THE GREAT WALTZ 1938

The Great Waltz
MGM, 1938, B/W, 102 minutes
Released November, 1938

A highly entertaining biopic of Johann Strauss II. Set against the backdrop of revolution, Johann Strauss makes his way to the top of Viennese society. Beautifully photographed, and filled with wonderful music!

NOTE: There were at least two other versions of this film: One for TV with Patrice Munsel, Bert Lahr and Keith Andes (1955) and an MGM color remake of the 1938 version, with Horst Buchholz and Mary Costa. The 1938 version (outlined here) was by far the best of the three.

Producer: Bernard H. Hyman
Directed by: Julien Duvivier
Screen Play by: Samuel Hoffenstein and Walter Reisch
Original Story by: Gottfried Reinhardt
Music of Johann Strauss II Adapted and Arranged by: Dimitri Tiomkin
Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Director: Arthur Guttman
Dances and Ensembles by: Albertina Rasch
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Associates: Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis
Gowns by: Adrian
Hair Styles for Miss Korjus by: Sydney Guilaroff
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Photographed by: Joseph Ruttenberg
Film Editor: Tom Held

Awards: Academy Award for Best Cinematography; Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Miliza Korjus) and Best Film Editing

Cast: Luise Rainer [Poldi Vogelhuber], Fernand Gravet [Johann Strauss], Miliza Korjus [Carla Donner], Hugh Herbert [Hofbauer], Lionel Atwill [Count Hohenfried], Curt Bois [Kienzl], Leonid Kinskey [Dudelman], Al Shean [Cellist], Minna Gombell [Mrs. Hofbauer], George Houston [Schiller], Bert Roach [Vogelhuber], Greta Meyer [Mrs. Vogelhuber], Herman Bing [Dommayer], Alma Kruger [Mrs. Strauss], Henry Hull [Emperor Franz Joseph], Sig Rumann [Wertheimer], Christian Rub [Coachman]

Musical Program: [0:08] unidentified waltz (Orchestra); [0:12] Artists Life (Orchestra); [0:16] I'm in Love with Vienna (sung by unidentified tenor and Chorus, danced by Ensemble); [0:20] Polka (danced by Ensemble); [0:25] There'll Come a Time (Miliza Korjus); [0:40] Revolutionary March (Chorus); [0:49] Tales from the Vienna Woods (sequence includes Fernand Gravet, Miliza Korjus and Christian Rub composing the music while riding through the Vienna Woods. The music is inspired by the clopping of the sound of the carriage horse (Rosie) hoofbeats, singing birds, the shepherds trumpets and trumpets of a royal carriage. The scene then moves to a cafe in Vienna where Strauss leads the orchestra in his new composition, and it is sung by Miliza Korjus and danced by Fernand Gravet and Miliza Korjus); [1:02] Revolutionary March (Chorus); [1:03] unidentified number (piano played on-screen by Fernand Gravet); [1:10] One Day When We Were Young (Fernand Gravet); [1:13] Die Fledermaus (excerpt from operetta: Miliza Korjus, unidentified tenor and Chorus); [1:22] Die Fledermaus (operetta finale excerpt sung and danced by Miliza Korjus and Chorus); [1:33] One Day When We Were Young (Miliza Korjus); [1:35] The Blue Danube (Orchestra); [1:41] Finale Sequence: The Blue Danube / One Day When We Were Young / I'm in Love with Vienna (Miliza Korjus and Chorus)