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Merry-Go-Round

  • 1923
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
417
YOUR RATING
Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
Drama

A nobleman posing as a necktie salesman falls in love with the daughter of a circus puppeteer although he is already married to the daughter of his country's war minister.A nobleman posing as a necktie salesman falls in love with the daughter of a circus puppeteer although he is already married to the daughter of his country's war minister.A nobleman posing as a necktie salesman falls in love with the daughter of a circus puppeteer although he is already married to the daughter of his country's war minister.

  • Directors
    • Rupert Julian
    • Erich von Stroheim
  • Writers
    • Finis Fox
    • Harvey Gates
    • Mary O'Hara
  • Stars
    • Norman Kerry
    • Mary Philbin
    • Cesare Gravina
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    417
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Rupert Julian
      • Erich von Stroheim
    • Writers
      • Finis Fox
      • Harvey Gates
      • Mary O'Hara
    • Stars
      • Norman Kerry
      • Mary Philbin
      • Cesare Gravina
    • 7User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos14

    Dale Fuller, Cesare Gravina, Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin, and Edith Yorke in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Ella McKenzie, Ida Mae McKenzie, Jack Murphy, and Donald Hughes in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Sadie Campbell in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Donald Hughes in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Mary Philbin in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Mary Philbin in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Cesare Gravina, Norman Kerry, and Mary Philbin in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Spottiswoode Aitken, Dale Fuller, Cesare Gravina, George Hackathorne, Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin, George Siegmann, Dorothy Wallace, and Edith Yorke in Merry-Go-Round (1923)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Norman Kerry
    Norman Kerry
    • Count Franz Maximilian Von Hohenegg
    Mary Philbin
    Mary Philbin
    • Agnes Urban
    Cesare Gravina
    • Sylvester Urban
    Edith Yorke
    Edith Yorke
    • Ursula Urban
    George Hackathorne
    George Hackathorne
    • Bartholomew Gruber
    George Siegmann
    George Siegmann
    • Schani Huber
    Dale Fuller
    Dale Fuller
    • Marianka Huber
    Lillian Sylvester
    • Mrs. Aurora Rossreiter
    Spottiswoode Aitken
    Spottiswoode Aitken
    • Minister of War…
    Dorothy Wallace
    • Comtasse Gisella Von Steinbruck
    Albert Edmondson
    • Nepomuck Navrital
    • (as Al Edmondson)
    Albert Conti
    Albert Conti
    • Rudi…
    Charles King
    Charles King
    • Nicki
    • (as Charles L. King)
    • …
    Fenwick Oliver
    • Eitel…
    Sidney Bracey
    Sidney Bracey
    • Gisella's Groom
    Anton Vaverka
    • Emperor Franz Josef
    Maude George
    Maude George
    • Madame Elvira
    Helen Broneau
    • Jane
    • Directors
      • Rupert Julian
      • Erich von Stroheim(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Finis Fox(adaptation)
      • Harvey Gates(story)
      • Mary O'Hara(titles)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Erich von Stroheim's excesses on the film included bringing in a real Viennese streetcar to be used in street scenes (a Los Angeles streetcar simply wouldn't do, said the director). Also, for the brief scene where an actor playing the Austrian Emperor steps out of a hotel and climbs into his horse-drawn carriage, von Stroheim had Universal Studios buy an actual carriage used by Austrian Emperor Franz Josef and ship it to Hollywood.
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood (1980)
    • Soundtracks
      THE MERRY GO ROUND WALTZ
      (The Merry Go Round Theme)

      Written by Paul Van Dyke (orchestrated by Maurice Baron)

    User reviews7

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A lovely film...
    The film is set in pre-WWI Vienna. A Count (Norman Kerry) is expected by the Emperor to marry a certain Countess . However, he doesn't love her and would much rather act like a playboy. However, he meets up with a poor organ grinder and falls for her (Mary Philbin). This lady and her family lead a rather sad life at the Prater amusement park, as their boss is a total sadist and treats them more like slaves than employees. This mistreatment comes to a head when the boss pushes too far. He not only won't let Philbin and her father off work when the mother is dying, but soon afterwords he beats Philbin so badly that the father stabs the evil boss to stop this. Unfortunately, the police catch the father and jailed--though he was acting to save his daughter.

    Later, Philbin just happens to meet Kerry once again. She tells him what has befallen her father and he decides to use is influence to help them. Unfortunately, in the process he falls head over heels for her and must have her...but what about the marriage?! In the meantime, Kerry marries and the old boss returns for revenge and nearly kills the father in a staged accident. This chance occurrence brings Kerry back in to their lives--and now it's obvious that he's the Count. Philben and her father had thought he was a regular fellow, as he'd told them he was a salesman...and not a married man! At around the same time, WWI begins and the world is royally...screwed. Kerry returns to Philbin to beg her forgiveness for deceiving her, but she'll have none of it...and he then goes to war. Is there any hope for this couple or is it too late?!

    There are a couple things to note. First, the merry-go-round from the title is a metaphor for how life manipulates us all. In this case, periodically, a devilish being stands with a small merry-go-round spinning about him to symbolize this. It's pretty weird...but also kinda cool--especially as this guy really, really likes how he's screwing with people! Second, at one point one of the characters in the film who works with animals at the Prater announces that they have an "orang-utan straight from the jungles of Africa"?! Orangutans are about as African as Koalas--as they come from Borneo and Indonesia! And what the animal does in the film is possible but very hard to believe.

    So is the film worth seeing? Absolutely. While the plot is a bit hard to believe (it has a lot of wild story elements), the story of love unrequited is quite lovely. Also, while no one will ever know how the Von Stroheim version might have been had it been finished, this less costly version was incredibly pretty and appeared like what you'd think Vienna must have looked like. I have been there, but following two world wars (with WWII causing huge damage), I am sure practically all of the city has changed dramatically. Overall, it's a very nice film--and it's lovely to see Miss Philbin in something other than her famous role in "Phantom of the Opera".

    One final note--while I noticed one review refer to this as "Von Stroheim's masterpiece", according to IMDb hardly any of this film uses any of the crazed and perfectionistic director's work he'd done on the film before being replaced. And, considering that much of the budget was apparently wasted by Von Stroheim, the new director (Rupert Julian) did an amazing job--as the film is quite beautiful and his version of Emperor Franz Joseph looked an awful lot like the one taken from newsreels used at the very beginning of the film (one of the few Von Stroheim touches that made it to the film--and a very expensive scene according to IMDb).
    helpful•8
    0
    • planktonrules
    • Aug 4, 2010

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 3, 1923 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Livets gyckelspel
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 50 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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    Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
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