Macdonald is sonia, the eponymous widow, who inherited her husbands vast fortune. In the plot, jeanette macdonald is the superwealthy young widow who possesses the principal funds in the. The merry widow is a film directed by ernst lubitsch with maurice chevalier, jeanette macdonald, edward everett horton, una merkel, year. It started off just so damn twee and i realized i wasnt in the mood, so i put it away and went back a few weeks later.
The librettists, viktor leon and leo stein, based the story concerning a rich widow, and her countrymens attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband on an 1861 comedy play, lattache dambassade the embassy attache by henri meilhac. The barretts of wimpole street film, 1934 wikipedia. The following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total. One of the plot elements of both the lehar and the lubitsch is the need for the tiny country to have the widow marry to keep her millions in the countrys bank. The merry widow is a more reflective, somber and emotionally ambivalent film than lubitschs earlier efforts, a movie that seems very much aware of the passing of time and encroaching mortality that the earlier works had so elegantly suppressed. Enjoyed this film very much for nostalgic reasons especially. Her husband was by far the richest man in the tiny principality of marshovia, and sonia now pays 52% of the countrys taxes. Media in category the merry widow 1934 film the following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total. Merry widow waltz lyrics international lyrics playground. I would say that the merry widow, this 1934 version, is one of the greatest musical classics around. Once you select rent youll have 14 days to start watching the movie and 24. This 1952 version of the merry widow couldnt possibly compare to the 1934 lubitsch production, but mgm went all out to make a lavish, colorful film starring lana turner and fernando lamas. The third film version of franz lehars 1907 operetta, the merry widow 1934 was the first talking version, and thus the first to take full advantage of lehars glorious music.
Protagonisti koje tumace fredric march i norma shearer su elizabeth barrett i robert browning, dvoje engleskih pjesnika koje je spojilo medusobno divljenje prema pjesnickom djelu. Detailed information about this film is available from the afi catalog of feature films at, or by clicking here. T his version of the merry widow based on the popular franz lehar operetta and directed by the great ernst lubitsch was the second of three made by mgm film studios. Given that douglas shearers decades of work for mgm is unparalleled, i can only imagine that i was watching a less than superb print, this being a 1935 film after all. The merry widow spread from vienna to berlin and hamburg, and then to london and broadway, on a spectacular opening night at the new amsterdam theatre in 1907. Based on franz lehars operetta, the merry widown is an amusing and intelligent film. Nelson eddy liked to listen to the 78 recording of jeanette singing. The merry widow 1934ko ernst lubitsch alemaniar zinema zuzendariaren filma da. Film critics and historians generally tend to focus on a couple of his early, precode paramount talkies, one hour with you codirected with george cukor and trouble in paradise, and his later comedies ninotchka and to be or not to be. The merry widow is a 1934 musical comedy film directed by ernst lubitsch, starring maurice chevalier and jeanette macdonald. The 1934 version of the merry widow was a marvelous old film for several important reasons.
For the merry widow dance number, mgm hired over five hundred extras, according to a hollywood reporter production news item. A prince from a small kingdom courts a wealthy widow to keep her money in the country. Expertly directed by the masterful lubitsch, the film balances its plot twists, costume and set design, songs, and onscreen chemistry extremely well, making the merry widow an allaround delight of 1930s filmmaking. A playboy prince from a small country is forced to court a wealthy widow in. At the time this movie was filmed 1934, it was done so in english and in french. Warner archive restores the merry widow the new york times. Sonia jeanette macdonald, the richest woman in warshovia has been widowed, might be hooked by a foreigner and send the countrys economy into a tailspin.
In the plot, jeanette macdonald is the superwealthy young widow who possesses the principal funds in the fictitious tiny country of the tiny kingdom of marshovia. It balances the field by making the heroine a widow therefore sexually. Across profound generational shifts in popular taste, it remains to this day the most performed operetta of all time, which at the time of its birth 1905, december 30th was a more competitive title. To be sure, the film uses some of the music, albeit in odd places.
The merry widow might not be the best lubitsch it doesnt quite touch our hearts but it is the quintessential lubitsch in that it delights the eye, the ear and the mind. It was directed and produced by ernst lubitsch and starred maurice chevalier and jeanette macdonald. Released in october 1934, the merry widow brought to an end the spirited. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your rotten tomatoes account against an email address associated with.
In the film, sonias hat has a veil that comes down to. All four of those films are available in an essential box set from. Danilo maurice chevalier gets caught by the king george barbier making love to his wife and the queen una merkel is so complimentary. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your rotten tomatoes account against an. It was directed and produced by ernst lubitsch and starred maurice. The merry widow 1934ko filma wikipedia, entziklopedia. The merry widow 1934 by toronto film society on february 15, 2020 toronto film society presented the merry widow 1934 on sunday, april 25, 1982 in a double bill with easter parade as part of the season 34 sunday afternoon film buffs series, programme 10. Trailer to metrogoldwynmayers 1934 version of the musical the merry widow. Maurice chevalier jeanette macdonald edward everett horton. Barrettovi iz ulice wimpole je americki crnobijeli biografski film snimljen 1934. A french version of this film, also starring maurice chevalier and jeanette macdonald, was. Predstavlja adaptaciju istoimene drame rudolfa besiera. It took me two tries to watch the merry widow, the jeanette macdonaldmaurice chevalier precode adaptation of the famous operetta.
May, 1934 merry widow jeanette macdonald star fashion cinema it cast statue baron black and white film. Such is the plot of franz lehars operetta the merry widow, set in one of those middleeuropean nevernevercountries. I saw this movie projected on the big screen in the 30s as well as all the other jeanette films. In addition, mgm representatives in europe were arranging to film a promotional short with lehar. The merry widow is a 1934 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by franz lehar. A frothy, highspirited gem based on franz lehars operetta, the merry widow set the standard for musicals to come. The legendary cedric gibbons would also take home one of his 11 oscars for the art direction on the film. At the time this movie was filmed 1934, it was done.
Sonia is an immensely wealthy widow from marshovia, a small country where she controls half the wealth. Arguably the greatest of the hollywood operettas, this version of the merry widow is a sumptuous. The merry widow is neither one of ernst lubitschs most discussed nor bestliked films. Goddamn, andre sennwald of the new york times, what a weird. A frenchlanguage version was produced at the same time and released. Modern sources note that the trailer for the film included footage of lehar conducting an orchestra. The country depends on her spending her money there and when she. Notable for the first film teaming powell and loy who later would become famous with the thin man series and for being the film that bank robber john dillinger watched for its similarity to his own life, prior to being killed outside chicagos biograph theatre by the fbi in 1934. A french version of this film, also starring maurice chevalier and jeanette macdonald, was filmed at the. Jul 25, 2017 the last teaming of jeanette macdonald, maurice chevalier and director ernst lubitsch.