He also sang Amonasro in "Aida" on November 11, 1934 to similar acclaim. Elisabeth Rethberg, Giovanni Martinelli, and Ezio Pinza were in the cast. However, opera quietly faded from Eddy's schedule as films and highly lucrative concerts claimed more and more of his time. When he resumed his concert career following his screen success, he made a point of delivering a traditional concert repertoire, performing his hit screen songs only as encores. He felt strongly that audiences needed to be exposed to all kinds of music. Eddy was "discovered" by Hollywood when he substituted at the last minute for the noted diva Lotte Lehmann at a sold-out concert in Los Angeles on February 28, 1933. He scored a professional triumph with 18 curtain calls, and several film offers immediately followed. After much agonizing, he decided that being seen on screen might boost audiences for what he considered his "real work", his concerts. (Also, like his machinist father, he was fascinated with gadgets and the mechanics of the new talking pictures.) Eddy's concert fee rose from $500 to $10,000 per performance. Eddy signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he made the first 15 of his 19 feature films. His contract guaranteed him three months off each year to continue his concert tours. MGM was not sure how to use him, and he spent more than a year on salary with little to do. His voice can be heard singing "Daisy Bell" on the soundtrack of the 1933 Pete Smith short "Handlebars". He appeared and sang one song each in "Broadway to Hollywood" and "Dancing Lady", both in 1933, and "Student Tour" in 1934. Audience response was favorable, and he was cast as the male lead opposite the established star Jeanette MacDonald in the 1935 film version of Victor Herbert's 1910 operetta "Naughty Marietta". "Naughty Marietta" was the surprise hit of 1935. Its key song, "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life", became a hit and earned Eddy his first gold record. He also sang "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" and "I'm Falling in Love with Someone". The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, received the "Photoplay" Gold Medal Award as Best Picture, and was voted one of the Ten Best Pictures of 1935 by the New York film critics. Critics singled out Eddy for praise:   Eddy appeared in seven more MGM films with Jeanette MacDonald:    Nelson Eddy also starred in films with other leading ladies:  After Eddy and MacDonald left MGM in 1942, several unrealized films remained that would have reunited the team.