Ziegfeld Follies (1946)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Lemuel Ayers
Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

John Murray Anderson (writer)
Lemuel Ayers (story)

Release Date:

8 April 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

Flashing...smashing SCREEN ENTERTAINMENT! DAZZLING IN ITS BEAUTY...PACKED WITH GLORIOUS Melodies! (original print media ad - many caps)

Plot:

The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style. |

Plot Keywords:

Bubble | Bizarre | Florenz Ziegfeld | Campy | Puppetry

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Himself / Raffles in 'This Heart of Mine' / Tai Long in 'Limehouse Blues' / Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide'
Lucille Ball	...	Herself in 'Here's to the Ladies'
Lucille Bremer	...	Princess in 'This Heart of Mine' / Moy Ling in 'Limehouse Blues'
Fanny Brice	...	Norma in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket'
Judy Garland	...	The Star in 'A Great Lady Has An Interview'
Kathryn Grayson	...	Herself in 'Beauty'
Lena Horne	...	Herself in 'Love'
Gene Kelly	...	Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide'
James Melton	...	Alfredo in scene from 'La Traviata'
Victor Moore	...	Lawyer's Client in 'Pay the Two Dollars'
Red Skelton	...	J. Newton Numbskull in 'When Television Comes'
Esther Williams	...	Herself in 'A Water Ballet'
William Powell	...	Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
Edward Arnold	...	Lawyer in 'Pay the Two Dollars'
Marion Bell	...	Violetta in scene from 'La Traviata'

Also Known As:

Ziegfeld Follies of 1944 (USA: Spanish title) (working title)
Ziegfeld Follies of 1946 (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Cut from the film: - Musical number: "If Swing Goes, I Go Too" (music and lyrics by Fred Astaire), directed by George Sidney, sung and danced by Fred Astaire, audio available on Rhino's soundtrack CD and Warner Home Video's DVD. - Musical/comedy number: "Start Off Each Day with a Song" (music and lyrics by Jimmy Durante), directed by Charles Walters, performed by Jimmy Durante. - Musical number: "A Cowboy's Life," directed by Merrill Pye, sung by James Melton. - Musical number: "Liza" (music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin), directed by Vincente Minnelli, sung by Avon Long and the MGM Studio Chorus to Lena Horne, audio available on Rhino's soundtrack CD. - Comedy sketch: "Baby Snooks and the Burglar," directed by Roy Del Ruth, performed by Fanny Brice, Hanley Stafford and B.S. Pully. - Comedy sketch: "Death and Taxes," directed by Vincente Minnelli, performed by Jimmy Durante and Edward Arnold. - Musical number: "We Will Meet Again in Honolulu" (music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed), directed by Merrill Pye, sung by James Melton, audio available on Rhino's CD and Warner Home Video's DVD. The Esther Williams water ballet from this sequence was reset to an instrumental version of "This Heart of Mine" (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Arthur Freed). - Musical number: "There's Beauty Everywhere" (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Arthur Freed), directed by Vincente Minnelli, sung by James Melton and the MGM Studio Chorus, danced by Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer and Cyd Charisse, Melton's audio available on Rhino's soundtrack CD and Warner Home Video's DVD. A segment with Miss Charisse and the "bubble girls" was retained in the revamped finale, which now featured Kathryn Grayson and the MGM Studio Chorus performing the vocal, Grayson's audio available on Rhino's soundtrack CD, and the revised scene available on Warner Home Video's DVD.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the "A Great Lady Has An Interview," Judy Garland is continuously pushing her hair back out of her face during the interview portion of the scene. However, when the musical part begins her hair is firmly fixed up off of her face and stays that way until the end of the number when her dance moves have obviously loosened it up enough to start falling in her face again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: Ah... Saturday, September twenty fifth. Another heavenly day. Ah, yes. Always a heavenly day.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The American Film Institute Salute to Fred Astaire (1981) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Libiamo ne'lieti calici

Fluffy all-star musical is lavish entertainment in the grand MGM style...

Originally, 'Ziegfeld Follies' included a number of other sketches that were discarded after several previews revealed their weak points. What was left was finally released two years later, a post-war musical that provided the kind of escapism fare audiences were still seeking from MGM. For me, the high point of the sketches is the Fred Astaire-Lucille Bremer number, 'Limehouse Blues', filmed using some of the old sets left over from 'Picture of Dorian Gray'. Another Astaire knockout is the amusing 'This Heart of Mine' where he is a pickpocket after Bremer's jewels. Judy Garland shows a wonderful sense of humor with her 'The Great Lady Gives An Interview' routine. Her comic timing was never delivered with more polish and sophistication. Some of the other musical numbers are appealing but all of the comedy scenes seemed to be straining for laughs and do nothing but date the film badly. A good technicolor print of this one will blow you away with its palette of rich colors and design. I liked the opening number with Lucille Ball cracking a whip over a bevy of cat-like beauties. If you're not keen about MGM musicals, stay away from this one. For me, it was pure gold.