The Great Caruso 72 years old

The Intimate Story of a Man with a Voice as Great as His Heart!

The Great Caruso

Loosely traces the life of tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921). He loves Musetta, in his home town of Naples, and then Dorothy, the daughter of one of the Metropolitan Opera's patrons. Caruso is unacceptable to both women's fathers: to one, because he sings; to Dorothy's, because he is a peasant. To New York patricians, Caruso is short, barrel chested, loud, emotional, unrefined. Their appreciation comes slowly. The film depicts Caruso's lament that "the man does not have the voice, the voice has the man": he cannot be places he wants to be, because he must be elsewhere singing, including the day his mother dies. Throughout, Mario Lanza and stars from the Met sing.

Credits

The Great Caruso Cast

Name Character
Bess Flowers She was 52, 85 years old when she died as Front Row Audience Member at 'Lucia di Lammermoor' (uncredited)
Eduard Franz He was 48, 80 years old when he died as Giulio Gatti-Casazza
Mae Clarke She was 40, 81 years old when she died as Woman (uncredited)
Ann Blyth She was 22, now 95 years old as Dorothy Benjamin
Carl Benton Reid He was 57, 79 years old when he died as Park Benjamin
George Chakiris He was 16, now 89 years old as Dancer (uncredited)
Alan Napier He was 48, 85 years old when he died as Jean de Reszke
Jarmila Novotná She was 43, 86 years old when she died as Maria Selka
Ludwig Donath He was 51, 67 years old when he died as Alfredo Brazzi
Richard Hageman He was 69, 84 years old when he died as Carlo Santi
Marina Koshetz She was 38, 88 years old when she died as Vocalist - Opera Montage
Mario Lanza He was 30, 38 years old when he died as Enrico Caruso
Dorothy Kirsten She was 40, 82 years old when she died as Louise Heggar
Teresa Celli She was 26, 75 years old when she died as Vocalist - Opera Montage
Saint Lu She was 31, now 41 years old as Vocal Ensemble (uncredited)

The Great Caruso Crew

Name Department
William Ludwig as Writer. He was 38 (86) years old when He died Writing
Richard Thorpe as Director. He was 55 (95) years old when He died Directing
Joe Pasternak as Producer. He was 49 (89) years old when He died Production
The Great Caruso poster
The Great Caruso (72 years)

The Intimate Story of a Man with a Voice as Great as His Heart!

  • Release day: Monday, April 16, 1951
  • Runtime: 109 minutes