The Merry Widow (1934)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Ernest Vajda (screenplay) &
Samson Raphaelson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 November 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

The musical that set all the standards.

Plot:

The small kingdom of Marshovia has a little problem. The main tax-payer, the wealthy widow Sonia (who...

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Cancan Dance | Mythical Kingdom | Mistaken Identity | Parade

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Maurice Chevalier	...	Count Danilo
Jeanette MacDonald	...	Madame Sonia / Fifi
Edward Everett Horton	...	Ambassador Popoff
Una Merkel	...	Queen Dolores
George Barbier	...	King Achmet
Minna Gombell	...	Marcelle
Ruth Channing	...	Lulu
Sterling Holloway	...	Mischka
Donald Meek	...	Valet
Herman Bing	...	Zizipoff

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Because the contracts of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart contained a clause stating they were a team, they both got on-screen credit for the lyrics of the songs, even though only Hart wrote them.

Quotes:

King Achmet: Now tell me, if you weren't married... if you weren't my wife, could you fall for Gabrielovitsch?
Queen Dolores: If I weren't married... if I had it to do over again, and had the choice between you and Gabrielovitsch? Frankly, I'd take you.
[King Achmet laughs contentedly]
Queen Dolores: That shows you what I think of Gabrielovitsch.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Tonight Will Teach Me To Forget

Lubitsch and Lehar

MGM's second version of 'The Merry Widow', this time using the music of Lehar's operetta and starring Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier in the roles previously filled by Mae Murray and John Gilbert in the silent movie.

Jeanette MacDonald is a revelation here if you've only seen her in the films which teamed her with Nelson Eddy from 1935 and 1942. Her Sonia is sparky, flirty, and naughty, and naturally in beautiful voice as ever. Maurice Chevalier brings his considerable Gallic charm to the role of Count Danillo, while familiar character faces of the period flesh out the supporting cast (Edward Everett Horton, Donald Meek, Una Merkel, Sterling Holloway).

The film looks sumptuous, with beautiful sets and striking black and white photography. Definitely one of the key musicals of the 1930s.