The Wedding March (1928)

Director:

Erich von Stroheim

Writers:

Harry Carr (writer)
Erich von Stroheim (writer)

Release Date:

6 October 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young impoverished aristocrat falls in love with an inn-keepers daughter, but has to marry money.

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | Franz Josef | Vienna | Austro Prussian

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Erich von Stroheim	...	Prince Nicki von Wildeliebe-Rauffenburg
Fay Wray	...	Mitzi Schrammell
Matthew Betz	...	Schani Eberle
Zasu Pitts	...	Cecelia Schweisser
George Fawcett	...	Prince Ottokar von Wildeliebe Rauffenburg
Maude George	...	Princess Maria
George Nichols	...	Fortunat Schweisser
Dale Fuller	...	Katerina Schrammel
Hughie Mack	...	Schani's father
Cesare Gravina	...	Martin Schrammell
Sidney Bracey	...	Navratil
Anton Vaverka	...	Emperor Franz-Josef

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (musical score and sound effects) | Silent

Filming Locations:

Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

Company:

Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Erich von Stroheim] [ambulance]Mitzi is carried away in an ambulance after she is injured at the cathedral ceremony.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kinoerzähler, Der (1993)

Soundtrack:

PARADISE (The Love Theme)

Excellent morality tale - one of the silent screen's finest achievements.

This is one of von Stroheim's finest works and one of the crowning glories of the silent screen. It is worthy of being cited among the ten or twenty best silent films ever made. The story is simple. Impoverished Prince agrees to marry for money but meanwhile falls in love. He is forced to enter a loveless marriage as is she - the clear message that marriage without love is a sacrilege is beautifully presented. Fay Wray and von Stroheim in the leads are quite fine. Zasu Pitts in the small role of the wealthy woman he marries is sweet and sympathetic, though on screen for only a few scenes. If there had been an Academy then, this surely would have been nominated for Best Film, Direction, Cinematography and Editing. In these departments the film shows itself quite extraordinary and superbly realized. There is even a short early Technicolor sequence (reds, blues and browns) detailing a Corpus Christi procession in 1914 Vienna. The organ score of the video release is accompanied by orchestral parts and sound effects. All in all, very worth seeing. Masterfully conceived and executed.