''The Merry Widow'' is a 1952 American 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 a ...

. It starred

Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized pe ...

(whose singing voice was dubbed by

Trudy Erwin Trudy Erwin (born August 12, 1918 – October 29, 2000) was an American singer and actress in films who was a vocalist with the Kay Kyser orchestra in the 1940s. She recorded several hit songs including the 1943 duets with Bing Crosby "People Wil ...

) and

Fernando Lamas Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos (January 9, 1915 – October 8, 1982) was an Argentine-American actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas. Biography Argentina Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos was born in Buenos Aires, Ar ...

. The film received two

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nominations: for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color (

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 ...

, Paul Groesse,

Edwin B. Willis Edwin Booth Willis (January 28, 1893 – November 26, 1963) was an American motion picture set designer and decorator. Willis worked exclusively at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios for his entire career. During his career as a set designer Willis w ...

Arthur Krams Arthur Krams (July 15, 1912 – September 29, 1985) was an American set designer. He first made a name for himself working for MGM on films such as '' Holiday in Mexico'', '' Easter Parade'' and ''The Student Prince'' in the mid 1940s. Later, he w ...

) and Best Costume Design, Color.

Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United St ...

provided revised lyrics for a greatly abridged score of the operetta conducted by Jay Blackton.

Plot

At a New Year's Eve party in 1899, the King of Marshovia, a small European country with financial difficulty, dispatches Marshovia's ambassador to the United States to invite a young, rich widow, Crystal Radek, to Marshovia for the unveiling of a statue in honor of her deceased husband, Charlie, a Marshovian native. The king's underlying reason is to access her wealth for the nation's coffers; and, he sends out Count Danilo hoping the count can woo her. Crystal and her secretary, Kitty Riley, arrive without anyone receiving them; but, they see Count Danilo singing and dancing with the townspeople. Crystal and Kitty report to the palace. The king directs the count sing as Crystal stands in the balcony window of her bedroom, and she is impressed. The count, a ladies' man, is not interested in settling down; but, the king orders otherwise. Count Danilo calls on Crystal, but leaves after thinking Kitty is Crystal. Crystal discovers she was invited because of her wealth, and begins packing for her return to America. However, she remains attracted to Danilo. Because of Danilo's mistake, the two ladies allow Kitty to assume Crystal's identity as the widow Radek. Crystal attends a party where she meets Danilo who is immediately attracted to her. Crystal says her name is "Fifi" and feigns ignorance of who he is. They go to his upstairs living quarters but Crystal angrily chides Danilo for his lecherous manner and walks out. She then returns, apologizes, and they profess their love for each other. Crystal leaves without Danilo knowing where "Fifi" lives. As Danilo searches for "Fifi," Crystal wants to be sure Danilo loves her for herself and not for her wealth. Danilo finds her, but because of his orders from the king to woo the widow, he refuses to commit himself to "Fifi." Crystal reveals her true identity to the count, but because of their mutual deception toward each other, the couple separates. The king says "heads will roll" because of this. Crystal, however, pays off the nation's debt and intends to leave. No longer forced to woo Crystal, Danilo still professes his love for her and the couple reunites.

Cast

as Crystal Radek *

as Count Danilo *

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 Kitty Riley. Merkel played Queen Dolores in the 1934 film version. *

Richard Haydn Richard Haydn (born George Richard Haydon, 10 March 1905 – 25 April 1985) was a British-American comedy actor. Some of his better known performances include his roles as Professor Oddley in '' Ball of Fire'' (1941), Roger in '' No Time for Lo ...

as Baron Popoff * Thomas Gomez as the King of Marshovia *

John Abbott Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party. Abb ...

as the Marshovian ambassador *

Marcel Dalio Marcel Dalio (born Marcel Benoit Blauschild; 23 November 1899 in Paris – 18 November 1983) was a French movie actor. He had major roles in two films directed by Jean Renoir, '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) ...

as the police sergeant *

King Donovan King Donovan (January 25, 1918 – June 30, 1987) was an American film, stage, and television actor, as well as a film and television director. Early years Francis King Donovan was born in Manhattan on January 25, 1918. His parents were vaudev ...

as Nitki *

Robert Coote Robert Coote (4 February 1909 – 26 November 1982) was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of ''My Fai ...

as Marquis de Crillon * Lisa Ferraday as Marcella *

Joi Lansing Joi Lansing (born Joy Rae Brown, April 6, 1929 – August 7, 1972) was an American model, film and television actress, and nightclub singer. She was noted for her pin-up photos and roles in B-movies, as well as a prominent role in the famous o ...

as a Maxim's girl (uncredited) * Lisa Golm as Queen (uncredited)

Gwen Verdon Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon (January 13, 1925October 18, 2000) was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for t ...

and

Matt Mattox Matt Mattox (August 16, 1921 – February 18, 2013) was an American jazz and ballet dancer. He was a Broadway performer and a specialty dancer in many Hollywood musicals. His best-known film role was as Caleb Pontipee in the 1954 film ''Seven Brid ...

performed specialty dances choreographed by Jack Cole.

Reception

According to MGM records, the film made $2,232,000 in the US and Canada and $2,268,000 overseas resulting in a profit of $27,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merry Widow, The 1952 films 1950s romantic musical films American romantic musical films Films directed by Curtis Bernhardt Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films set in Europe Films set in the 1900s Operetta films Films based on operettas Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films with screenplays by William Ludwig Films with screenplays by Sonya Levien 1950s English-language films 1950s American films