''Goodnight, Vienna'' is a 1932

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and starring Jack Buchanan,

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in British cinema for 2 ...

and Gina Malo. Two lovers in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

are separated by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but are later reunited. Based on a radio

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

written by

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, ...

, it features the song "Good-night, Vienna". Wilcox reportedly cast Neagle, whom he would later marry and direct in many films, after discovering her by chance in a stage show.Street p.165

Plot

Max is an Austrian officer in the army and son of a highly placed general. His father wants him to marry a Countess but he has fallen in love with Vicki. Attending a party given in his honour, they are informed that war has broken out. Max writes a note to Vicki and goes off to war. Unfortunately the note is lost. Some time after the war, Max is just a shoe shop assistant while Vicki is now a famous singer. They meet and at first she snubs him but then falls in love with him again.

Cast

* Jack Buchanan - Captain Maximilian Schletoff *

- Vicki * Gina Malo - Frieda * Clive Currie - General Schletoff * William Kendall - Ernst *

Joyce Bland Joyce Bland (10 May 1906 – 24 August 1963) was a Welsh film actress. Early life Joyce Bland was born in 1906, at Caerleon, Wales. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Career Bland made her stage debut on tour in 1927 in ''Th ...

- Countess Helga * Gibb McLaughlin - Max's Orderly * Herbert Carrick - Johann * Clifford Heatherley - Donelli * O. B. Clarence - Theatre Manager * Peggy Cartwright - Greta * Muriel Aked - Marya * Aubrey Fitzgerald - Waiter

Production

Herbert Wilcox was played the score by Eric Maschwitz and George Posford. He liked it and bought the rights. Within a week Wilcox persuaded Jack Buchanan to play the lead. He wanted Lea Seidl or Evelyn Lane to play the female lead but neither was available. He went to tell Buchanan that the film was going to be postponed; Buchanan was playing in a show ''Stand Up and Sing'' with Anna Neagle. Wilcox was impressed by Neagle and cast her at a fee of £150. The film was shot in three weeks before Buchanan had to leave to appear in ''Stand Up and Sing'' at Liverpool. During the making of the film, Wilcox and Neagle fell in love

Reception

The film was Wilcox's most commercially successful until that time.

Cultural references

* In the TV Series

Rising Damp ''Rising Damp'' is a British sitcom, written by Eric Chappell and produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, which was originally broadcast from 2 September 1974 until 9 May 1978. Chappell adapted the story from his 1973 stage play ''The Banana ...

the lead character Rigsby often puts his cat Vienna out with the phrase "Goodnight, Vienna". * The phrase is used in the TV Movie Housewife, 49 when someone passes away. *

Goodnight Vienna ''Goodnight Vienna'' is the fourth studio album by Ringo Starr. It was recorded in the summer of 1974 in Los Angeles, and released later that year. ''Goodnight Vienna'' followed the commercially successful predecessor ''Ringo (album), Ringo'', a ...

is the title of the fourth album by ex-Beatle

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

. * In the opening scene of the ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Aca ...

'' episode '' The Purity of the Turf'',

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

, in the character of

Bertie Wooster Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intellige ...

, sings fragments of the film's title song. * In the BBC's Sherlock, "The Great Game" (Series 1: Episode 3), Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock examines a corpse, saying, "Nasty wound. Tetanus bacteria enters the bloodstream... Good night, Vienna." *In the video game Bloons Tower Defense 6, upon seeing a B.A.D, the hero Benjamin will simply say "Goodnight, Vienna." *In the film '' The Death of Stalin'',

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer, presenter and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Fast Show'' and has starred with Harry Enfield in the shows ''Harry & Paul'' and ''Ha ...

plays

Anastas Mikoyan Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (; , ; ; – 21 October 1978) was a Soviet statesman, diplomat, and Bolshevik revolutionary who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the head of state of the Soviet Union. As a member of th ...

who tells

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...

's character, Malenkov: "I salute you, top boy, and I salute your haircut. Goodnight, Vienna."

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Street, Sarah. ''British National Cinema''. Routledge, 2009.

External links

* 1932 films 1932 musical films British musical films Films directed by Herbert Wilcox Operetta films Films set in the 1910s Films set in Vienna British World War I films British black-and-white films British and Dominions Studios films Films shot at Imperial Studios, Elstree 1930s British films {{UK-musical-film-stub