This is probably the biggest surprise out of what I’ve seen from the Criterion Channel’s Pre-Code Paramount set. It’s weird! Imagine what you’d get if you took an elegant but racy pre-Code plot and mixed it with a touch of the bouncing, musical absurdity of a Disney cartoon from the time. Set in Venice, the whole world around the characters tends to turn musical during key moments of the plot, especially the unforgettable beginning and ending.
It wouldn’t have been…