The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writer:

William Anthony McGuire (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 April 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

10 Big Shows In 1

Plot:

This biography follows the ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld, famed producer of extravagant stage revues.

Plot Keywords:

Revue | Sideshow | Florenz Ziegfeld | Composer | Broadway New York City

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

William Powell	...	Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
Myrna Loy	...	Billie Burke
Luise Rainer	...	Anna Held
Frank Morgan	...	Billings
Fanny Brice	...	Fannie Brice (as Fannie Brice)
Virginia Bruce	...	Audrey Dane
Reginald Owen	...	Sampston
Ray Bolger	...	Ray Bolger
Ernest Cossart	...	Sidney
Joseph Cawthorn	...	Dr. Ziegfeld (as Joseph Cawthorne)
Nat Pendleton	...	Sandow
Harriet Hoctor	...	Harriet Hoctor
Jean Chatburn	...	Mary Lou
Paul Irving	...	Erlanger
Herman Bing	...	Costumer

Runtime:

176 min | USA:185 min (roadshow version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2000) | Canada:PG (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | UK:U

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Myrna Loy, who received second billing for this film, does not actually appear on screen until 2 hours and 15 minutes into the movie.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" number incorporates snippets of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", which was premiered circa 1924, but after its performance Anna Held, who died in 1918, is still portrayed as alive and married to Ziegfeld.

Quotes:

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: [after catching Ray Bolger doing a little softshoe backstage] Buddy, you're better with your feet than you are with your broom.
Ray Bolger: Mr. Ziegfeld, you think so? Gee, I wish you'd give me a chance. I've got talent, and I'd like to get away from shifting scenery and moving props.
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: How long have you been a property boy?
Ray Bolger: Five years, but my heart hasn't been in it.
Ray Bolger: You've been working a long time without your heart, buddy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Remembers: Myrna Loy - So Nice to Come Home to (1991) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Queen of the Jungle

What A Lovable Dinosaur

Like some huge, lumbering, Paleozoic beast with a heart, nothing like this film has existed in a long time. And I doubt that there will be anything like it again. "The Great Ziegfeld" is a grandiose, three hour, B&W cinematic opus that chronicles the true story (more or less) of the professional life of legendary producer/showman "Flo" Ziegfeld, played convincingly by William Powell. It is an interesting, lovable film because it is so historically ... quaint.

Structurally, the narrative takes a chronological approach. However, except for the film's starting year of 1893 and the ending soon after the 1929 stock market crash, no dates are given, a shortsighted flaw in the screenplay. But during this roughly forty-year period we see Ziggy's ambition unfurl into a successful career of producing some of the most extravagant musical shows in history. And throughout, the theme remains the same: to "glorify the American girl", that is to say to glorify the early twentieth century stereotyped image of the American girl.

Despite his success as a showman, Ziggy was constantly plagued with financial problems, and embroiled in relations with women, the two most important being: the humorously indecisive Anna Held, and the lovely Billie Burke.

More interesting to me than the biography is the lavish, grandiose production numbers. In the most grandiose of all, Dennis Morgan sings "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody", as the camera ascends a slowly revolving spiral staircase adorned with "Ziegfeld girls" in outlandish costumes. The set, resembling a wedding cake, is about as tall as it is wide, with the stage curtain rising to what seems like stratospheric heights.

The film's strengths are its humorous script, the dazzling sets, the glamorous costumes, the music, a cameo appearance by Fanny Brice, and a great tap dance routine by Ray Bolger. My main complaint is the film's length. Also, I find it curious that this big budget beast with its theme of wealth and beauty came out right in the middle of the Great Depression. MGM must have been on a colossal ego trip.

Overall, "The Great Ziegfeld" is fun, and definitely worth watching, especially as a time capsule to an entertainment era that is gone forever.