La vedova allegra

Andrew Sarris once wrote that "Lubitsch suggests the art of lilting waltz or bubbling champagne" and nowhere is this truer in "The Merry Widow", Lubitsch's last musical, his first transition to MGM, and my own pick for Lubitsch's greatest musical (rivalled only by either "One Hour With You"(1932) or "The Smiling Lieutenant"(1931)). It just doesn't get any better than this. Lubitsch's approach here is to exploit Cedric Gibbons' enchanting Art Deco with wit. He also displays an eye for real, human emotion within the marvellous, dreamy world. There are many highlights, including the rousing rendition of "Delia" at the beginning, Chevalier's Danilo at the Maxim's, but the most extraordinary of all is The Merry Widow Waltz, a joyous blend of gaiety and sadness. In several successive shots, Danilo and Jeanette MacDonald's Sonia are shown alone on a dance floor and then exquisitely enveloped by hordes of dancers sweeping in from all sides - then all this enchanting splendour is climaxed by Lubitsch revealing that the whole ballroom scene is the subjective dream of the lovers. What appears to be the dance of life is in fact the dance of death.

Lubitsch will later reprise the waltz in his imperishable 1943 masterpiece "Heaven Can Wait" when Don Ameche recalls it on his death bed. Not to Mention, Alfred Hitchcock in "Shadow of a Doubt" as a reminder of death and mortality.

This is why Hollywood use the expression "The Lubitsch Touch". Almost every film made by that most delightful of directors was sprightly and hilarious and sexy, and this is one of his most delightful. It's the best version filmed.

Maurice Chevalier is of course just as attractive as a man can be, and Jeanette MacDonald is wonderfully funny and sexy (why oh why did she ever team up with Nelson "The Singing Capon" Eddy? With Chevalier she was enchanting, with Eddy you wanted to slap her), and the supporting cast is delightful. Wonderful script, wonderful score, fabulous thirties-period costumes, all in all a delight.

When Jeanette MacDonald left Paramount and signed with her new studio of MGM it was her wish that she not do any more films with Maurice Chevalier. Though the three films she did for that studio with him were very successful, the two of them did not get along at all. She thought he was a rake, he thought she was frigid.

So imagine her chagrin when she learned that her first MGM film, The Merry Widow which has some great songs for a soprano she would be co-starred once again with Chevalier. He wasn't exactly thrilled either, it was known he was hoping to do the film with Grace Moore. But they both went back to work for Ernst Lubitsch who had guided them in The Love Parade and One Hour With You. Lubitsch got the best out of them, especially Jeanette. There are some who say her work at Paramount with him is far superior to anything she would do at MGM, even with Nelson Eddy.

Jeanette's the richest woman in the tiny kingdom of Marshovia, her taxes bankroll the kingdom. But she's bored there and cynical about all the men courting her for her money. The king and queen of Marshovia, George Barbier and Una Merkel, want to keep her Marshovian money in Marshovia so they send the most romantic guy they know, captain of the guard Maurice Chevalier as Count Danilo who cuts quite a romantic figure and romantic swath among the ladies.

Of course he falls in love, but he's still got a roving eye and in his own way Maurice is as cynical as Jeanette. It will take some doing to get these two together.

The Merry Widow had its American premiere on Broadway in 1907 and ran for 416 performances. The basic numbers of the score that Franz Lehar wrote are retained. My favorite is one of the best operetta numbers ever written for a soprano, Vilia. Jeanette sings it beautifully as she does the famous Merry Widow Waltz. And who could sing about the joys of courting Girls Girls Girls while hanging out at Maxim's than Maurice Chevalier?

Lubitsch does a grand job at getting some real comic moments out of Edward Everett Horton as the Marshovian Ambassador in Paris who together with Herman Bing. I do so love the scene where Bing is translating the diplomatic codes for Horton with the king's editorial comments.

Chevalier and MacDonald never worked together again, but they certainly went out on a high note (no pun intended) with The Merry Widow.

The great Ernst Lubitsch clearly understood the material in which "The Merry Widow" was based. Being European himself, he clearly identified with this delightful Franz Lehar operetta that had been charming audiences throughout the years. Mr. Lubitsch places the action in the small country of Marshovia, in central Europe. The director had an eye for the great spectacle he presents for us. Mr. Lubitsch greatest achievement is that he seems to have his camera waltzing all the time. The result is an amazing triumph for MGM.

In fact, the glorious sets one admires in the film are breathtaking. For a film made in 1934, the art directors, Cedric Gibbons and Gabriel Scognamillo recreate the royal palace of Marshovia in amazing detail, as well as the Paris scenes with an elegance and good taste that shows the resources of the studio that didn't spare anything. The black and white cinematography of Oliver Marsh enhances the Lubitsch style. Adrian's gowns look luxurious and the editing of the film by Francis Marsh give the film continuity without ever making the action appear forced or staged.

The pairing of Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald was an match that seems to have been made in haven. Both actors are a delight to see. Mr. Chevalier with his French accent and mannerisms make his Count Danilo the charmer he is. The beautiful Ms. MacDonald is mysterious at first, when we meet her, then as she has fallen in love, changes her attitude and realizes Danilo is the man for her.

The secondary roles are played with great panache by the genial Edward Everett Horton, who as the ambassador to Paris, is under orders to have Sonia, the wealthy woman, accept Danilo and return to Marshovia with all her money. George Barber plays the King Achmed and the incomparable Una Merkel is seen as Queen Dolores.

The Merry Widow waltz received a great production number in which about a hundred couples are seen dancing around Sonia and Danilo, first in white tuxedos and gowns and later in black ones. Later all the couples are mixed together creating such a rich moment. By today's standards that sequence couldn't have been done, or it must have cost a fortune, or perhaps would have digitally mastered in order not to pay dancers to appear dancing in the movie.

Let's just be thankful there was a man with a vision, Ernst Lubitsch, and let's be grateful for his vision and his legacy.

No need to add to the many reviews finding this a delightful, well made film. It is every bit that. Yet, this film violates one of the principles of truth in filming. It is NOT the Lehar Merry Widow. At best it is a distant cousin. To be sure, the film uses some of the music, albeit in odd places. and uses the names of some of the characters.

One of the plot elements of both the Lehar and the Lubitsch is the need for the tiny country to have the widow marry to keep her millions in the country's bank. The male lead is Danilo in both but in Lehar he is a playboy count. Here he is a bold captain. In Lehar, the leads were lovers in the past. Here they are newly met. And so it goes.

From the standpoint of faithfulness to the Lehar work, a work which still enraptures, this film is a travesty. Yet, it is a delightful travesty. Too bad they did not give it a different name.