''The Merry Widow'' is a 1934 film adaptation of the 1905
operetta of the same name by
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe'').
Life ...
. The film was directed and produced by
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...
starring
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
and
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
with a supporting cast featuring
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons.
Early life
Horton was born in Kings County ...
,
Una Merkel
Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress.
Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...
,
Sterling Holloway
Sterling Price Holloway Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992) was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in ''Dumbo'', Ad ...
,
Donald Meek
Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903.
Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't T ...
,
Jason Robards Sr. and
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...
. 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
Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...
and
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' By ...
wrote new English lyrics for some Lehar songs under the musical direction of
Herbert Stothart
Herbert Pope Stothart (September 11, 1885February 1, 1949) was an American songwriter, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was also nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning Best Original Score for '' The Wizard of Oz''. Stothart was widel ...
.
Plot
Playboy Captain Danilo (
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
) is ordered by King Achmet of Marshovia (
George Barbier) to court and marry Madame Sonia (
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
), a rich widow who owns a large portion of the kingdom.
Cast
English
*
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
as Captain Danilo
*
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
as Madame Sonia / Fifi
*
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons.
Early life
Horton was born in Kings County ...
as Ambassador Popoff
*
Una Merkel
Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress.
Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...
as Queen Dolores
*
George Barbier as King Achmet
*
Minna Gombell
Minna Marie Gombell (''née'' Gombel; May 28, 1892 – April 14, 1973) was an American stage and film actress.
Early years
She was born Minna Marie Gombel in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of William and Emma M. Debring Gombel. Her father ...
as Marcelle
* Ruth Channing as Lulu
*
Sterling Holloway
Sterling Price Holloway Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992) was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in ''Dumbo'', Ad ...
as Mischka
*
Donald Meek
Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903.
Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't T ...
as Valet
*
Herman Bing
Herman Bing (March 30, 1889 – January 9, 1947) was a German-American character actor. He acted in more than 120 films and many of his parts were uncredited.
Biography
Bing was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was son of the opera ...
as Zizipoff
*
Jason Robards Sr. as Arresting Officer (uncredited)
*
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...
as Maxim's Manager (uncredited)
French
* Maurice Chevalier as Prince Danilo
* Jeanette MacDonald as Missia
*
Marcel Vallée
Marcel Vallée (15 January 1880, in Paris – 31 October 1957, in Fontaine-le-Port) was a French actor, primarily of the theater. He began working in films with Max Linder in 1906. He appeared in some American films.
Selected filmography
* '' ...
as L'ambassadeur
*
Danièle Parola
Danièle Parola (March 28, 1905 – September 2, 1998) was a French film actress. She starred in the 1932 crime film '' Narcotics''.Youngkin p.465 She was married to the actor and producer André Daven.
Selected filmography
* '' The Orchid Danc ...
as La reine
* André Berley as Le roi
*
Fifi D'Orsay
Fifi D'Orsay (born Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier; April 16, 1904 – December 2, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress and singer.
Early life
Fifi D'Orsay was born Yvonne Lussier in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a father who was a postal cl ...
as Marcelle
*
Pauline Garon
Marie Pauline Garon (September 9, 1900 – August 30, 1965) was a Canadian American silent film, feature film, and stage actress.
Early life
Marie Pauline Garon was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on September 9, 1898, the daughter of Pierre-A ...
as Lola
*
George Davis as L'ordonnance
* Jean Perry as Le valet
* Akim Tamiroff as Turk
Awards and honors
Cedric Gibbons
Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an Irish-American art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons designed the ...
and
Fredric Hope won the
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in art director#In film, film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. Th ...
.
![Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in The Merry Widow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Maurice_Chevalier_and_Jeanette_MacDonald_in_The_Merry_Widow.jpg)
The film was nominated for the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
's 2006 list
AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals is a list of the top musicals in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute at the Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Holl ...
.
Reception
The film earned $861,000 in the US and $1,747,000 overseas for a total rental of $2,608,000.
It earned a further $151,000 on re-release in 1949–1950 to almost break even.
References
Notes
External links
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Films directed by Ernst Lubitsch
1934 films
1934 musical comedy films
1934 romantic comedy films
American black-and-white films
Films produced by Irving Thalberg
Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Operetta films
Films based on operettas
American romantic musical films
American multilingual films
Sound film remakes of silent films
American musical comedy films
Films set in Europe
Films set in the 1880s
Films set in a fictional country
1930s romantic musical films
1934 multilingual films
1930s American films
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