Mario Lanza

Superstar matinee idol and singer Mario Lanza stars along with Joan Fontaine and Vincent Price in this musical melodrama about a singer who is torn between the love of two women and his own ambition. After a wealthy but fickle woman (Fontaine) discovers a vineyard worker with a beautiful operatic singing voice, she helps make him a star. But when she breaks his heart, causing him to botch his audition for the Metropolitan Opera, he flees to Mexico, where he falls in love with a sweet farm girl. Just when it looks like he will find happiness, his conniving former benefactor tracks him down. In addition to singing numerous selections from popular operas, Lanza performs a pair of Sammy Cahn/Nicholas Brodszky pop tunes, "Serenade" and "My Destiny."

Mario Lanza was one of the most famous tenors the world has ever known. Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo and Bocelli all trace their inspiration back to Lanza, who became the first true crossover artist when MGM made him a matinee idol during the 1950s. This stunning film traces the legend that was Lanza.