The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld
Original poster
Directed by	Robert Z. Leonard
Produced by	Hunt Stromberg
Written by	William Anthony McGuire
Starring	William Powell Myrna Loy Luise Rainer
Music by	Walter Donaldson Irving Berlin
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	April 8, 1936 (1936-04-08)
Running time	185 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Great Ziegfeld (1936) is a musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Production background

A fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, The Great Ziegfeld showcases a series of spectacular musical productions. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin. Berlin's work was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918, 1919, and 1920.

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 - Luise Rainer received the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Ziegfeld's first wife, Anna Held.

Featured in the film are William Powell as Ziegfeld, Myrna Loy as Billie Burke, Luise Rainer, Nat Pendleton, and Frank Morgan. Real-life Ziegfeld performers Fanny Brice and Ray Bolger play themselves. Dennis Morgan, in an uncredited role, performed "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" (dubbed by Allan Jones).

The film was originally developed at Universal Pictures in late 1934 and in their 1935 development book appears as a pre-production, to star Powell. Due to financial problems at the studio at the time, the entire production, including some already constructed sets and musical arrangements were sold to MGM. Universal retained the services of Powell however, which ultimately resulted in his appearance in the classic screwball comedy My Man Godfrey the same year as The Great Ziegfeld.

Plot

The son of a highly respected music professor, Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld, Jr. (Powell) yearns to make his mark in show business. He begins by promoting Eugen Sandow (Nat Pendleton), the "world's strongest man", at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, overcoming the competition of rival Billings (Frank Morgan) and his popular attraction, belly dancer Little Egypt, with savvy marketing (allowing women to feel Sandow's muscles).

Later, on an ocean liner to England, Flo runs into Billings again and discovers that he is on his way to sign a beautiful French star, Anna Held (Rainer), to a contract. Despite losing all his money gambling at Monte Carlo, Flo charms Anna into signing with him instead.

At first, Anna is not a success. However, Flo manages to generate publicity by sending many gallons of milk to Anna every day for a fictitious milk bath beauty treatment, then refusing to pay the bill. The newspaper stories soon bring the curious to pack his theater. Flo and Anna then get married.

However, one success is not enough for the showman. He has an idea for an entirely new kind of show, one that will "glorify" the American woman. Thus, the Ziegfeld Follies is born, a lavish production filled with beautiful women. This makes Anna very nervous, as she is still performing in her own show and will be unable to keep an eye on her husband. It is a smash hit, and is followed by more versions of the Follies. Soon Flo hires Fanny Brice (playing herself) away from vaudeville and gives stagehand Ray Bolger (also playing himself) his break as well.

He also tries to make a star out of Audrey Dane (Virginia Bruce), but alcoholism turns out to be her downfall. However, a short time before, Anna becomes jealous of the attention Flo pays to Audrey and divorces Flo. Afterward, Flo meets Broadway star Billie Burke ([Loy) and marries her. When she hears the news, a heartbroken Anna telephones Flo and pretends to be glad for him. Flo and Billie eventually have a daughter named Patricia.

Flo has more hits, but after a while, the public's taste changes, and people begin to wonder if the times have not passed him by. Stung, he vows to have four hits on Broadway at the same time. He achieves his goal - one of those four hits being Show Boat (1927) - but then the stock market crash of 1929 bankrupts him, forcing Billie to go back on the stage.

Shaken by the reversal of his financial fortunes and the growing popularity of movies over live stage shows, he becomes seriously ill. In the final scene, in a half-delirium, he recalls scenes from several of his hits, exclaiming, "I've got to have more steps", a remark he made several times when examining the set designs of his Ziegeld Follies, before slumping over dead in his chair.

Cast

William Powell as Flo Ziegfeld

• William Powell as Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.
• Myrna Loy as Billie Burke
• Luise Rainer as Anna Held
• Frank Morgan as Jack Billings
• Fanny Brice as Herself
• Virginia Bruce as Audrey Dane
• Reginald Owen as Sampson, Flo's frequently-nervous bookkeeper
• Ray Bolger as Himself
• Ernest Cossart as Sidney, Billing's valet, who is hired away by Flo
• Joseph Cawthorn as Dr. Ziegfeld (as Joseph Cawthorne)
• Nat Pendleton as Eugen Sandow
• Harriet Hoctor as Herself
• Jean Chatburn as Mary Lou
• Paul Irving as Erlanger, Billing's later partner
• Herman Bing as Costumer
• Buddy Doyle as Eddie Cantor
• Also appearing uncredited is future First Lady Pat Nixon (as a Ziegfeld Girl), Mickey Daniels as a telegram delivery boy, and Dennis Morgan as the vocalist (dubbed by Allan Jones) in the "Pretty Girl" number

Inaccuracies

The Great Ziegfeld takes many key liberties with Ziegfeld's life and with the history of the Follies. For instance, George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was never featured in the Follies, and the number "Pretty Girl" was written for the 1919 Follies, not the first edition of the revue, as shown in the film.

Although she was born in the U.S, Billie Burke grew up in England, and she spoke with an English accent throughout her life. Her most famous role was as Glinda the Good Witch in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Anna Held died before Ziegfeld did, but this is never mentioned in the film.

The film also gives the impression that the successful original production of Show Boat, which Ziegfeld produced, closed because of the Great Depression. In fact Show Boat ended its original 1927 run in the spring of 1929 and the stock market crash did not occur until October of that year. It was the 1932 revival of the show (also produced by Ziegfeld), not the original production, that was affected by the Depression.

In the film, the last few lines of the song Ol' Man River (from Show Boat) are sung by what sounds like a tenor, while the song was intended for bass Paul Robeson and sung in the original production by bass-baritone Jules Bledsoe.

Awards

The movie won three Oscars:

• Academy Award for Best Picture - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Hunt Stromberg, producer)
• Academy Award for Best Actress - Luise Rainer
• Academy Award for Best Dance Direction - Seymour Felix - For "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody".

It was nominated for an additional four:

• Academy Award for Best Art Direction - Cedric Gibbons, Eddie Imazu and Edwin B. Willis (lost to Dodsworth)
• Academy Award for Directing - Robert Z. Leonard (lost to Frank Capra for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town)
• Academy Award for Film Editing - William S. Gray
• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - William Anthony McGuire

External links

• The Great Ziegfeld at the Internet Movie Database
• The Great Ziegfeld at AllRovi
• The Great Ziegfeld at the TCM Movie Database
• The Great Ziegfeld at Rotten Tomatoes