Jeanette MacDonald also appeared in several MGM films without Nelson Eddy. San Francisco (1936) with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy was the biggest grossing film for 1936. In the film, Jeanette introduced the song "San Francisco." The Firefly (1937) was another commercial success that proved that Jeanette MacDonald was box office without the need of operatic format or Nelson Eddy. It was set in Napoleonic Spain and she played a Spanish spy. Her leading man was Allan Jones, and he introduced the song "The Donkey Serenade." Broadway Serenade (1939) co-starred Lew Ayres. MacDonald played a Broadway star, but the film didn't do too well at the box office. Smilin' Through (1941), a tear-jerker with Brian Aherne and Gene Raymond, was considered too old-fashioned by the critics. Despite it being filmed in Technicolor it lost money. Finally, Cairo (1942) was a low budget spy-war comedy which did nicely at the box office. MacDonald's leading man was Robert Young; Ethel Waters played her sassy companion.

San Francisco (1936)

MGM
Director: W.S. VanDyke
Cast: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy, Shirley Ross,
Margaret Irving, Harold Huber
Songs: “San Francisco” and “One True Love”  (music and lyrics by Gus Kahn); "Would You" (music and lyrics
by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed)

San Francisco Movie Poster

Clark Gable & Jeanette MacDonald

MacDonald

Gable and MacDonald in San Francisco

The Firefly (1937)

MGM
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Allan Jones, Warren William, Billy Gilbert, Douglass Dumbrille, Belle Mitchell, George Zucco
Songs: “Love Is Like a Firefly,” "Sympathy," and “Giannina Mia”  (music and lyrics by Rudolf Friml and Otto Harbach); "The Donkey Serenade" (music and lyrics by Rudolf Friml, Bob Wright and Chet Forrest)

The Firefly Movie Poster

Jeanette MacDonald

MacDonald & Allan Jones

MacDonald in The Firefly

Broadway Serenade (1939)

MGM
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Lew Ayres, Ian Hunter, Frank Morgan, Rita Johnson
Songs: “For Every Lonely Heart” and "Rhapsody" 
Music by Herbert Stothart and Edward Ward; lyrics by Gus Kahn.

Broadway Serenade Movie Poster

Jeanette MacDonald

MacDonald & Ayres

Smilin' Through (1941)

MGM
Director: Frank Borzage
Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Brian Aherne, Gene Raymond, Ian Hunter, Frances Robinson
Songs: “Smilin' Through” 
Music and lyrics by Arthur A. Penn

Smilin' Through Movie Poster

MacDonald & Aherne

MacDonald & Raymond

Cairo (1942)

MGM
Directors: W.S .VanDyke
Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Robert Young. Ethel Waters, Reginald Owen, Grant Mitchell, Lionel Atwill, Mona Barrie
Jeanette MacDonald sang a medley of songs, “Avalon,” “I Want to Go Back to Michigan,” “Home Sweet Home,” and "Figaro" (a duet MacDonald sung with Ethel Waters)

Cairo Movie Poster

Robert Young & Jeanette MacDonald

MacDonald & Robert Young

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