 |
| The Merry Widow - 1934 |
Coming up next we have 1934's "The Merry Widow", a story about a wealthy widow who holds the fate of a European country in the form of her taxes. The king sends a man to woo her, but it won't be as easy as he hopes.
The film's cast includes Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Edward Everett Horton, Una Merkel, George Barbier, Minna Gombell, Sterling Holloway, Donald Meek, and Ferdinand Munier.
Charming playboy Count Danilo is in distress. For the first time, he sees a woman in Marshovia, a European kingdom, that he doesn't know. This woman drives by in her carriage hiding her face behind a mask.
This woman is Madame Sonia, a very wealthy widow. In fact, she owns 52% of Marshovia, and is one of the most powerful women in the country because of it. She's beautiful and has a singing voice like an angel.
Danilo sneaks into her estate at night and meets with her. He tells her that he's longing to make her better acquaintance, but she refuses to remove her veil. "Tell me, your eyes, are they blue or brown? Are you pretty or beautiful?," he asks her longingly. "Gorgeous!" she replies.
Tiring of Danilo's forwardness and presumptuous nature, Sonia sends him on his way and retreats back into her huge home.
As her maids get her ready for bed, we find that Sonia is very dedicated to her mourning. Everything she wears is black. Even her dog is black.
Once the maids withdraw, Sonia opens the doors to the balcony and listens to the music from a tavern across the way from her house. She sings along. Everyone is captivated as she sings "Vilia".
Soon, Sonia decides that she's through with mourning. Everything dark is now changed to lighter colors (even the dog!). She has also made the decision to leave Marshovia and move to Paris.
Furious that Sonia is leaving the country and could possibly get remarried to someone that doesn't have Marshovia's interests at heart and could have her remove her money, the King is desperate for a plan. He goes to see the Queen and finds her in a compromising situation with the amorous Danilo. "No, no, Dolores.
That’s not right. You know well
enough I have to go down in history
as Achmed the Great. And how do you cooperate? Falling in love with the captain of the
guard. That’s hitting below the crown," he tells her.
However, the King gets an idea. He decides to send Danilo to Paris (a city which he knows very well) in an effort to woo Sonia back to the country. Danilo is very happy to be going back to his favorite city in the world.
He's going to have to work fast. There is already quite a line of men who are interested in courting the beautiful Sonia.
Before he gets down to the business at hand, Danilo decides to head for Maxim's "where all the girls are dreams. Each kiss goes on the wine list, and mine is quite a fine list!"
Sonia follows him there (having heard him pass in the street). She decides to have a little fun with him. Since he doesn't know who she is, she pretends that she works in the famous cabaret and goes by the name of Fifi. Naturally, the flirtatious Danilo wants to spend as much time with this new girl as possible.
During the course of the evening, Sonia finds out that all of Danilo's attentions aren't headed for a long-term commitment. And she leaves. Danilo is crushed, having never been refused by a girl before. He also finds out that he has developed real feelings for "Fifi".
At a party at the Marshovian Embassy, the Ambassador tells Danilo that the King has commanded that he marry Sonia. Danilo is less than thrilled with the idea of marrying a complete stranger.
However, when they are introduced, Danilo changes his mind. He now knows that "Fifi" and the masked woman from Marshovia are one and the same. Sonia isn't happy at all. But, before the evening is out Danilo has convinced her that he is going to give up his playboy ways for her.
Trouble brews for the couple during the course of the evening in the form of a misunderstanding, and Sonia decides to cast him off forever.
Back home in Marshovia, news that Sonia has refused to marry Danilo has reached the ears of the King and Queen. "Looks like exile to me," says Queen Dolores, knowing that they will be run out of the country for failing to secure its most wealthy citizen.
The King gets busy packing up the palace. He gets his crown and wraps it in newspaper so that it can be packed away.
Don't worry. Everything turns out alright. Sonia and Danilo do get together, albeit in a very unconventional way engineered by the King. Danilo tells Sonia that any man who can dance through life with hundreds of women and is willing to walk through life with one should be married.
Cast rundown:
Maurice Chevalier............................Count Danilo
Jeanette MacDonald........................Madame Sonia
Edward Everett Horton.....................Ambassador Popoff
Una Merkel....................................Queen Dolores
George Barbier...............................King Achmed II
Minna Gombell................................Marcelle
Sterling Holloway............................Orderly Mishka
Donald Meek...................................Valet
Ferdinand Munier.............................Jailer
And that's all for The Merry Widow. This was the final film that Jeanette Macdonald and Maurice Chevalier appeared in together. Though extremely popular and financially successful and was the top-grossing film of 1934, the two actors were at odds during the filming. And their relationship was fast deteriorating. He called her a "prude" and she called him a "bottom pincher".
No comments:
Post a Comment