The Merry Widow (1934 film)

The Merry Widow is a 1934 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It was directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch and starred Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. A French-language version was produced at the same time and released in France the same year as La Veuve joyeuse.

The Merry Widow
theatrical release poster
Directed byErnst Lubitsch
Produced byIrving Thalberg
Ernst Lubitsch
Written byLibretto:
Victor Léon
Leo Stein
Screenplay:
Ernest Vajda
Samson Raphaelson
Marcel Achard
(French version)
StarringMaurice Chevalier
Jeanette MacDonald
Music byFranz Lehár
CinematographyOliver T. Marsh
Edited byFrances Marsh (English)
Adrienne Fazan (French)
Production
company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • October 11, 1934 (1934-10-11)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
French
(separate versions)
Budget$1,605,000[1]
Box office$2.8 million (worldwide rentals)[1]

Plot

Playboy Captain Danilo (Maurice Chevalier) is ordered by King Achmet of Marshovia (George Barbier) to court and marry Madame Sonia (Jeanette MacDonald), a rich widow who owns a large portion of the kingdom.[2]

Cast

English

French

Awards and honors

Cedric Gibbons and Fredric Hope won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.[3]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Reception

The film earned $861,000 in the US and $1,747,000 overseas for a total rental of $2,608,000.[1] It earned a further $151,000 on re-release in 1949-1950 to almost break even.[1]

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References

Notes

  1. The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation ISBN 0-634-00765-3 page 34
  3. "The Merry Widow". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  4. "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.


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