The Merry Widow (1952)

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Movie
German title The Merry Widow
Original title The Merry Widow
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1952
length 105 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Curtis Bernhardt
script William Ludwig
Sonya Levien
production Joe Pasternak
music Franz Lehár
camera Robert Surtees
cut Conrad A. Annoying
occupation

The Merry Widow is a US-American operetta adaptation by Curtis Bernhardt from 1952 with Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas in the leading roles. The original (1905) was composed by Franz Lehár .

action

Although names other than those in the original were chosen in some cases, this film adaptation largely adheres to the plot of Lehár's operetta.

Crystal Radek is a wealthy widow who is of great interest to any nubile man. Many would love to marry her, but not because of her beauty and charm, but solely because of her wealth. The merry widow travels to the impoverished European kingdom of Marschowia to inaugurate a statue in honor of her husband. The country is in dire financial straits and the government plans to flatter and ensnare the widow in the hope of receiving a much-needed injection of money from her.

Count Danilo is regarded as a serious destroyer and charmer as he is in the book. The king instructs the handsome boy to wrap the rich foreigner around her finger for the good of the state. Contrary to expectations, Danilo falls in love with Crystal, but does not dare to admit his feelings for fear that she might believe that he, too, could only be after her money. A few more tangles and misunderstandings happen before the two can sink into each other's arms and confess their love to each other.

Production notes

The Merry Widow was premiered on September 5, 1952, the German premiere took place on August 21, 1953.

The budget was $ 2.427 million, and box office profits were around $ 4.5 million. This made The Merry Widow a commercial success.

The film received Oscar nominations in 1953 in the categories of Best Buildings ( Cedric Gibbons , Paul Groesse ) and Set ( Edwin B. Willis , Arthur Krams ) and Best Costumes ( Helen Rose , Gile Steele ). Douglas Shearer took care of the sound supervision, A. Arnold Gillespie took care of the special effects.

Music track

The American versions of the German-language originals were played and sung:

  • "Vilia", "I'm Going to Maxim's", "Night" and "Girls, Girls, Girls".

Reviews

Bosley Crowther wrote enthusiastically in the New York Times : “A new actor by the name of Fernando Lamas is featured in this lavish show as one of the most elegant Count Danilo to whirl around the widow. (...) But the brilliance of the palaces, the large hotels and the replica of Maxim's in Paris, which the craftsmen of the metro constructed, is something (...) that takes your breath away, and the splendor of the costumes and the staging of the dance - and choir groups will definitely blow you away. "

The later assessments of this new version of an old classic were much more sobering and distant:

  • In the Lexicon of International Films it says: “Remake of Franz Lehár's operetta of the same name. (...) Striking at most because of its lavish equipment, the film remains largely lackluster and pointless. "
  • The Movie & Video Guide wrote that the Lehár material appears here "old-fashioned and unimaginative in a plush but unenthusiastic remake".
  • Halliwell's Film Guide briefly called the film "a frosty, empty remake."
  • The 1952 Monthly Film Bulletin read: "Nothing was left out (except the spirit of the original)."

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bosley Crowther: "The Merry Widow," With Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas, Opens at Loew's State In: The New York Times, September 25, 1952, accessed February 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ The Merry Widow. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 14, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 851
  4. ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 671

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