''Goodnight, Vienna'' is a 1932 British

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the 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 serve merely as breaks ...

directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Anna Neagle and Gina Malo. Two lovers in Vienna are separated by the First World War, 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 dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

written by

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz 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, Birmingham, England, and desc ...

, 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 * Anna Neagle - Vicki * Gina Malo - Frieda * Clive Currie - General Schletoff * William Kendall - Ernst * Joyce Bland - Countess Helga * Gibb McLaughlin - Max's Orderly * Herbert Carrick - Johann * Clifford Heatherley - Donelli *

O. B. Clarence Oliver Burchett Clarence (25 March 1870, Hampstead, London – 2 October 1955, Hove, Sussex) was an English actor. Following his education at Dover College and University College Hospital, he made his stage debut in 1890. His experience includ ...

- Theatre Manager *

Peggy Cartwright Peggy Cartwright (November 14, 1912 – June 12, 2001) was a Canadian silent film actress and the leading lady of the ''Our Gang'' comedy series during the silent film era. She appeared in four short films released in 1922 (and, possibly, the in ...

- Greta * Muriel Aked - Marya *

Aubrey Fitzgerald Aubrey Fitzgerald (1874–1968) was a British actor. In 1909 he played El Tabloid in '' A Persian Princess'' at the Queen's Theatre in London. Selected filmography * ''One Arabian Night'' (1923) * '' Little Miss Nobody'' (1923) * ''Hutch Stirs ...

- 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 Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...

Evelyn Lane Evelyn may refer to: Places * Evelyn, London *Evelyn Gardens, a garden square in London * Evelyn, Ontario, Canada * Evelyn, Michigan, United States * Evelyn, Texas, United States * Evelyn, Wirt County, West Virginia, United States * Evelyn ...

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 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'', and Starr used ...

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, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

* In the opening scene of the '' Jeeves and Wooster'' episode ''

The Purity of the Turf "The Purity of the Turf" is the third episode of the first series of the 1990s British comedy television series ''Jeeves and Wooster''. It is also called "The Village Sports Day at Twing" or "The Gambling Event". It first aired in the UK on on ...

'', Hugh Laurie, in the character of Bertie Wooster, 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."

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