The Merry Widow is a 1934 film adaptation of the 1905 operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. The film was directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch and stars Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. A French-language version was produced at the same time and released in France the same year as La veuve joyeuse. Lorenz Hart and Gus Kahn wrote new English lyrics for some of Lehar's songs under the musical direction of Herbert Stothart.
Plot
Playboy Captain Danilo is ordered by King Achmet of Marshovia to court and marry Madame Sonia, a rich widow who owns a large portion of the kingdom.[2]
Cast
English
- Maurice Chevalier as Captain Danilo
- Jeanette MacDonald as Madame Sonia / Fifi
- Edward Everett Horton as Ambassador Popoff
- Una Merkel as Queen Dolores
- George Barbier as King Achmet
- Minna Gombell as Marcelle
- Ruth Channing as Lulu
- Sterling Holloway as Mischka
- Donald Meek as Valet
- Herman Bing as Zizipoff
- Jason Robards Sr. as Arresting Officer (uncredited)
- Akim Tamiroff as Maxim's Manager (uncredited)
French
- Maurice Chevalier as Prince Danilo
- Jeanette MacDonald as Missia
- Marcel Vallée as L'ambassadeur
- Danièle Parola as La reine
- André Berley as Le roi
- Fifi D'Orsay as Marcelle
- Pauline Garon as Lola
- George Davis as L'ordonnance
- Jean Perry as Le valet
- Akim Tamiroff as Turk
Production
In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Andre Sennwald wrote:
It is a good show in the excellent Lubitsch manner, heady as the foam on champagne, fragile as mist and as delicately gay as a good-natured censor will permit. ... Although some of the ensemble numbers, particularly the embassy ball, are breathtaking, Herr Lubitsch is not the man to crush you under a mountain of spectacle. His sense of humor is impeccable and his taste is faultless. So with his actors. There was an inconsiderate rumor not long ago that Mr. Chevalier was diminishing in luster. Let that be spiked at once. He has never been better in voice nor charm. Miss MacDonald is similarly fortunate in the twin possessions of a captivating personality and a lyric voice.[3]
Reception
The film earned $861,000 in the U.S. and $1,747,000 overseas for a total rental of $2,608,000. It earned a further $151,000 on rerelease in 1949–1950 to almost recoup its budget.
Awards
Cedric Gibbons and Fredric Hope won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.[4]
The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2006 list AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals.[5]
References
Notes
- ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- ^ Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation ISBN 0-634-00765-3 page 34
- ^ Sennwald, Andre (1934-10-12). "The Screen". The New York Times. p. 33.
- ^ "The Merry Widow". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ^ "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
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