The Wedding March (1928)

A young impoverished aristocrat falls in love with an inn-keepers daughter, but has to marry money.

Director:

Erich von Stroheim

Writers:

Harry Carr, Erich von Stroheim

Stars:

Erich von Stroheim, Fay Wray, Zasu Pitts

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Erich von Stroheim	...	Nicki / Prince Nickolas von Wildeliebe-Rauffenburg
Fay Wray	...	Mitzi / Mitzerl Schrammell
Matthew Betz	...	Schani Eberle - the Butcher
Zasu Pitts	...	Cecelia Schweisser
George Fawcett	...	Prince Ottokar von Wildeliebe Rauffenburg
Maude George	...	Princess Maria - Nicki's mother
George Nichols	...	Fortunat Schweisser - the Industrialist
Dale Fuller	...	Katerina Schrammel - Mitzi's mother
Hughie Mack	...	Johann Eberle - the Wine-grower
Cesare Gravina	...	Martin Schrammell - Mitzi's father
Sidney Bracey	...	Navratil
Anton Vaverka	...	Emperor Franz-Josef
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hans Joby	...	Imperial Guard (as Capt. John Peters)
Tiny Jones	...	Small Woman at Corpus Christi Procession
Elena Jurado

Storyline

Prince Nikki, Lieutenant of the Guard in pre WWI Vienna, is flat broke, but the only advice he gets from his parents is either to shoot himself or to marry money. During the Chorpus Christi parade his horse accidentaly hurts poor Mitzi, the daughter of inn-keepers in a Viennese suburb, who is, according to the wishes of her parents, going to marry the butcher Schani. When Nikki visits her at the hospital, they fall in love, much to the dislike of her parents and Schani. Nikki's parents, meanwhile have arranged a prospective marriage with Cecilia, the limping daughter of a very rich non-aristocratic industrial. Due to the fact, that Nikki's father is a general in the Austrian-Hungarian Army, resitance is useless. When Mitzi, after hearing of it, is still refusing Schani's proposal, he vowes to shoot Nikki when he leaves the church.

---

Plot Keywords:

national film registry | year 1914 | 1910s | austria hungary | europe | 

---

Taglines:

Dashing, Impetuous, Insolent. the playboy of Vienna- handsome, well-born, idol of the ladies- Prince Nicki, portrayed by Erich Von Stroheim. Riotous, color-splashed romance of Vienna. (Print Ad- Steuben Courier,((Bath, NY)) 1 March 1929)

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Hughie Mack. He died in 1927, before the picture was released.

---

Quotes

Mitzi: An' - - you'll come again?

---

Crazy Credits

DEDICATED to the true lovers of the world. E.vS.

---

Connections

Featured in Hollywood: Autocrats (1980)

---

Soundtracks

PARADISE (The Love Theme)
Music by J.S. Zamecnik
Lyrics by Harry D. Kerr
Copyright 1928 Sam Fox Music Pub. Co.

User Reviews

Sumptuous

The plot and storyline of "The Wedding March" has been done before. Rich boy meets poor girl, rich boy gives up poor girl to marry rich girl - similar to "The Student Prince" without music. Erich von Stroheim looks very young as the prince, Fay Wray looks very pretty as the poor girl, and Zasu Pitts looks like Zasu Pitts as the rich girl. No bad acting performances in this picture as the cast are all very competent. I'm passing on a recap as every reviewer gives one.

What sets "The Wedding March" apart are the sets and the costumes. Scene after scene is meticulously staged for optimum effect, and apparently no expense was spared on either props or costumes. This is part of the reason von Stroheim ran into problems with the heads of several studios, as he usually went way over budget, incurring the wrath of many producers. It is rumored that, for instance, he would insist that extras wear underwear with a royal monogram in his period pieces so that all concerned would feel intimately connected to the production!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wedding March

Filming Locations:

Selig Mission Zoo - 3800 Mission Road, Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (musical score and sound effects) Silent

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor) (one sequence) Black and White