Because You're Mine (1952)

Here's the long and the short of it: if you like Mario Lanza, you will like Because You're Mine, and if you don't like Mario Lanza, there's no point in subjecting yourself to Because. Not that there aren't other people in the film. As a matter of fact, there's James Whitmore, who gives a very fine performance as the sergeant who takes Lanza under his protection because he happens to be a huge opera fan. Whitmore does wonders with the part. There's also Doretta Morrow, who has a glorious legit soprano, even if she's not exactly going to set the world on fire with her acting. There's even Bobby Van, who gets to do a nifty little dance routine for no real reason. But mostly there's Lanza, front and center for almost all of the film. He sings about half the time and does what passes for acting the other half. His singing encompasses a wide range, both in terms of his notes and his choice of music; his acting range is rather more confined. Granted, he doesn't get a lot of help from the script; even so, his attempts at handling a humorous line tend to fall rather flat. As mentioned, viewers willing to accept this in exchange for his unique singing should do fine with Because You're Mine. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide