For the First Time (1959 film)

For the First Time is a 1959 musical film directed by Rudolph Maté and starring Mario Lanza, Johanna von Koczian, Kurt Kasznar, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. It was tenor star Mario Lanza's final film, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer six weeks before his death. The film tells the sentimental story of an operatic tenor (Tony Costa) who finds love for the first time with a young German woman (played by Johanna von Koczian), who happens to be deaf.

This article is about a movie. For other uses, see For the First Time.
For the First Time
Directed byRudolph Maté
Written byAndrew Solt
Produced by
  • Paul Baron
  • Alexander Grüter
  • Max Koslowski
  • Alfredo Panone
  • Georg von Block
Starring
CinematographyAldo Tonti
Edited byGene Ruggiero
Music byGeorge Stoll
Production
companies
  • Corona Filmproduktion
  • Orion Films
  • Titanus
Distributed by
Release date
26 August 1959
Running time
92 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • United States
  • West Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000[1]
Box office$1,685,000[1]

It was shot at the Spandau Studios in Berlin and on location in 1958 in Capri, Salzburg, Berlin and at the Rome Opera House. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Hans Jürgen Kiebach, Fritz Maurischat and Heinrich Weidemann.

Reception

Critics singled out Lanza's singing of "Vesti la Giubba" from Pagliacci and the Death Scene from Otello for special praise, with Howard Thompson of The New York Times calling it the tenor's "most disarming vehicle in years."

Cast

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $710,000 in the US and Canada and $975,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,685,000.[1]

See also

References
  1. The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

Cesari, Armando. Mario Lanza: An American Tragedy (Fort Worth: Baskerville, 2004).


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