Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I was a bit surprised when I noticed that the leading man (Lawrence Tibbett) looked an awful lot like John C. Reilly! See for yourself."New Moon" is an operetta starring two big-time opera singers of the era, Tibbett and Grace Moore. In many ways it's a lot like a Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy film, though Moore and Tibbett clearly had stronger voices and were singers first and movie stars second. Now I must admit that I hate films with this sort of singing and why I decided to see this film escapes me! On an ocean voyage during the latter days of Czarist Russia, the Lieutenant (Tibbett) meets the Princess (Moore). Despite the huge disparity in their social classes, the two quickly fall in love. However, when they reach port Moore goes off with her fiancé (Adolph Menjou) and seems to completely forget about Tibbett (what a creepy thing to do!). Clearly this lady is interested in marrying for money and prestige.When the fiancé meets the Lieutenant, he decides to get him out of the picture and assigns him to a fort in the middle of nowhere--and a very dangerous one at that. And, Moore does absolutely nothing--again, it's hard to like or respect her. Well, she actually does something--she whips him in the face!! And, you wonder why the film will end with them falling in love for good as per the formula)! I agree with the other reviewer that felt that Moore's character was totally unlikable!! And, as a result, the film seems oddly unromantic and a bit silly. But, being an MGM production, at least it looked nice and the singing, for what it was, was very good.By the way, if you do see the film, get a load of the battle sequences, as they are surprisingly brutal. I liked the guy hopping about on one leg during the height of battle.

There is no escape from the overt silliness in this stage operetta slapped together by director Jack Conway featuring the magnificent voices of Met opera stars Lawrence Tibbet and Grace Moore. The acting is stiff and the the plot inane but it is easy to forgive when one or both launch into song.Michael Petrov, a Russian officer with a roving eye falls for Princess Strogoff on board The New Moon. She reciprocates but withholds the fact she is engaged to his commanding officer (Adolph Menjou) who sensing the spark between the two sends Petrov off to command a fort on the frontier where the soldiers have a habit of murdering commanding officers. He establishes order by shooting a few malcontents but soon finds the outpost surrounded and grossly outnumbered by the enemy. As tensions mount the princess comes roaring up in a Stutz Bearcat to the front gate to find some closure with Petrov. Like I said, quite silly.Pre-dating the more famous singing sweethearts Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald Tibbet and Moore are their vocal equals and then some. With finer production values, technical improvements, better chemistry and the fact that McDonald was a fine actress, the others just superb singers, everything about New Moon is inferior, but watching the pair sing Wanting You and Lover Come Back to Me is solid gold. It nearly makes up for the ridiculous plot and execution of the film which can be remedied in some way by embracing its unintentional humor.

After New Moon had completed its run of 509 performances on Broadway a year earlier, MGM bought the rights to the film and for reasons known only to Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg scrapped the French colonial New Orleans setting and transferred the story to Tsarist Russia. They realized their mistake and 10 years later filmed it with most of the original story intact with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. It's the version that most know today.The score was also mostly scrapped except for some of the most well known numbers. But what MGM did do was engage two of opera's greatest voices to star in this film, Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore.If you were willing to pay some exorbitant ticket prices you could see Tibbett and Moore on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in any number of productions. Or you could listen to them on the radio and on record where they were some of the biggest classical selling artists of their day. Until Mario Lanza came along, Grace Moore in fact was the biggest classical selling artist.And as I'm a real fan of operetta, hokey plots and all, a film like this is a real treat for the ear. Even Nelson and Jeanette don't sound as good as Larry and Grace singing the Sigmund Romberg-Oscar Hammerstein,II score.The plot is hokey however. Tibbett and Moore meet on a sea voyage, the Caspian Sea where Moore is to marry the provincial governor and Tibbett, an Army lieutenant, to take up a new post. Of course they meet on the ship called The New Moon and fall for each other.When the governor Adolphe Menjou hears of it, he gets Tibbett transferred to the far reaches of the frontier where the savage Turkomen are not real accepting of the Tsar's authority. Menjou's character is Boris Brusilov and he's known in court circles as Bedroom Boris so we know it's his vanity that's hurting not his pride. Still Tibbett insults Moore before taking his leave.But Grace does not like to be scorned. She travels with her uncle Roland Young out to the outpost for the sole purpose of slapping Tibbett with her riding whip. But with the Turkomen closing in, she might pay big time for her little temper tantrum.Of course it's ridiculous, more ridiculous than the original New Moon plot. But the chance to see Tibbett and Moore together is well worth it. Gus Shy even though the plot has changed still plays the same role as sidekick to the hero as he did on the stage version. He's the only one from the original stage production to make it on the screen.Roland Young is as always drolly amusing. He steals every scene he's in. The New Moon is for fans of classical voices and escapist operetta of which there are fewer and fewer unfortunately.

In this technically proficient (for 1930) MGM'er, Lawrence Tibbett is wooden; Grace Moore isn't. One listens for the songs which are nicely done. Adolph Menjou is his usual oily presence. Jack Conway does a decent directorial job. I'd rate it 2 and 3/4 stars.