Although they may seem an unlikely pair to modern observers, Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier proved a sensation when first teamed for The Love Parade. Their styles would not on the surface seem to be a great match, but there's an undeniable (and unidentifiable) chemistry between them which fairly lights up the screen. Granted, they have a lot of help from director Ernst Lubitsch, whose legendary "touch" is on every frame of Parade. That touch is blessed with irony, and is essential to the film's success; without that irony, Parade's bubbling champagne of a story would turn seriously flat, and the whole confection would fall in upon itself. Lubitsch also made sure the film was imbued with a distinctive look, in terms of both the art direction and the cinematography, and kept the camera much more active than most musicals of the period. Victor Scherzinger and Clifford Grey provided a very attractive score, providing Chevalier with the suggestive and amusing "Nobody's Using It Now" and the tailored-to-fit "Paris, Stay the Same." MacDonald does just as well, scoring the film's musical highlight, "Dream Lover," and doing it full justice. MacDonald is also at her loosest and most appealing here; the forthright quality that would come in her films with Nelson Eddy is nowhere to be found, and she has a playful sensuality about her. Parade is a delicate, delightful little bonbon of a movie.