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The Merry Widow (1934 film)

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The Merry Widow
Theatrical release poster
Directed byErnst Lubitsch
Written byLibretto:
Victor Léon
Leo Stein
Screenplay:
Ernest Vajda
Samson Raphaelson
Marcel Achard
(French version)
Based onThe Merry Widow
1905 operetta
by Franz Lehár
Victor Léon (libretto)
Leo Stein (libretto)
Produced byIrving Thalberg
Ernst Lubitsch
StarringMaurice Chevalier
Jeanette MacDonald
CinematographyOliver T. Marsh
Edited byFrances Marsh (English)
Adrienne Fazan (French)
Music byFranz Lehár
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • October 11, 1934 (1934-10-11)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
French
(separate versions)
Budget$1,605,000[1]
Box office$2.8 million (worldwide rentals)[1]

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

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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

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English

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French

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Production

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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

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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

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Cedric Gibbons and Fredric Hope won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.[4]

A publicity still of Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier in The Merry Widow

The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2006 list AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals.[5]

References

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Notes

  1. ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation ISBN 0-634-00765-3 page 34
  3. ^ Sennwald, Andre (1934-10-12). "The Screen". The New York Times. p. 33.
  4. ^ "The Merry Widow". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  5. ^ "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
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