6 Best Jeanette MacDonald Movies

By Vlad Zakh · July 9, 2026

Jeanette MacDonald reigned as Hollywood’s premier operetta soprano and captivated audiences in a string of lavish musical romances through the 1930s. San Francisco tests a nightclub owner’s romance with an opera singer before the earthquake, Maytime recalls an opera star’s tragic youthful love, The Merry Widow woos a wealthy widow, and The Cat and the Fiddle competes a Romanian composer and an American songwriter. Love Me Tonight and Monte Carlo round out the list.

Maytime (1937)

TMDB ★ 6.9

Charles Judels appears in this musical about an ageing opera singer who recalls the tragic, decades-old love affair that defined her life.

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard · 2h 12m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

San Francisco (1936)

TMDB ★ 6.6

A nightclub owner's romance with a devout singer is upended by the catastrophic 1906 earthquake.

Directed by W.S. Van Dyke · 1h 55m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Merry Widow (1934)

TMDB ★ 6.7

Dorothy Granger features in this Lubitsch musical about a wealthy widow whose fortune draws the attention of a prince tasked with wooing her to save his kingdom's treasury.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch · 1h 39m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Cat and the Fiddle (1934)

TMDB ★ 7.1

Jeanette MacDonald features in this musical about a struggling Romanian composer and an American songwriter who fall in love while competing for the same prize.

Directed by William K. Howard · 1h 28m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Love Me Tonight (1932)

TMDB ★ 6.6

A Parisian tailor poses as a nobleman to woo a lonely princess at a countryside chateau.

Directed by Rouben Mamoulian · 1h 29m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Monte Carlo (1930)

TMDB ★ 6.5

Jack Buchanan is in this Lubitsch musical about a runaway bride fleeing an arranged marriage who falls for a count posing as her hairdresser.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch · 1h 30m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Artiflix · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Jeanette MacDonald Movies

Maytime (1937)

San Francisco (1936)

The Merry Widow (1934)

The Cat and the Fiddle (1934)

Love Me Tonight (1932)

Monte Carlo (1930)

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