The Great Caruso The Great Caruso The Great Caruso is a 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and starring Mario Lanza as the great operatic tenor Enrico Caruso. It was directed by Richard Thorpe, and produced by Joe Pasternak, with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer, from a screenplay by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig. The original music was by Johnny Green, and the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg. Costume design was by Helen Rose and Gile Steele. The film is a highly fictionalized biography of the life of Caruso. The film also features a large number of Metropolitan Opera stars, notably sopranos Teresa
David Caruso and Edward G. Robinson. He said: The ethics of certain actors certainly had a power over me. These guys taught me how to be what I call a stand-up kind of guy. Caruso's first movie appearance was in the 1980 film "Getting Wasted" as Danny. He credits his role as Topper Daniels, "the cadet who nearly drowned", in "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982) as what got him noticed. Caruso then spent most of the decade in supporting roles in films including "First Blood" (1982), "Blue City" (1986), "China Girl" (1987) and "Twins" (1988). On television, Caruso had a recurring