The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writer:

William Anthony McGuire (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 April 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

10 Big Shows In 1

Plot:

This biography follows the ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld, famed producer of extravagant stage revues.

Plot Keywords:

Revue | Florenz Ziegfeld | Sideshow | Theatrical Producer | Depression

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

William Powell	...	Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
Myrna Loy	...	Billie Burke
Luise Rainer	...	Anna Held
Frank Morgan	...	Jack Billings
Fanny Brice	...	Herself (as Fannie Brice)
Virginia Bruce	...	Audrey Dane
Reginald Owen	...	Sampston
Ray Bolger	...	Himself
Ernest Cossart	...	Sidney
Joseph Cawthorn	...	Dr. Ziegfeld (as Joseph Cawthorne)
Nat Pendleton	...	Sandow
Harriet Hoctor	...	Herself
Jean Chatburn	...	Mary Lou
Paul Irving	...	Erlanger
Herman Bing	...	Costumer
Charles Judels	...	Pierre
Marcelle Corday	...	Marie
Raymond Walburn	...	Sage
A.A. Trimble	...	Will Rogers
Buddy Doyle	...	Eddie Cantor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wanda Allen	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Bernice Alstock	...	Soloist in 'Shine On, Harvest Moon' Montage (uncredited)
Franklyn Ardell	...	Allen (uncredited)
Earl Askam	...	Audience Member (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor	...	Sassy Blonde Anna Held Audience Member (uncredited)
Lynn Bailey	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Monica Bannister	...	Ziegfield Girl (uncredited)
Bonnie Bannon	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Lynn Bari	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Jack Baxley	...	Detective (uncredited)
Robert Bradford	...	Soloist in 'Look for the Silver Lining' Montage (uncredited)
Raymond Brown	...	Inspector Doyle (uncredited)
Sheila Browning	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Charles Bruins	...	Singer (uncredited)
David Burns	...	Clarence (uncredited)
James P. Burtis	...	Bill (uncredited)
Edna Callahan	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Buddy Clark	...	Singer (uncredited)
Wallis Clark	...	Stock Broker (uncredited)
Thomas Clarke	...	Ol' Man River' soloist in Show Boat scene (uncredited)
Clay Clement	...	Jack - Barber Shop Customer (uncredited)
Charles Coleman	...	Carriage Starter (uncredited)
Helen Collins	...	Miss Drake (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Diane Cook	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Earl Covert	...	Soloist in 'Rio Rita' Montage (uncredited)
Pauline Craig	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Adrienne D'Ambricourt	...	Wife of French Ambassador (uncredited)
Mickey Daniels	...	Telegraph Boy (uncredited)
Bill Days	...	Soloist in 'Shine On, Harvest Moon' Montage (uncredited)
Hester Dean	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
William Demarest	...	Gene Buck (uncredited)
Dick Dennis	...	Singer (uncredited)
Evelyn Dockson	...	Fat Woman (uncredited)
Jay Eaton	...	Theatregoer (uncredited)
Sarah Edwards	...	Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)
Zari Elmassian	...	Soloist in 'Look for the Silver Lining' Montage (uncredited)
Charles Fallon	...	French Ambassador (uncredited)
Susan Fleming	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Ruth Gillette	...	Lillian Russell (uncredited)
Ann Gillis	...	Mary Lou as a Child (uncredited)
Peter Gowland	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Robert Greig	...	Joe (uncredited)
Virginia Grey	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Billy Griffith	...	Husband at Chicago World's Fair (uncredited)
Mary Halsey	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Bert Hanlon	...	Jim (uncredited)
Jeanne Hart	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Patricia Havens-Monteagle	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Grace Hayle	...	Wife at Chicago World's Fair (uncredited)
Joan Holland	...	Patricia Ziegfeld (uncredited)
Shep Houghton	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Boothe Howard	...	Willie Zimmerman (uncredited)
Mary Howard	...	Miss Carlisle (uncredited)
John Hyams	...	Dave Stamper (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Barber Shop Customer (uncredited)
Alfred P. James	...	Stage Door Man (uncredited)
Suzanne Kaaren	...	Ruth Blair (uncredited)
Alice Keating	...	Alice (uncredited)
Mary Lange	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Toni Lanier	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
John Larkin	...	Sam (uncredited)
Rosina Lawrence	...	Sally Manners (uncredited)
Margaret Lyman	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Frances MacInerney	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Tandy MacKenzie	...	Singer (uncredited)
Edwin Maxwell	...	Charles Frohman (uncredited)
Julie Mooney	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Dennis Morgan	...	Stage Singer in 'Pretty Girl' Number (uncredited)
Miss Morocco	...	Little Egypt (uncredited)
Esther Muir	...	Burlesque Prima Donna (uncredited)
Pat Nixon	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Barry Norton	...	Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Pearlie Norton	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Carlita Orr	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Claire Owen	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Wanda Perry	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Theatre Doorman (uncredited)
Bob Priester	...	Singer (uncredited)
Mae Questel	...	Rosie (uncredited)
Evelyn Randolph	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Byron Russell	...	Audience Member (uncredited)
Barlow Simpson	...	Trooper on Parade (uncredited)
Georgia Spence	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Audience Spectator (uncredited)
Libby Taylor	...	Flossie - Audrey's Maid (uncredited)
Paul Taylor	...	Soloist in 'After the Ball' Montage (uncredited)
Phil Tead	...	Press Agent (uncredited)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Julian Mitchell (uncredited)
Richard Tucker	...	Barber Shop Customer (uncredited)
Ellinor Vanderveer	...	Audience Member (uncredited)
Venita Varden	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Dolly Verner	...	Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Allan Watson	...	Singer (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Desk Clerk (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Z. Leonard

Writing credits
William Anthony McGuire		(screenplay)

Produced by
Hunt Stromberg	....	producer
Sidney Algier	....	assistant producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Arthur Lange		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey		(segment: Ziegfeld Roof Numbers) (as George Folsey)
Karl Freund		(segment: Ziegfeld Roof Numbers)
Merritt B. Gerstad		(photographed by: Hoctor Ballet)
Ray June		(photographed by: Melody Number)
Oliver T. Marsh		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
William S. Gray

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Eddie Imazu		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Max Factor	....	wig supervisor (uncredited)
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert A. Golden	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Art Smith	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Sam Zimbalist	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
John W. Harkrider	....	associate art director (as John Harkrider)
Merrill Pye	....	associate art director
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director
Duncan Spencer	....	assistant to journeyman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
James Brock	....	sound engineer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John Hoffman	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adrian	....	gowns: fashion parade
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)
Eddie Schmidt	....	clothes designer: Mr. Powell (uncredited)
Eddie Schmidt	....	clothes maker: Mr. Powell (uncredited)

Music Department
Harold Adamson	....	special music and lyrics
Walter Donaldson	....	special music and lyrics
Arthur Lange	....	musical director
Frank Skinner	....	music arranger
William Axt	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Hugo Friedhofer	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Arthur Lange	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Dave Stamper	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Jack Virgil	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Seymour Felix	....	stager: dances and ensembles
W.K. Craig	....	auditor (uncredited)
Doc Dearborn	....	stand-in: Mr. Powell (uncredited)
Howard Dietz	....	press agent (uncredited)

Thanks
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.	....	acknowledgment: Suggested by Romances and Incidents in the life of America's Greatest Showman

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1936) (USA) (theatrical) (presents)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1936) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1936) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Max Factor  makeup and hair (uncredited)
• Western Costume Company  costumes (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

176 min | USA:185 min (roadshow version) | West Germany:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2000) | Canada:PG (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | West Germany:12 | USA:Not Rated | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The sequence "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" was filmed in two lengthy takes after several weeks of rehearsals and filming (a definite cut is made when moving to a close-up on the singer dressed as Pagliacci, presumably to effect a change of camera position, necessary to start the inexorable move up the huge staircase). It features 180 performers and cost $220,000; 4,300 yards of rayon silk were used for the curtains in the scene.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the Chicago World's Fair, as the Great Sandow (Nat Pendleton) lowers the barbell with the ladies inside, it lowers at a controlled rate, rather than as if a man was actually handling it.

Quotes:

Fanny Brice:If I can give Belasco four dollars for silk stockings made of cotton, I can give Ziegfeld a little more for a mink coat made of skunk.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "MGM Parade: Episode #1.7" (1955)

Soundtrack:

Harriet Hoctor Ballet

Jeez Luise

Before anybody goes on for one minute more about how brilliant Luise Rainer is as Anna Held, let's remember that she took the Oscar from Garbo's Camille. I mean, come on. Rainer is pretty and her instincts are right, and her famous "telephone scene" expertly employs the old smiling-through-tears device. But it's hardly as challenging a role as Marguerite, and Rainer's undeniable Continental charm can go only so far.

The movie itself is a corker. William Anthony McGuire's screenplay is far above average for this musical-biography genre; it's full of smart wisecracks, and while it heavily fictionalizes Ziegfeld's life and persona (it makes him much more suave and irresistible than he was), it gets the big things right: his invention of the big musical revue, his obsession with glorifying the American girl, his unparalleled showmanship and eye for talent.

Speaking of talent, you get a full, uninterrupted, great Ray Bolger number, several clever and lavish production numbers, and a snippet of Fanny Brice (but cutting away from her "My Man" is unforgivable). The actors playing Eddie Cantor and Will Rogers are amusingly terrible. And Virginia Bruce is memorably nasty as a temperamental showgirl.

The Academy named this Best Picture of 1936. And you know, it probably was.