THE GREAT ZIEGFELD

The Great Ziegfeld
MGM, 1936, B/W, 170 minutes, ***
Released March, 1936

Biopic of the legendary Broadway producer, Florenz Ziegfeld, as portrayed by William Powell. The film is more of a celebration of the Ziegfeld shows than a detailed biography.

Produced by: Hunt Stromberg
Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard
Screen Play by: William Anthony McGuire
Suggested by Romances and Incedents in the Life of America's Greatest Showman, Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.
Dances and Ensembles Staged by: Seymour Felix
Special Music and Lyrics by: Walter Donaldson, Harold Adamson
Harriet Hoctor Ballet Music by Con Conrad, Lyrics by Herb Magidson
Musical Direction by: Arthur Lange
Arrangements by: Frank Skinner
Art Direction by: Cedric Gibbons
Associates: Merrill Pye, John Harkrider, Edwin B. Willis
Gowns and Fashion Parades by: Adrian
Special Effects: John Hoffman
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Photographed by: Oliver T. Marsh
Ziegfeld Roof Numbers by: George Folsey, Karl Freund
Melody Number by Ray June
Hoctor Ballet by Merritt B. Gerstad
Film Editor: William S. Gray

Awards: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress (Luise Rainer), Best Dance Direction (Seymour Felix); Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Best Original Story (William Anthony McGuire), Best Film Editing (William S. Gray) and Best Interior Decoration (Cedric Gibbons)

Cast: William Powell [Florenz Ziegfeld], Myrna Loy [Billie Burke], Luise Rainer [Anna Held], Frank Morgan [Billings], Fanny Brice [Fannie Brice], Virginia Bruce [Audrey Dane], Reginald Owen [Sampston], Ray Bolger [Ray Bolger], Ernest Cossart [Sidney], Joseph Cawthorn [Dr. Ziegfeld], Nat Pendleton [Sandow], Harriet Hoctor [Harriett Hoctor], Jean Chatburn [Mary Lou], Paul Irving [Erlanger], Herman Bing [Schultz], Charles Judels [Pierre], Marcelle Corday [Marie], Raymond Walburn [Sage], A. A. Trimble [Will Rogers], Buddy Doyle [Eddie Cantor], Additional Cast: Robert Greig [Joe], Ann Pennington [Herself], Charles Trowbridge [Julian Mitchell], Gilda Gray [Herself], Joan Holland [Patricia Ziegfeld], Leon Errol [Himself], Esther Muir [Prima Donna], William Demarest [Gene Buck], Alfred P. James [Stage Door Man], Miss Morocco [Little Egypt], Suzanne Kaaren [Miss Blair], Sarah Edwards [Wardrobe Woman], James Burtis [Bill], Mickey Daniels [Telegraph Boy], William Griffith [Husband], Grace Hayle [Wife], Richard Tucker, Clay Clement, Larry Wheat, Selmer Jackson [Customers], Alice Keating [Alice], Rosina Lawrence [Marilyn Miller], Jack Baxley [Detective], Charles Coleman [Carriage Starter], Eric Wilton [Desk Clerk], Mary Howard [Miss Carlisle], Bert Hanlon [Jim], Evelyn Dockson [Fat Woman], Franklyn Ardell [Allen], John Larkin [Sam], David Burns [Clarence], Phil Tead [Press Agent], Susan Fleming [Girl with Sage], Adrienne d'Ambricourt [Wife of French Ambassador], Charles Fallon [French Ambassador], Boothe Howard [Willie Zimmerman], Edwin Maxwell [Charles Froman], Ruth Gillette [Lillian Russell], John Hyams [Dave Stamper], Wallis Clark [Broker], Raymond Brown [Inspector Doyle], Pat Nixon [Extra], Allan Jones [dubbing for Dennis Morgan]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra before titles); [0:05] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:36] Won't You Come and Play with Me (sung by Luise Rainer); [0:47] It's Delightful to Be Married (excerpt sung by Luise Rainer rehearsing in her hotel room); [0:54] It's Delightful to Be Married (excerpt sung by Luise Rainer rehearsing in her hotel room); [0:58] It's Delightful to Be Married (sung by Luise Rainer and Girls Chorus on stage); [1:12] If You Knew Susie Like I Know Susie (sung and danced by Buddy Doyle as Eddie Cantor); [1:13] Shine On Harvest Moon (sung by Girls Chorus in background); [1:18] Big production number: A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody (performed by Dennis Morgan and Girls Chorus; segues into a somewhat bizzare medley of many tunes, including: Un bel di (from the opera MADAMA BUTTERFLY) / Liebestraum / Blue Danube / Vesti la giubba (from the opera PAGLIACCI) / Rhapsody in Blue / and others, all on a truly lavish rotating set dripping with people in beautiful costumes. One of the biggest production numbers ever! [1:27] Intermission / Entr'acte: "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" (played by Orchestra); [1:30] You Gotta Pull Strings (sung by Girls Chorus on Ziegfeld roof); [1:32] She's a Ziegfeld Follies Girl (sung and danced by Ray Bolger surrounded by Chorus Girls); [1:35] You (sung by ensemble of boy-girl couples, including Dennis Morgan and Virginia Bruce then moves to Chorus Girls dancing on beds); [1:42] You Never Looked So Beautiful (performed by Virgina Bruce and Mens Chorus, with Ziegfeld Girl fashion parade); [1:53] Yiddle on Your Fiddle (performed by Fanny Brice); [1:54] Queen of the Jungle (performed by Fanny Brice and Girls Chorus); [2:01] My Man (sung by Fanny Brice); [2:05] Look for the Silver Lining (sung by William Powell, Robert Greig, William Demarest and Charles Trowbridge; then sung by Rosina Lawrence in background); [2:16] The Paul Jones (danced by party guests); [2:30] A Circus Must Be Different in a Ziegfeld Show (huge production number sung and danced by Harriet Hoctor and Chorus); [3:01] Exit Music (played by Orchestra)