Summary
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 starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald with a supporting cast featuring Edward Everett Horton, Una Merkel, Sterling Holloway, Donald Meek, Jason Robards Sr. and Akim Tamiroff. A French-language version was produced at the same time and released in France the same year as La Veuve joyeuse with some but not all of the same cast (Chevalier, MacDonald, and Tamiroff appear in both versions). Lorenz Hart and Gus Kahn wrote new English lyrics for some Lehar songs under the musical direction of Herbert Stothart.
| The Merry Widow | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ernst Lubitsch |
| Written by | Libretto: Victor Léon Leo Stein Screenplay: Ernest Vajda Samson Raphaelson Marcel Achard (French version) |
| Produced by | Irving Thalberg Ernst Lubitsch |
| Starring | Maurice Chevalier Jeanette MacDonald |
| Cinematography | Oliver T. Marsh |
| Edited by | Frances Marsh (English) Adrienne Fazan (French) |
| Music by | Franz Lehár |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English French (separate versions) |
| Budget | $1,605,000[1] |
| Box office | $2.8 million (worldwide rentals)[1] |
Plot edit
Playboy Captain Danilo (Maurice Chevalier) is ordered by King Achmet of Marshovia (George Barbier) to court and marry Madame Sonia (Jeanette MacDonald), a rich widow who owns a large portion of the kingdom.[2]
Cast edit
English edit
- 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 edit
- 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
Awards and honors edit
Cedric Gibbons and Fredric Hope won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.[3]
The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2006 list AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals.[4]
Reception edit
The film earned $861,000 in the US and $1,747,000 overseas for a total rental of $2,608,000.[1] It earned a further $151,000 on re-release in 1949–1950 to almost break even.[1]
References edit
Notes
- ^ a b c d 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
- ^ "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.
External links edit
- The Merry Widow at IMDb
- The Merry Widow at the TCM Movie Database
- The Merry Widow at AllMovie
- La veuve joyeuse at the American Film Institute Catalog
- La Veuve joyeuse at IMDb
- La Veuve joueuse at the TCM Movie Database
