Poet and Peasant Overture (1955) 

*** (out of 4) 

Between 1953 and 1955, MGM released five shorts showing off their orchestra. Alfred Wallenstein leads the MGM Symphony Orchestra as they perform from the Franz von Suppe operetta Poet and Peasant. It should go without saying that there's really not too much to judge via your eyes as this here is certainly meant for your ears only. I've seen a couple of these shorts and there's no question that the MGM band had some terrific musicians who were more than able to handle their parts. The music certainly jumps right out at you and as someone not familiar with the original work, I found the job to be quite impressive. The film also uses the new CinemaScope to try and show everything off but I think this is the weakest aspect of the movie. The director gets all the band members spread apart and this really doesn't have much impact and the way he simply lets the camera roam around doesn't help either. If you're a fan of music then you'll want to check this out as it shows up on TCM a couple times each year.

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Alfred Wallenstein conducts the MGM Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the title work.

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Poet and Peasant Overture

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