1934 Film The Merry Widow

The film was directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald with a supporting cast featuring Edward Everett Horton, Una Merkel, Sterling Holloway, Donald Meek, Jason Robards Sr. and Akim Tamiroff. A French-language version was produced at the same time and released in France the same year as La Veuve joyeuse with some but not all of the same cast (Chevalier, MacDonald, and Tamiroff appear in both versions). Lorenz Hart and Gus Kahn wrote new English lyrics for some Lehar songs under the musical direction of Herbert Stothart.

The Merry Widow
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ernst Lubitsch
Written by	Libretto: Victor Léon Leo Stein Screenplay: Ernest Vajda Samson Raphaelson Marcel Achard (French version)
Produced by	Irving Thalberg Ernst Lubitsch
Starring	Maurice Chevalier Jeanette MacDonald
Cinematography	Oliver T. Marsh
Edited by	Frances Marsh (English) Adrienne Fazan (French)
Music by	Franz Lehár
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's Inc.
Release date	October 11, 1934 (1934-10-11)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English French (separate versions)
Budget	$1,605,000
Box office	$2.8 million (worldwide rentals)

Playboy Captain Danilo (Maurice Chevalier) is ordered by King Achmet of Marshovia (George Barbier) to court and marry Madame Sonia (Jeanette MacDonald), a rich widow who owns a large portion of the kingdom.

English

• Maurice Chevalier as Captain Danilo
• Jeanette MacDonald as Madame Sonia / Fifi
• Edward Everett Horton as Ambassador Popoff
• Una Merkel as Queen Dolores
• George Barbier as King Achmet
• Minna Gombell as Marcelle
• Ruth Channing as Lulu
• Sterling Holloway as Mischka
• Donald Meek as Valet
• Herman Bing as Zizipoff
• Jason Robards Sr. as Arresting Officer (uncredited)
• Akim Tamiroff as Maxim's Manager (uncredited)

French

• Maurice Chevalier as Prince Danilo
• Jeanette MacDonald as Missia
• Marcel Vallée as L'ambassadeur
• Danièle Parola as La reine
• André Berley as Le roi
• Fifi D'Orsay as Marcelle
• Pauline Garon as Lola
• George Davis as L'ordonnance
• Jean Perry as Le valet
• Akim Tamiroff as Turk

Cedric Gibbons and Fredric Hope won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

 

The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2006 list AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals.

The film earned $861,000 in the US and $1,747,000 overseas for a total rental of $2,608,000. It earned a further $151,000 on re-release in 1949–1950 to almost break even.

Notes