SimonJack A balalaika is a three-string instrument played like a guitar. Its body is triangular and the pitch is a higher range. It's one of the principal instruments in Russian folk music. In this film, Balalaika also is the name of a restaurant or nightclub in St. Petersburg during the last years of imperial Russia. Some of the early scenes take place in the restaurant that offers up a good menu of singing and Russian music."Balalaika" is a very good musical romance with a tinge of drama and look at a period in history. The music, performers and the costumes make this film. Ilona Massey appeared two years earlier in "Rosalie" that starred Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell. This film was the only pairing of Eddy and Massey as leads. Massey is excellent in her role as Lydia Marakova. She has a beautiful voice and appearance, and she can act. Others have commented on her fine voice and relatively short Hollywood career. She had only a few more minor singing roles in later films, along with roles in several films of other genres. Massey sings five songs solo or with chorus backing, and she sings several other numbers with Eddy and others. She gives a wonderful rendition of the Russian favorite, "Otchi Chornia" (Dark Eyes). Nelson Eddy plays a double role as Prince Peter Karagin and as Peter Teranda. He has six solo or chorus backed songs. Among these is his marvelous "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (El Ukhnem), which he sings in Russian. Another standout number is from a scene where the Russians are entrenched against the Austrians during the First World War. It's Christmas, and the Russians first hear the Austrians singing "Silent Night" in Russian. Eddy, a prince and general of the Russian army, responds and sings "Stille Nacht" in German to the Austrians. A fine supporting cast contributes mostly to the music and light comedy of the film. Charles Ruggles is superb as Nicki Popoff. Frank Morgan is Ivan Danchenoff, Lionel Atwill is Prof. Marakov and C. Aubrey Smith plays Gen. Karagin, the prince's father. The musical romance of the film overlays a drama with historical aspects. The latter are very awkward. The plot runs from the end days of czarist Russia to the start of World War I. It then jumps past World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution to Paris of the early 1920s. No doubt, Hollywood's attempts in 1939 not to rankle the feathers of the Soviet Union have something to do with the weak historical aspects. The historical is interesting, but that part of the story is very choppy. The film ends in Paris in the early 1920s, with the displaced Russian royalty. This movie is based on a 1933 musical play, "The Great Hussar," that opened in London in October 1933. It was quite successful, enjoying a run of 569 performances through the end of 1936. The movie was well received by critics. In the year that produced the highest number of great films, "Balalaika" topped made a little more than its budget at the box office. The music, performances, sets and costumes contribute to a very good and enjoyable film. "Balalaika" is especially a look at a fine female singer whom many would like to have enjoyed in more musicals.Here are some favorite lines from this film. For more humorous dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie.Peter Teranda, "Don't they put numbers on these houses?" Policeman, "The new numbers are on brass plates. That's progress. The janitors sell the brass plates for vodka. That's Russia."Ivan Danchenoff, after the opera cast applauds following Lydia's audition, "Silence! I don't hire you to applaud but to be applauded."Lydia, to Peter while they are racing in a horse-drawn carriage, "Oh, careful. You're going too fast." Peter Teranda, "Who? Me or the horses?"A soldier in the trenches, "Calvary stew." Another soldier, "We used to ride 'em and now we eat 'em."Jeanette Sibirsky, "What exquisite jewelry." Madam Danchenoff, "I'm afraid they're just copies, my child." Ivan Danchenoff, "Yes, yes. We ate the originals... indirectly."Michael Sibirsky, speaking of his wife, "Once I commanded the czar's own guard. Now she commands me."The elderly Princess Natalya Petrovna asks Nicki Popoff to dance with her in Nicki's Parisian cafe. Nicki, "Oh, your highness. Well, and to think it took a revolution to bring us together."

TheLittleSongbird Balalaika is not the worst of Nelson Eddy's films, that's I Married an Angel and even that for this viewer was not that bad. But it's not even close to the likes of Maytime, New Moon and The Chocolate Soldier. Balalaika is a decent and quite nice film but did come across as very problematic. Eddy has never been the best of actors(his best performances have been in Chocolate Soldier, Maytime and Let Freedom Ring), and Balalaika doesn't really change that perception. He is at least better than he was in The Phantom of the Opera and I Married An Angel and at least he is more convincing as a Russian than he was as an Austrian in Bittersweet. But he is very stiff and wooden here, he has charming moments but he never looks comfortable. The story is also very predictable, cumbersome and even silly(at times), and the pacing can be rather dull. The script fares little better, often awkward sounding and lifeless- the film was strongly censored at the risk of offending so that could be why- while the humour is mild and unfortunately not very funny. Charles Ruggles fares the best in the supporting cast, but excepting the last fifteen minutes where he's affecting Frank Morgan's comic talents are not really put to good use and his performance is somewhat indifferent. The costumes and sets are beautiful, and the crisp black and white photography is especially striking in the Ride Cossack Ride and Stille Nacht (Silent Night) sequences, ones that is stirring for the former and poignant for the latter. The score and songs are a treat to listen to, At the Balalika, Ride Cossack Ride, Song of the Volga Boatmen and Toreador Song are particularly great. Frank Morgan's song in the last fifteen minutes is also very moving, as is the ending itself. Even if his acting is not up to snuff, Eddy still produces some magnificent singing in Balalaika(the best thing about the film), always robust and beautiful and at its best in Ride Cossack Ride and Song of the Volga Boatmen. And extra credit for singing in four languages in one film, you don't hear that very often. Ilona Massey looks absolutely stunning- even that doesn't do justice to her beauty actually- and a worthy leading lady for Eddy. They work well together and blend nicely(if not quite as much as Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald). In conclusion, a nice decent film but a long way from one of Nelson Eddy's finest hours. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Neil Doyle MGM gave NELSON EDDY a chance to co-star with someone other than JEANETTE MacDONALD, but they gave him a lumbering musical about a Russian prince who disguises himself as a commoner in order to woo a princess. It's the kind of story done countless times before and the only distinction here is the music.Nelson sings some rousing Russian numbers and is joined in song by the beautiful ILONA MASSEY, who looks like a younger, blonder edition of Marlene Dietrich, sunken cheekbones and all. Given the complete glamor treatment with glossy MGM close-ups complimenting her vivacious good looks, Massey has what seems a contralto singing voice and not quite the soprano the songs want her to be. Neverthelss, she makes a striking picture opposite the robust baritone who is in excellent voice here.As usual, there are comedy moments to lighten the rather dark story set against the Russian revolution, and these are handled rather indifferently by Frank Morgan, Charlie Ruggles and George Tobias. Sharp-eyed movie fans can catch a glimpse of actor Phillip Terry who is kept mostly in the background during the cabaret sequences.Overall, it's a cumbersome story, with a predictable outcome, that takes too many long stretches between songs to tell a rather tedious story of lovers separated by their politics.

bkoganbing This movie asks the question, can a Cossack boy and a Bolshevik girl find true happiness either in old mother Russia or the new Soviet Union?In this movie the answer is no. Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey are attracted to each other, but background and politics strive to keep them apart.While he was at MGM, Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald did very few films with other leads and in this one Nelson gets to act with the women who he did the second amount of co-starring with. Ilona Massey cuts a fine figure as a revolutionary with her father, Lionel Atwill who is a music teacher by day and a Bolshevik by night.Nelson Eddy apparently liked Russian themes. He did two other films with Russian elements in them, The Chocolate Soldier and Northwest Passage. His singing in Russian of The Volga Boatman is the high point of Balalaika.My favorite performer in this however is Charlie Ruggles. He plays Nelson Eddy's orderly and he plays the fool quite well. He steers clear of politics, but ultimately winds up the only real winner in this movie.Not the best or the worst of Nelson Eddy's screen efforts, but enjoyable.