In the early years of the sound era Paramount produced a number of Ruritanian musical comedies, innuendo-filled romances set in often-fictional European countries, heavily in the mould of turn-of-the-century operettas. Most of them starred Maurice Chevalier and/or Jeanette MacDonald, and most of them were directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The Merry Widow, made at MGM some time after the original wave of movies had hit their peak and tailed off, reunites the two stars and director in a musical that is actually based on a genuine turn-of-the-century operetta by Franz Lehár. Was this a perfect partnership or a dead horse being flogged?
Although I'm not too familiar with the original operetta, it seems the biggest survivor from it is Lehár's music, which contains many a fine and vaguely familiar tune. The plot has been given a makeover by frequent Lubitsch screenwriters Ernest Vajda and Samson Raphaelson, that is very typical Vajda/Raphaelson material, a frothy comedy of errors that seems to take place in a land where adultery has the status of a national sport. There seems to have been a bit of simplification and truncation to make way for the musical numbers however. For example, we get the lengthy "Tonight Will Teach Me to Forget" and surrounding business telling us MacDonald is besotted with Chevalier, but their only scene together before that is not substantial enough to suggest such a spark has been struck. The English lyrics were written by the great Lorenz Hart, so it's a pity Jeanette MacDonald's voice is at its most indecipherably operatic.
The Merry Widow finds Lubitsch at his most stylised and baroque, with lots of deeply layered shot compositions reminiscent of his old studio-mate Josef "von" Sternberg's work. His musical sensitivity is more pronounced than it was in his earlier musicals, for example a burst of strings timed to a door opening on Jeanette MacDonald, or a line of dancers viewed from above seeming to filter down the screen, probably more than anything a sign of the game being upped by Busby Berkely and the Astaire and Rogers musicals. As usual however Lubitsch's forte is his comedic sensibility. For The Merry Widow a lot of scenes key scenes are stolen by some comic diversion, such as a shocked Edward Everett Horton grabbing at the coffee pot while offscreen MacDonald and Chevalier are realising who each other are. It's funny stuff but it does blunt the romantic angle somewhat. And it's not as if Lubitsch couldn't balance soaring romance with vibrant comedy (see for example the brilliant 1932 piece Trouble in Paradise).
Happily, Maurice Chevalier hasn't lost his touch. There aren't too many songs for him here, but his flair for comedy has not lost its edge. He is simply superb in the scene where he induces MacDonald and the king to pretend that the three of them are having some jolly conversation. MacDonald too is acting well, although I do just wish her vocals were a little clearer. As usual there is a fine crop of characters here. George Barbier is the best of the bunch, very much getting into the spirit of things in what is one of his most prominent parts. On the other hand Sterling Holloway is underused and the normally-excellent Edward Everett Horton doesn't seem quite his usual self.
All in all, The Merry Widow is a pretty-looking but rather disappointing affair. It doesn't really recapture the old magic of The Love Parade or The Smiling Lieutenant. Nor does it, I suspect, do much justice to Franz Lehár. By now the movie musical had moved on and far better stuff was being done elsewhere. MGM knew how to make a finely crafted production (well-deserved honourable mention for Cedric Gibbons and Frank Hope's gorgeous art direction), but this one just doesn't have enough heart and soul behind it.
Although I'm not too familiar with the original operetta, it seems the biggest survivor from it is Lehár's music, which contains many a fine and vaguely familiar tune. The plot has been given a makeover by frequent Lubitsch screenwriters Ernest Vajda and Samson Raphaelson, that is very typical Vajda/Raphaelson material, a frothy comedy of errors that seems to take place in a land where adultery has the status of a national sport. There seems to have been a bit of simplification and truncation to make way for the musical numbers however. For example, we get the lengthy "Tonight Will Teach Me to Forget" and surrounding business telling us MacDonald is besotted with Chevalier, but their only scene together before that is not substantial enough to suggest such a spark has been struck. The English lyrics were written by the great Lorenz Hart, so it's a pity Jeanette MacDonald's voice is at its most indecipherably operatic.
The Merry Widow finds Lubitsch at his most stylised and baroque, with lots of deeply layered shot compositions reminiscent of his old studio-mate Josef "von" Sternberg's work. His musical sensitivity is more pronounced than it was in his earlier musicals, for example a burst of strings timed to a door opening on Jeanette MacDonald, or a line of dancers viewed from above seeming to filter down the screen, probably more than anything a sign of the game being upped by Busby Berkely and the Astaire and Rogers musicals. As usual however Lubitsch's forte is his comedic sensibility. For The Merry Widow a lot of scenes key scenes are stolen by some comic diversion, such as a shocked Edward Everett Horton grabbing at the coffee pot while offscreen MacDonald and Chevalier are realising who each other are. It's funny stuff but it does blunt the romantic angle somewhat. And it's not as if Lubitsch couldn't balance soaring romance with vibrant comedy (see for example the brilliant 1932 piece Trouble in Paradise).
Happily, Maurice Chevalier hasn't lost his touch. There aren't too many songs for him here, but his flair for comedy has not lost its edge. He is simply superb in the scene where he induces MacDonald and the king to pretend that the three of them are having some jolly conversation. MacDonald too is acting well, although I do just wish her vocals were a little clearer. As usual there is a fine crop of characters here. George Barbier is the best of the bunch, very much getting into the spirit of things in what is one of his most prominent parts. On the other hand Sterling Holloway is underused and the normally-excellent Edward Everett Horton doesn't seem quite his usual self.
All in all, The Merry Widow is a pretty-looking but rather disappointing affair. It doesn't really recapture the old magic of The Love Parade or The Smiling Lieutenant. Nor does it, I suspect, do much justice to Franz Lehár. By now the movie musical had moved on and far better stuff was being done elsewhere. MGM knew how to make a finely crafted production (well-deserved honourable mention for Cedric Gibbons and Frank Hope's gorgeous art direction), but this one just doesn't have enough heart and soul behind it.