The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writer:

William Anthony McGuire (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 April 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

10 Big Shows In 1

Plot:

This biography follows the ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld, famed producer of extravagant stage revues.

Plot Keywords:

Stock Market Crash | Composer | Telephone | Stock Market | Sideshow

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

William Powell	...	Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
Myrna Loy	...	Billie Burke
Luise Rainer	...	Anna Held
Frank Morgan	...	Billings
Fanny Brice	...	Herself (as Fannie Brice)
Virginia Bruce	...	Audrey Dane
Reginald Owen	...	Sampston
Ray Bolger	...	Himself
Ernest Cossart	...	Sidney
Joseph Cawthorn	...	Dr. Ziegfeld (as Joseph Cawthorne)
Nat Pendleton	...	Sandow
Harriet Hoctor	...	Herself
Jean Chatburn	...	Mary Lou
Paul Irving	...	Erlanger
Herman Bing	...	Costumer

Runtime:

176 min | USA:185 min (roadshow version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2000) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | UK:U

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The first biopic to win and Academy Award for "Best Picture".

Goofs:

Continuity: During the circus number, each dog moves forward into a box painted on the floor of the stage. The second dog from the right moves forward out of the box, then is seen back in the box in the next shot.

Quotes:

Fanny Brice: Get me some viskey!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Some of the Best (1949)

Soundtrack:

RHAPSODY IN BLUE

The Man's Contribution To The American Musical Theater Is Legendary

Until Gone With The Wind, The Great Ziegfeld was MGM's biggest production and it seems fitting that such a large scale musical was put together to tell the life of its title character. It's a very sanitized version of Florenz Ziegfeld's life. One has to remember however that his widow, Billie Burke, was very much alive and active in Hollywood and controlling the rights to his name good or bad.

In William Powell an actor charming enough was certainly found for the lead. Ziegfeld had to be that, how else could he have gotten so many beautiful to star in his shows and into the sack. His was the original casting couch of Broadway, imitated on a grand scale in Hollywood.

Yet the man's contribution to the American musical theater is legendary. Others like Earl Carroll, George White, the brothers Shubert, all tried to imitate his Ziegfeld Follies, none really quite captured the touch. Though there are a diminishing group of people who have seen the stars he created, the names of Bert Williams, Eddie Cantor, Will Rogers, W.C. Fields, and Fanny Brice are still known to us all. In Fanny we get the genuine article in this film and fans of Barbra Streisand can judge for themselves how effective Barbra's portrayal of Fanny Brice was in Funny Girl and Funny Lady.

One star who is missing is Marilyn Miller. Sad to say she was to die the year that The Great Ziegfeld came out. Her life is somewhat suggested by the part that Virginia Bruce had. She also had a very sanitized film about her life in Look for the Silver Lining.

Though you wouldn't know it as the script was oh so careful, Florenz Ziegfeld and Anna Held were not legally married. Luise Rainer got her first Academy Award for playing Anna Held. That telephone scene is a classic, still studied by players for those who have to do a long soliloquy. Note how she uses the phone receiver as a prop.

Myrna Loy had a most difficult part in playing Billie Burke and it was something not to be envied as Billie was a notable character actress even before she was Glinda the Good Witch. I'm not quite sure she captured Burke, yet I doubt Billie was that silly in real life.

Besides Luise Rainer's Oscar, The Great Ziegfeld won Oscars for Dance Direction when there were enough musicals being made to warrant such a category and it was The Best Picture of 1936. That A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody number was as good as anything Busby Berkeley was doing over at Warner Brothers.

And that number gives you some idea of the scope and glamor of the Ziegfeld Follies. Ziggy would have approved.