| As a character study, this film is sorely lacking. The score features several classics such as "Ol' Man River" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man". Pity it wasn't in colour but very enjoyable and well worth seeking out. Perhaps too long. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. Google it and be suitably impressed for eight minutes. Ships from United States. Then there was the young girl Ziegfeld knew when she was a child (not clear on the relationship she had with him and his father, but seemed as if she was his fathers studentmaybe). Release Dates And while William Powell plays Ziegfeld with energy from big spectacle to big spectacle, the film rarely slows down to reflect on Ziegfeld's raison d'etre. [citation needed]. I have to say though, it had too much detail, and for me the first and third hours were too long. From 1908-1931 THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES were perhaps the most well known and beloved of the Broadway reviews. (1930), which Ziegfeld himself produced with Samuel Goldwyn. The disc will play perfectly without interruption and the case, inlay notes and sleeve may show limited signs of wear. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. This winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture provides the career-chronicling answer. This biopic is undeniably stylish, but loses points for excessive length, an overreliance on clichs, and historical inaccuracies. The Great Ziegfeld is one of the rare movies of its era that is not best served by the black and white in which it was filmed. You can certainly do worse, but I would only recommend the film with reservations. Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections, Motion picture, Theatre, and Ballet souvenir book collection (MSS 327 large), Michigan State University Board of Trustees. (uncredited) Cinematography by Film Editing by William S. Gray Art Direction by Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. [23] The sequence starts with Stanley Morner (soon to be known as Dennis Morgan) alone in front of the curtain, apparently singing A Pretty Girl Apparently because, although he was an excellent singer the song had previously been recorded by Allan Jones, another M-G-M contract player, and the studio apparently decided not to re-record the number.[36] After he sings the entire first verse and refrain, the front curtain begins to pull away and the stage begins to rotate, revealing people in 18th century costumes. Cinemark The site's consensus reads: "This biopic is undeniably stylish, but loses points for excessive length, an overreliance on clichs, and historical inaccuracies". Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Production Co: One of the biggest successes in film in the 1930s and the pride of MGM at the time, it was acclaimed as the greatest musical biography to be made in Hollywood and still remains a standard in musical film making. [14] These extravaganzas, with elaborate costumes and sets, featured beauties chosen personally by Ziegfeld in production numbers choreographed to the works of prominent composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Jerome Kern. [4] Otis Ferguson, writing for New Republic magazine, remarked that the "musical numbers seem as irresistible as Ziegfeld himself". [10][3]:45 Held served Ziegfeld with divorce papers on April 14, 1912, and their divorce became final on January 9, 1913. The Great Ziegfeld. The Great Ziegfeld Cedric Gibbons, Eddie Imazu, Edwin B. Willis Lloyds of London William S. Darling The Magnificent Brute Albert S. D'Agostino, Jack Otterson Romeo and Juliet Cedric Gibbons, Frederic Hope, Edwin B. Willis Winterset Perry Ferguson Assistant Director Winner The Charge of the Light Brigade Jack Sullivan Nominees Anthony Adverse Perhaps the source said that a single costume in the film used 36 feet of ostrich plumes? However, the stock market crash of 1929 bankrupts him, forcing Billie to return to the stage. See production, box office & company info, [after catching Ray Bolger doing a little softshoe backstage], Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA. This is a very long film, and at times it's basically a drawn out soap opera, but the perforamnces are decent, the stage numbers are extremely well done, and this film has some excellent costumes and set designs. The two of them imbue this biography with class, and through sheer force of will in the production, one can see why the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. [8] George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was never featured in the Follies, and the number "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" was written for the 1919 Follies,[17] not the first edition of the revue, as shown in the film. [12] Much of Held's popularity was due to Ziegfeld's creation of publicity stunts and rumors fed to the American press. Rainer, the first person ever to win two acting Oscars which happened to come in back-to-back years, for The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and for The Good Earth (1937), and just a couple of years. Then Morgan re-appears, standing among a crowd of pretty girls who are seated on the stairs. Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections. Worse still for his associates, was that the show was a bigger success than Ziegfeld's last production of the Follies in 1931. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. Frank Morgan, Fanny Brice, Ray Bolger, Robert Z. Leonard, Hunt Stromberg, Reginald Owen, William Anthony McGuire, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Virginia Bruce, Luise Rainer. [109] Eddie Cantor reprised his popular Broadway role in Whoopee! [1] Ziegfeld is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame.[2]. Gee, I wish you'd give me a chance. Ziegfeld was baptized in his mother's Roman Catholic church. There are two versions of Robert Z. Leonard's The Great Ziegfeld in the world. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice. [23][4] As many as 180 performers were involved in the scenes which included singers, dancers and musicians. We dont share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we dont sell your information to others. It's fascinating, though, to see the vintage stars performing and the eight-minute spectacle "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" is an eye-popper with an elaborate revolving set supporting a large cast singing and dancing to the Irving Berlin tune while throwing in some Puccini, Strauss, Leoncavallo and Gershwin for good measure. Super excited to be making an appearance with THE ZIEGFELD SOCIETY. "Florenz Ziegfeld Dies in Hollywood After Long Illness", "The Official Website | Members | Preserve the Past Honor the Present Encourage the Future", "BILLIE BURKE WEDS. The musical numbers, however, don't hold up quite as well as the plot, and at some three hours the film is overlong. "[49] Both The New York Times and Film Daily rated the film in the "Ten Best" of the year. Ziegfeld Jr. began his showbusiness career by persuading (and later marrying) European stage star Anne Held to front his 'Follies' which went on to become a massive hit on Broadway. Ziegfeld's midway attraction isn't drawing flies. Powell admitted to being "amazed" with the film after viewing it and was very grateful at having had the privilege to portray Ziegfeld, considering it to be a very important moment in his career. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrna Loy as Billie Burke. Those were quite grand and makes me sad that this is a black and white movie because those scenes would have been amazing in color. Ray Bolger: Mr. Ziegfeld, you think so? Ironically, three of Ziegfeld's stage shows were made into movies during his lifetime - Sally in 1929, Rio Rita in 1929, and Whoopee! Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. [8] Stanley Green cited The Great Ziegfeld as "the first of a number of elaborate show-business screen biographies". It ran over 8 hours and I was blinded by the sun as I emerged from the darkened theater. In the "Rhapsody in Blue" portion of the mammoth "Pretty Girl" number, one of the silver-fringe-and-antlers quartet of dancers gets visibly disoriented when her group does its final moves. As this film clocks in at three full hours, one reviewer likened it to a "huge, lumbering, Paleozoic beast with a heart", and it's a great analogy. The picture was also nominated for the following four Academy Awards: Best Director; Best Writing, Original Story for William Anthony McGuire; Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing. The film tells the journey of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., famed producer of extravagant stage shows. The film suggests they married, which is not true. [4] Featured in the film are William Powell as Ziegfeld, Myrna Loy as Billie Burke, Luise Rainer as Anna Held, Nat Pendleton as Eugen Sandow, and Frank Morgan. The Broadway Melody (1929) [All Region] [import], 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. was born on March 21, 1867,[3]:8 in Chicago, Illinois. Wow, OK. and the This movie doesn't seem like it's from the mid 30's at all. The image is an example of a ticket confirmation email that AMC sent you when you purchased your ticket. [1][24] They had one child, Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson (19162008). This is one of those biopics that the studios used to churn out and is a superior example of the genre with good performances all round, and a better than good one from Louise Rainer as an actress called Anna Held, one of the great man's lovers. [15] To finance the construction, Ziegfeld borrowed from William Randolph Hearst,[16] who took control of the theater after Ziegfeld's death. Hunt Stromberg, Release Date (Theaters): Free shipping for many products! Filming & Production Full Review | Feb 18, 2022. Select from premium The Great Ziegfeld of the highest quality. It was hugely successful in its day and has worn not all that well - but it is well worth watching. Robert Z. Leonard's musical epic The Great Ziegfeld is probably one of the most forgotten-about Best Picture winners to ever pull off the big win. Expensive theatricals of the 1920s were made available to more people with little money . Though not exactly accurate historically, The Great Ziegfeld was very deserving of it's Oscar for Best Picture of 1936. Flo's new shows are a success, but after a while, the public's taste changes, and people begin to wonder if the times have not passed him by. The Great Ziegfeld 1936 - Full Movie 4K 60fps (English) bravoslix shelley Subscribe 0 Share 1.8K views 1 minute ago #The #NewMovie2023 #PopularMovie2023 The Great Ziegfeld . It's beshert and I'm kvelling as I've been given the great honor of singing Fanny Brice in the Funny Girl portion of this . We could infer that the latter was because he was charming and in later years, because he could help them with their career, but the two women he married werent overly ambitious themselves and seemed content to be a housewife, ending their careers, so his power wasnt necessarily the draw for them. The Great Ziegfeld. 65x. I thought that Luise Rainer was great but Myrna Loy was miscast and seemed to disappear as far as her character was concerned William Powell, always a joy, played a great part - which he reprised as Ziegfield in Heaven in the film The Ziegfield Perhaps too long. It is a long (3 hour) musical filled with massive sets and luxurious costumes - spared no expense! Florenz Ziegfeld was one of America's best-known and most successful producers. Lastly, the film lacks an edge. The music and dance numbers are amazing, especially considering the fact that special effects was . [25] "[citation needed] Another myth surrounding her untimely death at the age of 37 is that she had contracted syphilis. AMERICAN GROOVES RADIO HOUR hosted by JOE LAURO 00:54:34 From 1908-1931 THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES were perhaps the most well known and beloved of the Broadway reviews. ${cardName} not available for the seller that you chose. Motion picture, Theatre, and Ballet souvenir book collection, MSS 327 large. There's a dance sequence in this film that rivals anything Gene Kelly ever attempted. Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (/zfld/; March 21, 1867 July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies (19071931), inspired by the Folies Bergre of Paris. The film, the pride of MGM at a time when Warner Brothers and RKO Pictures were the leading studios in Hollywood for musical production, was a major commercial and critical success and one of the most successful films of the 1930s, grossing US$4,673,000 (US$91,252,372 in 2021 dollars[3]) worldwide at the box office. I remember it as a young girl and it was the only time I have seen Louise Rainer It made a lasting impression on me and started a love of all musicals. [16], However, not all critics were as enthusiastic about the film; Graham Greene of the British Spectator called it a "huge inflated gas-blown object" and criticized its length, comparing it to the feat of a flagpole sitter. Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections. Harrison Carroll] of the Los Angeles Herald-Express, however, sympathized with the difficulty of her role in portraying a prominent living actress, confessing that he was pleased that Loy did not attempt to imitate Burke's mannerisms. Returns accepted. The son of a highly respected music professor, Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr. yearns to make his mark in show business. However, according to Emily W. Leider, Burke was not keen on playing her younger self and says that Billie Burke's biographer stated that Miriam Hopkins would have been her first choice to play her part, not Loy. However, Flo manages to generate publicity by sending 20 gallons of milk to Anna every day for a fictitious milk bath beauty treatment, then refusing to pay the bill. Starting out at with a strongman act, Florenz Ziegfeld rises to become the producer of such legendary Broadway shows as the Follies and Show Boat and the husband of . [43], The film, which premiered in Los Angeles at the Carthay Circle Theatre, was the first musical film in history for which one of its cast members won an Academy Award. Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head: Season 2, Link to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 5, Link to Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Link to RT25: Celebrating 25 Years of Rotten Tomatoes, Link to Betty Gilpin & Co. on Deciphering. The screenplay by William Anthony McGuire was a "novelty" to many audiences who were familiar with the theatrical Broadway shows of the follies. William Powell and Myrna Loy (The Thin Man films) star as Flo Ziegfeld and his second wife, Billie Burke, who played Glinda the good witch in The Wizard of Oz. the scene. The Great Ziegfeld (1936). [45] The New York American said that the film is "pretty nearly everything such an extravaganza should be", with "romance and reality, song and dance, gaiety and beauty, pathos and bathos". [8], In the advertising for the film, MGM boasted of the film's ostentatious nature, bragging that it was "SO BIG that only MGM could handle it", with its "countless beauties, trained lions, ponies, dogs and other animals". meaning in this or future film production. A huge medieval-style mural, The Joy of Life, covered the walls and ceiling. [8] McGuire's script, now in the Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California, is dated September 21, 1935, probably the date when it was finalized. The collection consists primarily of home movies.[125]. The Great Ziegfeld boasts one of the most audaciously gaudy sights ever committed to celluloid. As `` Ol ' Man River '' and `` Ca n't Help Lovin ' Dat ''! Ads, generating audience insights, and we dont sell your information during transmission third-party sellers and! 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Had one child, Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson ( 19162008 ) from premium the Great Ziegfeld ``! Image is an example of a number of elaborate show-business screen biographies '' 8 and... Do worse, but loses points for excessive length, an overreliance on clichs, the great ziegfeld Ballet book! Last production of the year beloved of the most well known and beloved of the highest quality filming production.
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