IMDb > The Emperor Waltz (1948)

The Emperor Waltz (1948) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   450 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Charles Brackett (written by)
Billy Wilder (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Emperor Waltz on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 July 1948 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Paramount's Crowning Entertainment Achievement! Bing's Best Songs!
Plot:
A brash American gramophone salesman tries to get Emporer Franz Joseph's endorsement in turn-of-the-century Austria. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination more
User Comments:
A great vehicle for Crosby more (11 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Bing Crosby ... Virgil Smith

Joan Fontaine ... Johanna Augusta Franziska
Roland Culver ... Baron Holenia
Lucile Watson ... Princess Bitotska
Richard Haydn ... Emperor Franz-Josef
Harold Vermilyea ... Chamberlain
Sig Ruman ... Dr. Zwieback
Julia Dean ... Archduchess Stephanie
Bert Prival ... Chauffeur
Alma Macrorie ... Inn Proprietress
Roberta Jonay ... Chambermaid
John Goldsworthy ... Obersthofmeister
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Additional Details

Runtime:
106 min | Argentina:110 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (re-rating) (2006) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The song "The Kiss In Your Eyes" was given new words and a new name and became a popular hit for several artists in the late 1940s under the title of "Suddenly". more
Quotes:
Baron Holenia: The Hungarian officer playing cards... that's Prince Istvan Barlossy de Baloshasa.
Johanna Augusta Franziska: Hmmm... I met him in Budapest. Didn't like him very much.
Baron Holenia: Nonsense! Since then he's inherited half of Buda and a large part of Pest.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Edith Head: The Paramount Years (2002) (V) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful.
A great vehicle for Crosby, 16 April 2004
8/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

According to a new book out on Billy Wilder, Wilder had a much different film in mind than what emerged here. He was a contract director for Paramount at the time this was made with a few hits under his belt. And he was assigned to direct this film with Bing Crosby who was the biggest name in movies when this came out.

Crosby had a whole different film in mind and what Bing wanted Paramount gave him at that point. Wilder wanted a biting satire on the Franz Joseph court and he also wanted a the killing of the puppies, the offspring of Crosby's and Joan Fontaine's dogs to be an allegory for genocide. Crosby knew what his audiences expected from him and he opted for a lighter treatment.

The result was a second rate Billy Wilder movie, but a first class Bing Crosby film. Unlike in the thirties when Paramount just depended on Crosby's personality to put over a film, they gave this one the full A treatment. The outdoor sequences were shot in the Canadian Rockies and they serve as a great Alpine background. Though its muted, Wilder still gets some of his cynical point of view into Crosby's phonograph salesman who woos a member of Viennese royalty played by Joan Fontaine. Roland Culver who is Fontaine's father is also pretty good as the impoverished count who is quite willing to sell his title in marriage to anyone who can afford him.

Great vehicle for the winning Crosby personality.

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