I am in my 60's and would have missed this movie, but for my 87 year old mother....an opera buff. She recorded it for me and sent it along on a VHS tape which I avoided at all costs. Last night I plugged it in and have re watched it at least 8 times. I researched the famous book about them in real life, and could not believe her voice.....it was like something surreal to me. I loved this movie so much that I am now ordering ALL the movies made by America's Sweethearts. It is so hard for me to realize the personal life tragedies this pair faced. I recommend this movie to any artist, singer, or person with a tender heart and soul out there! You would not be sorry. You would be captivated.

Rose-Marie's occupation is singing. The Mountie also sings, but not for pay. The Canadian Rockies are gorgeous; they are in Canada. The movie was filmed near Reno. It's a chicks' movie but with benefits. The benefits are...1) watching the guy be aloof and distant. We all need to learn that in the early stages, don't we? 2) guys like camping, don't we? Lots of camping in this movie. 3) I think the horses go in the water. That's cool too, eh?The plot is simple. The characters are complex. The sets vary from the opera stage to the dingiest cabin in the far-flung woods. The clothes are now 70 years old, so that's something.

The characters fulfil the usual requirements for a formula story. Rose Marie begins as a vitriolic,hire-fire personality;Serjeant Bruce does his job,but not without misgivings."It isn't always pleasant.The sad thing (or paraphrase)is when it hurts those you love." And he is wooden and stiff. Of course,he is! He's a policeman! This film offers quite a lot besides: operas from Gounod and Puccini, and Bruce,quoting "This our life,exempt from public haunt,finds sermons in stones,books in the running brooks..." from "As you like it"...hardly the stern Mountie who appears in the song. Leading up to this song,"The Mounties," there is a particularly robust,vigorous show of horsemanship---jumping brooks,hurdles,in a specially virile setting.And in the formula, their characters alter by the ending. Eddy is in excellent voice, probably at his best,hitting a high G in "Just for you", and I would challenge any baritone to accomplish, from head to chest tone, the portamento or change from F to lower A flat in "Indian Love Call". One criticism is that Eddy's moods change with very little transition,and there are many things not PC or legal these days. A socially oriented dialog occurs when she exclaims"I thought all this (the Nature) would make you more merciful". Bruce:"Don't ever think that Nature is merciful.Nature is the cruelest policeman.When an animal sickens, the others turn on him and kill him"There are good supporting roles for Reginal Owens as Myerson,Regas as the guide,and Una O'Connor as Rose Marie's maid. In all this is very good entertainment and beats much that one sees or hears these days.

Though somewhat uneven, with some rather slow stretches, the story and characters are interesting enough in themselves to make "Rose-Marie" watchable, and the cast also adds some important reasons to see it. It's not really among the best movies of its era, but it is entertaining enough to deserve being remembered, if for nothing else than to see Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald in one of their best-remembered musical pairings. James Stewart, in one of his earliest roles, also gives a good performance as a character quite different from those he would play later on.The basic situation is interesting, though the movie takes longer than necessary to set up everything. Once Marie sets off to try to help her brother, it's much easier to maintain interest, especially once she and Eddy's mountie character meet up. The contrasting agendas and conflicting emotions that the two main characters feel present some worthwhile possibilities, and for the most part the story makes use of them.Most of the creaky parts are towards the beginning, although even later on the pace sometimes lags a little. Overall, it's probably a little above average, and made worthwhile for the cast and for a few of its better moments.