The Emperor Waltz
Paramount, 1948, Color, 106 minutes, ***
Premiere release (USA) May, 1948
General release (USA) June, 1948
Uncharacteristically fluffy entertainment from writer-director Billy Wilder features Bing Crosby as a phonograph salesman in Austria who tries to pitch his product to the country's ruler while attempting to woo the emperor's niece (Joan Fontaine). Richard Haydn and Sig Rumann co-star; tunes include "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame," "Friendly Mountains" and the title song.
The film opens with the statement: "On a December night, some forty-odd years ago, His Majesty Francis Joseph the First, Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, and so forth and so forth, was giving a little clambake at his palace in Vienna."
Produced by: Charles Brackett
Directed by: Billy Wilder
Assistant Director: C. C. Coleman, Jr.
Written by: Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder
Music Score by: Victor Young
Vocal Arrangements: Joseph J. Lilley
Special Lyrics by: Johnny Burke for songs "The Kiss in Your Eyes" (Chambre Separee), "Friendly Mountains"
Music Associate: Troy Sanders
Dances Staged by: Billy Daniels
Art Direction: Hans Dreier, Franz Bachelin
Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Paul Huldschinsky
Costumes: Edith Head
Men's Costumes: Gile Steele
Makeup Supervision: Wally Westmore
Sound Recording: Stanley Cooley and John Cope
Director of Photography: George Barnes
Special Photographic Effects: Gordon Jennings
Process Photography: Farciot Edouart
Photographed in Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Robert Brower
Editorial Supervision: Doane Harrison
Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design - Color (Edith Head and Gile Steele), and Best Score - Musical (Victor Young)
Cast: Bing Crosby [Virgil Smith], Joan Fontaine [Johanna Franziska Von Stultzenberg-Stultzenberg], Roland Culver [Baron Holenia], Richard Haydn [Emperor Franz Josef], Lucile Watson [Princess], Sig Rumann [Dr. Zwieback], Julia Dean [Archduchess Stephanie], Harold Vermilyea [Chamberlain], Roberta Jonay [Chambermaid], John Goldsworthy [Obersthofmeister], Doris Dowling [Tyrolean Girl], James Vincent [Abbe], Harry Allen [Gamekeeper], Frank Elliott [Von Usedon], Paul de Corday [Officer], Jack Gargan [Master of Ceremonies], Cyril Delevanti [Diplomat], Franco Corsaro [Marquis], Bert Prival [Chauffeur], Alma Macrorie [Proprietor of Tyrolean Inn], Gerald Mohr [Marques Alonso]
Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] Emperor Waltz (danced by guests at "clambake"); [0:26] Friendly Mountains (sung by Bing Crosby and Chorus); [0:45] I Kiss Your Hand Madame (sung by Bing Crosby; taken up by violinists and Orchestra, danced by hotel staff and Chauffeur; reprised throughout film); [1:12] The Kiss in Your Eyes (played by fiddlers in village, sung by Bing Crosby); [1:45] Emperor Waltz (segment sung by Bing Crosby, danced by Court guests); Get Yourself a Phonograph (written for the film but not used); "I Kiss Your Hand Madame" is a major theme in the background score; The Whistler and His Dog (whistled by Bing Crosby, used throughout the film)
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