{"id":38706,"date":"2017-04-10T10:07:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T17:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38706"},"modified":"2021-04-18T12:03:29","modified_gmt":"2021-04-18T19:03:29","slug":"merry-widow-the-1934","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38706","title":{"rendered":"Merry Widow, The (1934)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Have you ever had diplomatic relations with a woman?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Merry-Widow-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Merry-Widow-Poster-223x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"223\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-56362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Merry-Widow-Poster-223x300.png 223w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Merry-Widow-Poster-761x1024.png 761w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Merry-Widow-Poster-95x128.png 95w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Merry-Widow-Poster-768x1034.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Merry-Widow-Poster-201x270.png 201w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Merry-Widow-Poster.png 827w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen  a wealthy widow (Jeanette MacDonald) leaves for Paris &#8212; thus threatening her small nation&#8217;s financial livelihood through loss of tax revenue &#8212; the King of Marshovia (George Barbier) orders a playboy captain (Maurice Chevalier) to court her and bring her back.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Akim Tamiroff Films<\/li>\n<li>Ernst Lubitsch Films<\/li>\n<li>Jeanette MacDonald Films<\/li>\n<li>Maurice Chevalier Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<li>Royalty and Nobility<\/li>\n<li>Widows and Widowers<\/li>\n<li>Womanizers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on an <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=8254\">oft-filmed<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Merry_Widow\">beloved operetta by Franz Lehar<\/a>, this romantic musical by director Ernst Lubitsch features Jeanette MacDonald in one of her best-known roles, starring opposite an actor (Maurice Chevalier) she detested in real life &#8212; thus making their on-screen romantic challenges all the more believable. The storyline is pure fluff, as perhaps it should be, with Chevalier&#8217;s playboy apparently so desirable he can bed any woman he wants &#8212; including the King&#8217;s wife (Una Merkel) &#8212; while not instilling a shred of possessiveness or jealousy in a one of them. It&#8217;s quite extraordinary:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Chevalier.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Chevalier.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38713\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Chevalier.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Chevalier-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Chevalier-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cedric Gibbons and Fredric Hope&#8217;s Oscar-winning art direction, and Adrian&#8217;s gorgeous gowns (according to TCM, MacDonald&#8217;s 24 gowns alone <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/14840\/the-merry-widow#articles-reviews?articleId=89437\">&#8220;were so lavish it took 12 seamstresses four months to build them&#8221;<\/a>) make this a treat to watch, and fans of MacDonald won&#8217;t want to miss it &#8212; but it&#8217;s not quite must-see viewing for all film fanatics. I recommend seeing MacDonald in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38649\"><em>Naughty Marietta<\/em> (1935)<\/a> instead. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stunning gowns by Adrian<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Gowns.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Gowns.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Gowns.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Gowns-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Gowns-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lavish sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38711\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets1-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Merry-Widow-Sets-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s recommended for one-time viewing. Listed in the back of Peary&#8217;s book as a film with Historical Relevance and a Personal Favorite. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0025493\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/06\/23\/movies\/warner-archive-restores-the-merry-widow.html\">NY Times Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/14840\/the-merry-widow#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Have you ever had diplomatic relations with a woman?&#8221; Synopsis: When a wealthy widow (Jeanette MacDonald) leaves for Paris &#8212; thus threatening her small nation&#8217;s financial livelihood through loss of tax revenue &#8212; the King of Marshovia (George Barbier) orders a playboy captain (Maurice Chevalier) to court her and bring her back. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Akim Tamiroff Films Ernst Lubitsch Films Jeanette MacDonald Films Maurice Chevalier Films Mistaken or Hidden Identities Musicals Romance Royalty and Nobility Widows and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38706\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38706"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71548,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38706\/revisions\/71548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}