''The Merry Widow'' (German: ''Die lustige Witwe'') is a 1962 Austrian-French

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

Werner Jacobs Werner Jacobs (1909–1999) was a German film director and film editor, editor. He was born in Berlin on the 24 April 1909. He is best known for his contributions to Modebummel (1951), Der Stern von Santa Clara (1958) and André und Ursula (1955). ...

and starring

Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to: * Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player * Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...

Karin Hübner Karin Hübner (; 16 September 1936 – 25 July 2006) was a German stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in more than forty films from 1955 to 1977. Her name is sometimes given as Karin Huebner. Hübner was born in Gera in Thuringia a ...

and Gunther Philipp. It is based on the 1905 operetta ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'' by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 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 and career L ...

.Von Dassanowsky p.187 It was shot at the

Sievering Studios Sievering Studios were film production studios located in Sievering, a suburb of the Austrian capital Vienna. The studios were established in 1916 by the film pioneer Alexander Kolowrat for use by his Sascha-Film. After the First World War they f ...

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. ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

s Fritz Jüptner-Jonstorff and Alexander Sawczynski.

Plot summary

The story follows the wealthy widow Hanna Glawari (

), who has inherited a vast fortune from her late husband. Her wealth makes her a coveted prize, particularly for the debt-ridden fictional kingdom of Pontevedro, whose economy depends heavily on keeping Hanna's fortune within its borders. When Hanna travels to Paris, the Pontevedrin ambassador Baron Zeta (Harald Maresch) becomes concerned that she might marry a foreigner, taking her millions out of the country and causing economic catastrophe for Pontevedro. To prevent this disaster, Baron Zeta enlists the help of Count Danilo Danilovitsch (

), a charming but irresponsible attaché at the Pontevedrin embassy. Danilo is tasked with wooing Hanna and convincing her to marry a fellow countryman - preferably himself. However, Danilo's mission is complicated by his pride and his genuine feelings for Hanna, whom he had loved years earlier before her first marriage. Meanwhile, a subplot unfolds involving the flirtatious Valencienne (

Geneviève Cluny Geneviève Cluny (born 18 April 1928) is a former French film actress. She appeared in both French New Wave films as well as popular mainstream commercial productions during the 1950s and 1960s. She is credited for the basic idea on which Jean-Lu ...

), the young wife of Baron Zeta, who is conducting a secret affair with the French officer Camillo (

Darío Moreno David Arugete (; 3 April 1921 – 1 December 1968), commonly known under his stage name Darío Moreno, was a Turkish-Jewish polyglot singer, an accomplished composer, lyricist, and guitarist. He attained fame and made a remarkable career centr ...

). Their romantic entanglements threaten to create a diplomatic scandal that could overshadow the main mission of securing Hanna's fortune for Pontevedro. As the story progresses through a series of elaborate balls, garden parties, and musical numbers, Danilo must overcome his stubborn pride and Hanna must look past his apparent fortune-hunting motives. The climax occurs at Hanna's grand soirée, where misunderstandings about money and love are finally resolved. The film concludes with the traditional operetta ending: true love triumphs, the kingdom's financial crisis is averted, and all the romantic complications are happily resolved through a series of strategic marriages and revelations.

Cast

as Danilo *

as Hanna * Gunther Philipp as Hugo * Maurice Teynac as André Napoleon Renard *

as Valencienne, Revuestar * Germaine Montero as Anna, Wirtin von "Chez Anna" * Ernst Waldbrunn as Testamentsvollstrecker * Harald Maresch as Baron Zeta * Herbert Kersten as Dr. Martin * Helmut Lex as Jack Bromfield *

as Camillo, Valenciennes Mann

References

Bibliography

* Von Dassanowsky, Robert. ''Austrian Cinema: A History''. McFarland, 2005.

External links

* * 1962 films 1962 musical comedy films Austrian musical comedy films French musical comedy films 1960s German-language films Films directed by Werner Jacobs Operetta films Films based on operettas Constantin Film films Films shot at Sievering Studios 1960s French films {{musical-comedy-film-stub