Amazon.com: Ernst Lubitsch's last musical teamed him with his two favorite performers, Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. It proved to be his last picture with either of the stars. Working with screenwriter Samson Raphaelson, he transformed the operetta that Erich von Stroheim had made in 1925 as a lavish silent melodrama into a frothy farce with wit, understatement, and a modicum of sexual innuendo. Chevalier stars as Danilo, the playboy captain of the guards sent to Paris to woo back the wealthy widow Sonia (MacDonald), whose purse strings control the kingdom's economy and could ruin it if she marries one of her doting French suitors. A merry game of mistaken identities, sparring romantics, and the teasing of would-be lovers lands Danilo in jail for treason and with true love his only hope. Chevalier plays his role with good cheer, gusto, and an ear-to-ear grin that wins over every lady on the screen, and MacDonald is at her sassy, sexy best, before her all-American image took hold in the Nelson Eddy musicals. From the opening shot, where a magnifying glass is brought to a map of Europe to pick out the tiny Kingdom of Marshovia, Lubitsch is in fine if somewhat restrained form, toning down his driest humor for the more stolid but luxurious MGM style. But he still sneaks in a couple of precode zingers: "Have you ever had diplomatic relations with a woman?" asks Ambassador Edward Everett Horton. Chevalier's sly smile is all the answer needed. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Chevalier vs. McDonald
If in the Lana Turner version many of Lehar's melodies are played by the orchestra (a la Josh Logan's FANNY) while Turner and Fernando Lamas exchange smoldering glances, Ernst Lubitsch similarly downplays the music in this--the classic version of the operetta. And he had two of the 20th century's greatest musical personalities to carry off those signature tunes. Here and there we get full-bore versions of "Vilia" and others, but anyone familiar with the stage score feels a biting disappointment at seeing the screen version at how little of the score remains on screen. Even the famous "Merry ... Read More
Rating: - Jeanette MacDonald in her greatest role
THE MERRY WIDOW is arguably Jeanette MacDonald's finest film, and is still regarded as one of the greatest musicals ever made by MGM.
The story concerns one widow, Sonia (Jeanette MacDonald), a beautiful young woman who owns 52% of the small kingdom of Marshovia. Sonia lives a life consisting of black dresses, black shoes, black corsets and black veils...even a black dog. Sonia decides to flee to the gay city of Paris, and swaps her dull attire for a new wardrobe, and a new outlook.
The King of Marshovia (Edward Everett Horton) and his flirtatious Queen (Una Merkel) decide ... Read More
Rating: - VILIA AND OTHER DELIGHTS.
A bankrupt king orders a nobleman to court a wealthy American widow. For lovers of vintage operettas, this 1934 film is one to cherish. The Franz Lehar masterpiece began life in Vienna in 1905 and it was an instant smash hit. It was first brought to the American stage in 1907, made into a lost silent with Alma Reubens and Wallace Reid in 1912, and brought true stardom to the eccentric Mae Murray in Erich Von Stoheim's 1925 version which co-starred John Gilbert. Grace Moore was originally to play Sonia, but she wouldn't accept second billing to Maurice Chevalier. This sparkling, frothy, funny and ... Read More
Rating: - "Are You Pretty, or Beautiful?"
What a line to run by a woman! Wow, that Maurice Chevalier was something else. Jeanette McDonald would have to be made of ice not to melt under his charms, and of course, she succumbs without much of a fight after all.
She's the not-so-merry widow at the outset of our story, the richest widow in this mythical kingdom. Then she bolts and leaves the country for gay Paree (where we see her at her merriest and gayly clad), so a secret diplomatic mission is underway: Captain Danilo must woo her and wed her to keep her millions in the country! Lots of playful intrigue as both he and she pretend to ... Read More
- 