AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Maurice Chevalier

Artist:Maurice Chevalier
Song:Mimi
Album:Early Movie Hits





Most folks are probably familiar with Maurice Chevalier's role in the 1958 film Gigi and of course the song Thank Heaven For Little girls. But today it's hard to understand how important Chevalier was to film musicals of the 1930s. Mimi is from Chevalier's 1932 hit film Love Me Tonight. He was already a star but this just made him bigger. He was born Sept. 12, 1888 in Paris. He was partner of Frehel and then Mistinguett, one of France's biggest stars. He was wounded and then a POW for two years during WWI. He continued to perform upon his return to France. But he wanted to go to the US so he took English lessons. His appeared in Charles Chaplin's 1922 film A Woman Of Paris. Though Chaplin was known for comedies, this was a drama. He also appeared in the operetta Dede. Though Douglas Fairbanks invited Chevalier to come to Hollywood, Chevalier doubted he would be successful in silent films. So when sound arrived in 1928, Chevalier signed with Paramount Pictures. Innocence Of Paris was his first "talkie" in 1929 and Chevalier sang his big hit Louise. So now he's a star. I can't tell you why Chevalier was a star. It's not like he was that handsome but he had a certain style about him. In 1932, Chevalier starred in the Ernst Lubitsch film One Hour With You. At the time, musical were not popular with moviegoers. But Chevalier's chemistry with Jeanette MacDonald made the film a hit. So Paramount reteamed them in Love Me Tonight with Chevalier singing several Rodgers & Hart songs including Mimi. It was a big hit and Chevalier was a key figure in the popularization of film musicals. You can get all his 30s film hits on this CD from the musical theater and film music label DRG Records. After Chevalier starred in the 1934 film The Merry Widow, he left Paramount for MGM and wasn't as successful there. He moved back to France and continued to perform. He returned to Hollywood in the mid-50s and starred in several films like Love in The Afternoon and Gigi. After a few more films in the 60s, Maurice Chevalier retired in 1968 and died on Jan. 1, 1972 at age 83. He sang the title song of the 1970 Disney animated film The Aristocats before his death. Here is Maurice Chevalier singing Mimi to Jeanette MacDonald from the 1932 film Love Me Tonight.