MovieChat Forums > Where Do We Go from Here? (1945) Discussion > Trying to Remember 'Nina, Pinta, Santa M...

Trying to Remember 'Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria' for Decades!

posted 11 years ago by Schmoozette
5 replies | jump to latest

When I was a kid, I saw this movie on TV, and for decades remembered only the Columbus mutiny "mini-opera." However, although I remembered Fred MacMurray, I couldn't identify the movie. I FINALLY found out about it, and the mini-opera is posted on YouTube. What a delight! There is nothing to compare to the wit and good humor of this type of comedy. I like how, in the lyrics, they sneak in a reference to "k-rations," a laugh-out-loud deliberate anachronism. For some time, I thought maybe I was dreaming the whole thing, but thanks to IMDB and YouTube, I've finally pinned it down, and can now share it with others!

[–] tremas-1 11 years ago

Lucky for you, the DVD is now available through moviecollection-dot-com. It was rereleased by 20th-Century Fox in December 2012.
Yeah, I enjoyed the "K-ration" anachronism, but the whole movie is about anachronisms, right?
I, too, saw this movie as a kid and loved it. The music stuck with me and I could hum it at the drop of a hat. Now that I have the DVD, I can sing along with it.
UPDATE: Here's the link to the Movie Collection page:
http://www.videocollection.com/movies/2517324/where-do-we-go-from-here

[–] Schmoozette 11 years ago

It's fun to know that I wasn't the only kid enchanted by it! The "K-ration" line was, I thought, particularly funny because it was sung by the crew, not by MacMurray. I'll look into getting the DVD. Thanks for the info!

[–] tremas-1 11 years ago

One of the funniest anachronisms in the Columbus sequence is the stanza where the chief mutineer sings that he misses his bambino, his macaroni, "and the sextet from Lucia."
First of all, the viewer has to know enough about music to realize that the sailor is referring to the sextet from Act Two of Gaetano Donizetti's opera "Lucia de Lammermoor."
And second, Donizetti didn't compose "Lucia" until 1835. That's 343 years after Columbus sailed for the New World!

[–] tremas-1 11 years ago

TO: SCHMOOZETTE
When you buy your own DVD of the movie, be sure to look at the faces in the dancing chorus of "Morale." One of the sailors who dances next to June Haver is the spitting image of actor JAMIE FARR, who played the cross-dressing Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television series M*A*S*H* in the 1970s.
And I say "the spitting image" because the sailor could not possibly have been FARR, who (according to biographies available in the Web) was born in 1934, only 10 years before WDWGFH was filmed. Still, the facial resemblance is uncanny.

[–] Schmoozette 11 years ago

Thanks for the "notice." Haven't bought it yet, hope I can stream it somewhere, but a fun fact!