Idiot's Delight
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Idiot's Delight |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1939 |
| length | 104 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Clarence Brown |
| script | Robert E. Sherwood |
| production | Clarence Brown, Hunt Stromberg for MGM |
| music | Herbert Stothart |
| camera | William H. Daniels |
| cut | Robert Kern |
| occupation | |
| |
Idiot's Delight is a 1939 American film starring Norma Shearer and Clark Gable and directed by Clarence Brown . As one of the first large-scale productions, the film paints a critical picture of the political and social conditions in Europe. The film is based on the play of the same name by Robert E. Sherwood , which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize / Theater in 1936 . The writer also wrote the script, but had to make numerous changes.
action
Harry Van has seen better days as an entertainer. He's now sunk so deep that he has to appear in a third-rate theater in Omaha with the constantly drunk Madame Zuleika. There he meets Irene, who works with a lot of imagination and ambition to make a career. After a brief romance, the two split up. A few years later, Harry tours Europe with a girl troupe. On the border between Switzerland and an unspecified country, Harry and his girls are stranded in a luxury hotel with other travelers who also want to go to Switzerland. There he meets the fabulously wealthy arms dealer Achille Weber and his lover, the Russian Countess Irene, who is actually the same Irene that Harry met years ago in Omaha. Both discover their love and want to start a new life together. Suddenly a war breaks out and bombs fall on the hotel. Harry saves the members of his dance troupe and returns to Irene to face an uncertain future with her.
background
Idiot's Delight made 300 performances on Broadway in 1936 with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne . Robert E. Sherwood won the Pulitzer Prize and ended up selling the film rights to MGM for $ 135,000. Initially conceived as a possible project for Greta Garbo , in the end Norma Shearer took on the lead role. After the death of her husband Irving Thalberg , the actress and MGM agreed on a new contract for six films, for which the actress was to receive a fee of 150,000 US dollars each. When choosing the right scripts, however, Shearer had no luck and in the next few years she turned down a number of roles, which were then taken over by Joan Crawford or Greer Garson , including Susan and the good Lord and Mrs. Miniver .
The film version shows some differences compared to the stage version. An extensive prologue was built in to explain Harry and Irene's relationship. All references to Germany and Italy have been deleted and the entire story has been moved from Italy to an unnamed country in Central Europe. The studio also requested two alternate endings. The version for the USA and Canada promises a happy ending for the lovers, while the version for the foreign markets leaves no hope that the two heroes will survive.
Clark Gable does the only song and dance number of his career in the film to the sound of " Puttin 'on the Ritz " by Irving Berlin .
Theatrical release
Production costs were $ 1,519,000, making the film an above-average production. At the box office, the film was not very successful and grossed just 1,167,000 US dollars in the USA. With a very low overseas revenue of $ 545,000, the cumulative total income was $ 1,712,000. The studio ended up losing $ 374,000.