''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 a ...

. 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 H ...

and

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', '' Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow'' and '' On ...

with a supporting cast featuring Edward Everett Horton,

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'', A ...

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 ...

, 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 ac ...

. 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, B ...

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 ...

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 (

) is ordered by King Achmet of Marshovia ( George Barbier) to court and marry Madame Sonia (

), a rich widow who owns a large portion of the kingdom.

Cast

English

as Captain Danilo *

as Madame Sonia / Fifi * Edward Everett Horton as Ambassador Popoff *

as Queen Dolores * George Barbier as King Achmet * Minna Gombell as Marcelle * Ruth Channing as Lulu *

as Mischka *

as Valet * Herman Bing as Zizipoff * Jason Robards Sr. as Arresting Officer (uncredited) *

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 Dance ...

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 film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in The Merry Widow

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. Lead ...

'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

* * * * * * 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 {{romantic-musical-film-stub