6/20/2022

It was probably a little unfortunate for soprano Mary Ellis (who only died in 2003 - aged 105!) that opportunities to star in these kinds of semi-operatic films were starting to become thin on the ground. Partnered with Otto Kruger ("King Stefan" - who has shades of Leslie Howard about his, I thought)) she portrays the Gypsy leader "Melitza"; his lover and supporter against the ruthless Prime Minister "Lyadeff" (Victor Jory). It turns out that the scheming PM knows that there be oil in them thar hills, it's just that despite hiring two experienced oil men - Barry MacKay and Finlay Currie, he is struggling to find it. One of her people sees an eye for an easy fortune and tells the Minister that the oil is actually on their land, and soon some treasonous shenanigans are afoot to remove the king, his lover and exploit these resources. It'a got a hint of menace to it, but essentially it's a gentle adaptation of a short play with a couple of decently performed (if oft repeated) musical numbers from Ivor Novello and Christopher Hassall. The quality of the production has suffered a bit with age, but it is certainly not lacking in creative ambition and I rather enjoyed it.