watch and not the least bit enjoyable. I rather felt sorry for Raymond and the rest of the cast being forced to work with her and endure her awfulness.