Mario Lanza

That's Entertainment!

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.

Mario Lanza: The American Caruso

Plácido Domingo hosts this tribute to American tenor Mario Lanza. Interviews, rare footage and vintage recordings chronicle Lanza's life from his Philadelphia childhood to his meteoric rise as an opera singer and film actor and his tragic death. Credited with bringing opera and classical music into the home of everyday Americans, Lanza starred in That Midnight Kiss and The Toast of New Orleans and portrayed Enrico Caruso in The Great Caruso.

The Great Caruso

Enrico Caruso's only passion is to sing. For that, he leaves his hometown of Naples, Italy, and travels to America to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. At first, his lack of education and poor background make him an outcast in the high-class opera world. Eventually, his voice wins him both fans and the hand of his love, Dorothy. But his nonstop pace and desire to perform at any cost eventually take their toll on the singer's health.

Because You're Mine

A famous opera singer falls for his sergeant's sister at boot camp.

The Student Prince

A prince has a romance with a barmaid before he must give up personal happiness for duty.

Mario Lanza: The Best of Everything

Before Elvis and The Beatles - there was Mario Lanza. Trained for a career in opera, Lanza became the first true crossover artist when MGM made him a matinee idol during the 1950's with box office hits such as 'The Toast of New Orleans' and 'The Great Caruso'. With his unique blend of both classical and popular music, Lanza's recordings of 'The Loveliest Night of the Year', 'Beloved' and his signature ballad, 'Be My Love' sold in their millions. But within 10 years, the star that glowed so brightly burned itself out - and Lanza's sudden death in 1959 at the age of 38 was the first tragic death of the modern pop and rock era.

The Toast of New Orleans

Snooty opera singer meets a rough-and-tumble fisherman in the Louisiana bayous, but this fisherman can sing! Her agent lures him away to New Orleans to teach him to sing opera but comes to regret this rash decision when the singers fall in love.

Winged Victory

Pinky Scariano, Allan Ross, and Frankie Davis all join the Army Air Forces with hopes of becoming pilots. In training, they meet and become pals with Bobby Grills and Irving Miller, and the five struggle through the rigid training and grueling tests involved in becoming pilots. Not all of them succeed, and tragedy awaits for some.