The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrna Loy as Billie Burke. The film, shot at MGM Studios in Culver City, California in the fall of 1935, is a fictionalized tribute to Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and a cinematic adaption of Broadway's Ziegfeld Follies, with highly elaborate costumes, dances and sets. Many of the performers of the theatrical Ziegfeld Follies were cast in the film as themselves, including Fanny Brice and Harriet Hoctor, and the real Billie Burke acted as a supervisor for the film. The "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" set alone was reported to have cost US$220,000 (US$3,886,139 in 2017 dollars), featuring a towering rotating volute of 70 ft (21 m) diameter with 175 spiral steps, weighing 100 tons. The music to the film was provided by Walter Donaldson, Irving Berlin, and lyricist Harold Adamson, with choreographed scenes. The extravagant costumes were designed by Adrian, taking some 250 tailors and seamstresses six months to prepare them using 50 pounds (23 kg) of silver sequins and 12 yards (11 m) of white ostrich plumes. Over a thousand people were employed in the production of the film, which required 16 reels of film after the cutting. 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. It won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture for producer Hunt Stromberg, Best Actress for Luise Rainer, and Best Dance Direction for Seymour Felix, and was nominated for four others. Although the film is still praised for its lavish production and as a symbol of glamor and excess during the Golden Age of Hollywood, today The Great Ziegfeld is generally seen less favorably and is considered by many critics to be excessively showy and long at just over three hours. MGM made two more Ziegfeld films – one entitled Ziegfeld Girl (1941), starring James Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and Lana Turner, which recycled some footage from The Great Ziegfeld, and in 1946, Ziegfeld Follies by Vincente Minnelli. In 1951, they produced their Technicolor remake of Show Boat, which Ziegfeld had presented as a stage musical.

Production: MGM Home Entertainment
  Won 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
65%
NOT RATED
Year:
1936
176
594 Views

Billie Burke:
I'm here.

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.:
Yes, and so am I.

Billie Burke:
But it must seem like kindergarten to you.

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.:
Why?

Billie Burke:
The great Mr. Ziegfeld, producer of the Follies, surrounded by hundreds of beautiful women, sitting on a bench holding hands, watching the riverboats go back and forth. Doesn't sound a bit like you, does it?

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.:
No, it doesn't. But, here I am, sitting on a bench, holding hands and watching the riverboats go back and forth... And regretting all the years I haven't known you.

Billie Burke:
Didn't Anna Held take up a few of those years?

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.:
Yes, Billie, she did. She was truly a wonderful woman.

Billie Burke:
I love you for saying that.

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.:
Look, there's another ferryboat going across to the Palisades. Will you keep your eyes on it while I tell you something?

Billie Burke:
Must I look at a ferryboat to listen to you?

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.:
Yes, or I won't be able to tell you.

Billie Burke:
You mean the great lady's man is bashful?

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.:
Strange as it may seem... in your presence, he is.

Billie Burke:
All right, I'm looking.

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.:
I love you, Billie. [Billie turns to look at him. Flo points] The ferryboat... I haven't anything to offer you, because there's nothing that you really seem to need. You've made the most of yourself unassisted, and that's grand. But [Billie starts to face him] Ferryboat. You're a great star already, so there's little I can offer you. Nothing I can give you... except my love.

Billie Burke:
That isn't enough... I expect part of your ambition, half of your trouble, two-thirds of your worries... and all of your respect. [They kiss]


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