Word: lanza
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...London, crowds gathered in Leicester Square to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II, who arrived to preside over her first command film performance-Because You're Mine, starring Mario Lanza. The new black & white "magpie" evening gown, which the Queen wore for the occasion, turned out to be a star attraction too. Three days later, West End department stores reported that a copy of the Queen's gown (price: $27) was a sellout item...
Because You're Mine (MGM) is an undernourished cinemusical starring a slimmed-down (156 Ib.) Mario Lanza (who tipped 220 Ibs. in last year's The Great Caruso). Lanza plays a drafted opera star who gets involved with a hardboiled, musically inclined sergeant (James Whitmore) and his pretty, singing sister (Doretta Morrow). In the course of the plot, Lanza, singing in a voice distinguished for its sheer volume, delivers 14 numbers, ranging from Il Trovatore and Cavalleria Rusticana arias to All the Things You Are, in a variety of settings, from an opera stage and a nightclub...
...Lanza's new picture was to be The Student Prince. At his studio's urging, Tenor Lanza whittled down his overstuffed, 2201b. hulk to a romantic, semi-princely 178 Ibs. But on shooting day, Mario did not feel like working...
...sulky mood continued for the next fortnight, with off & on suspensions and promises to report. Meanwhile, the cast and crew of The Student Prince stood by -at a reported cost to the studio of $20,000 a day. Finally, with Lanza apparently still not feeling up to his work and still making no reasonable explanation, M-G-M announced that it had canceled production of the Prince, and would sue Lanza for breach of contract and over $700,000 in costs...
...fine print was another pretty severe penalty: the studio suspension automatically cancelled Tenor Lanza's Coca-Cola-sponsored radio show, and the sponsor announced that the Lanza contract, which runs out the end of September, would not be renewed...