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Absolutely the worst movie.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The Toast of New Orleans is a long way from perfect, but anybody who loves opera and classical music and who is a fan of Mario Lanza will enjoy it a lot. As a lifelong fan of opera and classical music and who likes Lanza's voice a great deal, The Toast of New Orleans was very enjoyable to me.As the review summary says, it's mainly the music and the performance of Mario Lanza that makes The Toast of New Orleans worth viewing. The music is just glorious, Be My Love became Lanza's signature song and not only is it a melodically beautiful song sung beautifully but it does stir up the emotions a fair bit. There are a number of operatic arias from the likes of Carmen and La Traviata(two of the finest operas ever written) and they are guaranteed to delight opera and musical fans. The Madama Butterfly duet scene is truly unforgettable. The music score is just lovely as well. Lanza as ever is in magnificent voice(one of the loveliest and most distinctive tenor voices ever) and proves himself to be a very likable leading man, his acting looking more comfortable than in his debut, That Midnight Kiss.Kathryn Grayson is by no means inferior, she radiates in charm and sings like an angel, while David Niven is wonderfully suave and Rita Moreno turns up in a super dance number, that's excitingly choreographed and exuberantly danced. The Toast of New Orleans also looks grand, with lavish sets and bright colourful costumes and the whole film is very lovingly photographed. The script is appropriately witty and amusing and has a good deal of heart.Where The Toast of New Orleans is let down is in the story, which again like That Midnight Kiss is silly and wafer-thin, except that the story is even more predictable than the story for that film and occasionally drags, I do agree that it's more an excuse to string as many operatic scenes together. J. Carrol Naish tries far too hard for laughs that he comes over as unfunny and obnoxious. Some of the more romantic scenes are a little cold as well, the Madama Butterfly duet is just fine in this regard but Lanza and Grayson's chemistry in That Midnight Kiss, from personal opinion, was warmer and more natural.All in all, a nice film and worth seeing for Lanza and the music. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Hokey almost beyond belief but also bright and colorful this can be enjoyed in a mindless way. The story is meaningless anyway since the picture serves merely as an excuse to highlight both Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza's voices and on that basis it succeeds well. As for the rest of the movie it provides a very young Rita Moreno one of her first roles of any size as Mario's wharf-side spitfire girl, she performs well and has a nice dance number with James Mitchell. David Niven does what he can to make something out of his nothing role as Kathryn's benefactor and his dignity does much to balance out the overacting hamminess of J. Carrol Naish's Uncle Nicky. The real reason to watch this though is a great deal of good music highlighted by the beautiful Be My Love.

It seems fairly obvious that at MGM they were staunch believers in the saying if it ain't broke don't fix it. In 1949 they launched their new signing Mario Lanza in That Midnight Kiss; he played a truck driver who both liked to and could sing as the insipid Kathryn Grayson discovered when he delivered a piano to her home. By chance Grayson was a fledgling opera singer and gave Lanza a send-in with Jose Iturbi. In passing Grayson fell for Lanza but he had an 'understanding' with Marjorie Reynolds. So much for plot. The film made big bucks so they remade it the next year. This time Lanza is a shrimp fisherman who likes to and can sing, Grayson is now a full-fledged opera diva who discovers him by chance and this time around, just so we can't say 'not again', it's Lanza who falls for her and her that has an 'understanding' with David Niven as the impresario who gives Lanza a crack at Madame Butterly. In the previous film J.Carroll Naish scored as Lanza's father so, for extra insurance, he's here again but this time as Lanza's uncle. Subtle, right. There was only one 'new' song in That Midnight Kiss so MGM put Sammy Cahn and Nicholas Brodzsy to work and they came up with Lanza's first million seller Be My Love albeit Grayson sings it first and then they duet. By 1950 there was probably just enough post-war hysteria sill hanging around to make this palatable.

Mario Lanza only did 10 movies, and only two with Kathryn Grayson. She could not get along wt him due to his temper and alcohol abuse. That is a real shame as the two together on the Oscar-nominated "Be My Love" was pure magic. (It lost to "Mona Lisa" in another crash of Academy voters.) Current moviegoers can hear Lanza sing in Zodiac or The Polar Express, but why settle for one song when you can enjoy a half dozen by this wonderful tenor.Those who think of Pavarotti when they think of tenors, will be surprised by Lanza's looks. He is more like Sly Stallone with good looks that the typical rotund singer.This movie was a joy to behold as it was funny and sweet. The great David Niven (Separate Tables, Eye of the Devil) was fantastic.