The Merry Widow

Other than identifying the title character as an American now, The Merry Widow pretty much retains the same plot, even some of the same lines from the 1934 Jeanette MacDonald-Maurice Chevalier film.

Lana Turner is the widow of the man who was the richest person in the small kingdom of Mariskova. It's estimated in fact she has part ownership in 52% of the gross national product of the kingdom. She's the big fish in this pond.

Operating under the premise that Lana though she is now living in New York would still like to be a big fish in a small pond than be swallowed by an Austrian whale, King Thomas Gomez dispatches one of his playboy relations, Fernando Lamas too woo and wed the widow. The Hapsburgs are threatening that if they don't make good what's owed them they'll just come in and annex Mariskova. King Tom obviously does not want to spend his declining years in the fleshpots of Baden Baden or Marienbad or the French Riviera, he wants to stay king.

Getting the rich widow to underwrite the kingdom is not as silly a premise as it sounds. Just a bit before the action of The Merry Widow takes place, J. Pierpont Morgan literally underwrote the USA financial structure when asked to by President Cleveland.

Of course with a multi-millionaire fortune, Turner is naturally suspicious of a host of people trying to become friends and lovers.

The Franz Lehar songs which is what makes this operetta a beloved one by many repertoire companies are mostly present. Some are sung, others are relegated to the background. They are divided equally with the leading man and woman, here though Fernando Lamas carries the musical load. Trudy Erwin who dubbed Lana Turner's singing voice joins him briefly in the Merry Widow Waltz. All the other songs are given to Lamas including Vilia which is sung by the leading lady normally. Jeanette MacDonald sang it in the 1934 version and did it well.

Lamas and Turner were quite involved during this film. Esther Williams in her memoirs and this was years before she married Fernando tells that she was visiting the set at MGM one day and heard all kinds of squeals of passion coming from Turner's trailer. Obviously Fernando and Lana getting some rehearsal done.

Look for two nice supporting performances from Richard Haydn and John Abbott as a pair of bumbling Mariskovian diplomats and Una Merkel in her usual role as secretary and gal pal to Turner.

Even with technicolor this one doesn't quite measure to the 1934 version though Fernando Lamas does sing real nice.

My wife and I met doing a professional production of "The Merry Widow" in 1982 -- in English, but a straight translation.

Only the very basic skeleton of the original plot is visible in this "adaptation". Most of the characters have been deleted, along with the entire B plot, and all but one of the characters remaining have been renamed. Most of the characters in the movie aren't in the operetta, either. The action has been moved from Paris to, at first, Washington, DC, and then to the fictional country of Pontevedro, which the movie has renamed "Marshovia", and only later to Paris. The net result is that we don't reach the beginning of the original play until about 45 minutes in.

And the main source of tension in the plot is deleted, too. In the original, years before, Count Danilo and the heroine were very much in love, but his family refused to allow them to marry because she was poor; it's his broken heart that has rendered him a careless playboy. Now that, as a widow, she's the richest woman in the world, she still loves him, and he still loves her, but his pride won't let him admit it to anyone, even himself, and she must spend three acts playing mind games to break him down. The trope of the aristocrat with money problems who won't admit that he's in love with a rich woman for fear of what people will think supplied the main plots of a substantial fraction of Viennese operettas for decades after the 1906 "Widow". In this movie, they've never met before, which rips out not only the heart of the whole thing, but nearly all the comedy.

Lamas does a pretty decent job, though.

An interesting musical point is that several times we hear a snippet or so of "Trés Parisien", an extra song written (in English, despite the title) for the London première, which was not, as far as I know, usually found in American productions until the 1980s or so.

The lovely Lana Turner stars in this rather lackluster Technicolor musical. In my opinion it is far inferior to the charming and hilarious 1934 Ernst Lubitsch version. (Both films are adaptations of an operetta, so the 1934 one isn't exactly the "original".)

To this film's credit, it's rather different from Lubitsch's version. It doesn't try to be an exact copy and can therefore be judged on its own merits. (I can't say which version of the story is most true to the original play.) This 1952 version is, for one thing, in color and features some new ballads to go with a couple familiar tunes from the earlier film. The songs, however, are largely forgettable. The storyline, about a small European kingdom sending a man to woo a wealthy widow, is a little different in this version, although the general arc is similar. (Viewers familiar with the 1934 version will notice the differences; I won't mention them here.)

This film overall did not impress me, partly because I'd been previously spoiled with the Lubitsch version, which is simultaneously a fairy tale romance and a hilarious comedy (with music, too!). This 1952 version is more of a second-tier MGM romance musical. It's really not a legitimate comedy, although it does try to be funny. But Lana Turner looks great in this good girl role (she'd played many a femme fatale) and the cast isn't bad. I can't fault the movie for trying, but it just falls a little flat for me.

THE MERRY WIDOW (1952) may be fun for musical junkies or viewers who don't know what they're missing, but I'd recommend the comedy of the 1934 version of the same story.

5.5/10

This 1952 version of "The Merry Widow" couldn't possibly compare to the 1934 Lubitsch production, but MGM went all out to make a lavish, colorful film starring Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas. To do so, all of the singing, except for one short section, was taken away from Turner. I guess someone thought a soprano voice coming out of her mouth would seem funny to 1952 audiences, which seems a strange decision. Some stars, like Ava Gardner, were dubbed constantly. Lamas did his own singing in a tremulous tenor. Considering the fact that "The Merry Widow" has been a staple of opera companies for years, it really needs some bigger guns. MGM had them but didn't use them.

"The Merry Widow" is about Crystal Radek (Turner), a wealthy widow living, in this version, in New York, whose husband was from a small country, Marshkovia. She is lured to Marshovia under false pretenses. The country is broke and Count Danilo (Lamas) has been asked to court and marry her so the debts can be paid. Danilo mistakes Crystal's attractive but older friend (Una Merkel) for Crystal and is reluctant to pursue her. Crystal finds out why she has been brought to Marshovia and takes off for Paris. Danilo follows her - still not knowing what she looks like - and she follows him to Maxim's and introduces herself as Fifi, a chorus girl. Danilo falls in love with Fifi, but his country has ordered him to marry Crystal.

This film was nominated for best art direction and best costumes, and no wonder. "The Merry Widow" is absolutely gorgeous, with the most heavenly costumes and sets. Turner looks fabulous and despite the long gowns, gets to show off her legs. Lamas makes a handsome and charming Danilo. As Billy Crystal would say, he looks mahvelous.

The supporting players - Thomas Gomez, Richard Haydn, Maurice Danilo, King Donovan, are all excellent, and if you think you recognize Gwen Verdon among the dancers at Maxim's, you do.

The best part of the film is the waltz toward the end of the film, which is stunning. Hitchcock aficionados will recognize "The Merry Widow Waltz" from "Shadow of a Doubt" and get an eerie feeling every time they hear it - which in "The Merry Widow" is more than once.

When Dore Schary took over MGM in 1951, he considered Lana Turner, at the age of 30, nothing more than an over-the-hill actress. She proved him wrong. Seeing her in "The Merry Widow" is a good indication that Dore Schary needed stronger glasses.

In Australia we are still able to see the beautiful MGM musical in a real 1952 vintage 3 strip Technicolor print which is still in very good condition. I saw it last year and apart from a few bumpy reel changes it is very clean and not scratched too much. Lucky us! I know this is not the definitive version purists rave about (that is the 1934 version) but MGM in 1952 was about as technically lush and state of the art perfect as one could want for any musical. In fact MW is is as colorful and as visually lavish as MY FAIR LADY or ON A CLEAR DAY or HALF A SIXPENCE or even the indoor scenes in TITANIC to any modern audience. The Gen x-ers who saw this version were absolutely in awe of how spectacular this REAL Technicolor version is. Lana is amazingly beautiful and Fernando is his virile Latin he man best. The Waltz in the last reel is exquisite. The only irritating bit is the same 'mid-west-Yanks-in-Europe' antics that annoy in LOVELY TO LOOK AT made the same year. However, who really cares when THE MERRY WIDOW is visually astonishing and musically delicious. What a year it was at MGM in 1952! And this much guarded and treasured proper Hollywood 3 strip Technicolor print is staying here, folks! If you wanna see it you have to come visit.