To Live (1936) Review - A Lot of Singing and Even More Stubbornness

If you have about ninety minutes and you don't mind a movie that feels like it was dipped in pure melodrama, you should probably give To Live a shot. It is very much a product of its time, which means everyone is very loud about their feelings except for when they are being weirdly quiet and stubborn. 🎞️

It’s a great pick for people who love the history of opera or just want to see Tito Schipa at his peak. If you hate movies where the main conflict could be solved by one five-minute conversation, you are going to absolutely hate this one.

Tito Schipa plays this tenor who is basically a superstar. He has this way of walking into a room like he owns the air everyone else is breathing. It’s not even that he’s mean, he’s just... unmoveable. Like a big musical rock.

The whole plot kicks off because his daughter gets seduced by a friend of his. In 1936 movie logic, this is basically the end of the world. It’s not like Party Girl where things feel a bit more modern or scandalous. Here, it is just pure tragedy.

I found myself yelling at the screen a little bit. Why is he so mad? The guy is his friend! But no, the tenor decides he is done with her. Finished. He shuns the marriage and acts like she doesn't exist.

There is this one scene where he is sitting in a chair, looking out a window, and you can realy see the stubbornness in his jaw. He looks like he wants to cry but he’s decided that his honor is more important than his kid. It’s frustrating to watch but Schipa sells it.

The music is, obviously, the best part. When he starts sining, you almost forget that his character is being a total nightmare to his family. His voice has this clear, ringing quality that even a scratchy old recording can't hide. 🎶

I noticed a weird detail in the background during one of the party scenes. There is a guy in the back who looks like he is trying to hide a yawn behind a glass of wine. It made me laugh because the scene was supposed to be very tense. Maybe he had a long day of filming?

The movie drags a bit in the middle. It’s not exactly a fast-paced thriller like The Man from Nevada. It’s more of a slow burn of sadness and regret. There are a lot of shots of people looking wistfully at photographs.

Then we get to the car accident. Oh boy. 🚗

1930s car accidents are always a treat. You can tell it’s a tiny model or just some very clever editing with a ditch. The daughter is suddenly near death, and that is the only thing that makes the tenor change his mind. It takes a literal tragedy to fix his personality.

The hospital scenes are very dramatic. The lighting is super high-contrast, making everyone look about ten years older than they actually are. It reminds me of the heavy vibes in L'orgoglio, where family pride just ruins everything for everyone.

I wish the friend who seduced her had more of a personality. He’s kind of just... there. He exists to be the catalyst for the dad's meltdown, but we don't really get to know him. He’s a bit of a blank slate compared to the tenor’s giant presence.

The reconciliation at the end is sweet, I guess, but it feels a little unearned? Like, you spent years ignoring your daughter and now that she might die, you’re suddenly the world's best dad? Okay, sure. It's very much like Once to Every Woman in that regard—lots of last-minute emotional pivots.

I kept thinking about how the daughter, played by Caterina Boratto, has to spend most of the movie looking like she’s about to faint. She’s very good at looking fragile. Her eyes get realy wide whenever her dad enters the room.

There’s a lot of focus on the sets. The houses are huge and cold. It feels like a metaphor for the tenor’s life—lots of expensive stuff but no actual warmth because he’s too busy being offended.

Is it a masterpiece? Probably not. But it’s a very solid example of why people loved these stars back then. Schipa wasn't just a singer; he was a force. Even when he's playing a character that is deeply annoying, you can't look away.

One thing that bugged me was the sound quality in the non-singing parts. Sometimes the dialogue gets swallowed up by the background hiss. But hey, it’s from 1936. I shouldn't complain too much. 📻

If you’re looking for something light, stay away. This is for when you want to feel a bit miserable and then have a good cry at the end. It’s a movie that really, really wants you to care about the sanctity of the father-daughter bond.

I wonder if people back then found the dad as frustrating as I did. Or maybe being that stubborn was just considered manly back then? Times change, I guess. Anyway, watch it for the singing, stay for the ridiculous 1930s drama. It’s better than most of the stuff you'll find on late-night TV.