For the First Time (1959 film)
| For the First Time | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Rudolph Maté |
| Produced by |
Corona Filmproduktion Orion Films Titanus |
| Starring |
Mario Lanza Johanna von Koczian Zsa Zsa Gabor |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
|
Release date
|
26 August 1959 |
|
Running time
|
92 min. |
| Country | Italy and United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $500,000 |
| Box office | $1,685,000 |
For the First Time is tenor star Mario Lanza's final film, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1959.
Filmed on location in 1958 in Capri, Salzburg, Berlin and at the Rome Opera House, the film told 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.
The film was directed by Rudolph Mate, and featured Kurt Kasznar and Zsa Zsa Gabor in supporting roles. 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."
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.
Cesari, Armando. Mario Lanza: An American Tragedy (Fort Worth: Baskerville, 2004).
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