"The Mikado" and "All Quiet"

Conceive an emasculated stage Mikado with an American crooner in the leading Pole, prefaced by an utterly unnecessary prologue, containing no contralto solos and no "little list" song, presented with lavish settings on a revolving stage, and you have an accurate picture of the film version of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera.

"The Mikado" was first produced at the Savoy Theater fifty-four years ago, and has remained one of the most popular of the series. Yet, despite its elegant tradition, despite Kenny Baker and the prologue, we are reluctantly forced to say that we enjoyed the film version more than the actual opera.