The Great Ziegfeld

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Christian K @ckacar Jan 16 I enjoyed the lead and his rival's back and forth until it became abundantly clear that this 180 minute movie only had 1 move and beat you over the head repeatedly with that 1 move. See more I. S. W @RT97020096 03/26/2025 I haven't seen this movie for many years, but I do know that it has possibly one of the most memorable, expensive to produce musical scenes ever entitled, "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody", an old 1919 song that eventually became Ziegfeld's theme song. When you watch this jaw-dropping scene, you wonder, aside from what it must have cost, how they could even devise and execute such a perfectly opulent number. Don't forget, "The Great Ziegfeld" won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1937 for this 1936 picture. It's about three hours long (185 min.), a bit long for a musical, especially in that age. At least it's long enough for fans to select their favourite numbers and leave out the uneven moments. See more Liam D @Mediawatcher2003 03/31/2024 One of the first Hollywood biopics and while it has great performances it's length is way too long and didn't deserve to win Best Picture See more Keefe D @Keefe 01/20/2023 If the viewer was to judge Ziegfeld's on his character; financial expertise; friendship to his peers and coworkers; and relationships, he wasn't so great. Ziegfeld's treatment of his friend and financial backer Jack Billings is absolutely reprehensible. The Great Ziegfeld has a bland story and the musical numbers are forgettable. It's 3 hours I'll never get back. See more michael d @RT16138633 12/19/2021 I first heard about William Powell not in the "Thin Man" films, but as the curmudgeonly Doc in the World War II classic "Mister Roberts", also starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and Jack Lemmon (in his first Oscar-winning role). By the time that movie came out, Powell was a veteran actor in the final stages of his career ("Mister Roberts" was his final motion picture appearance, followed by a role in a 1969 short film). So, upon the discovery that it was he who starred in the 1936 Best Picture winner, I had to take a look. And now that I have seen "The Great Ziegfeld", I must say that Powell's performance saved this film from what could very easily have been pure Depression-era escapist hoo-ha. Sure, Luise Rainer took home Best Actress for her melodramatic portrayal of Ziegfeld's melodramatic first wife, Anna Held (To echo a sentiment of a fellow IMDb reviewer of this film, she originated the now-familiar "smiling through the tears" performance that we have seen many times). And Myrna Loy did a fine job as his second wife Billie Burke (you know, Glinda the Good Witch from "The Wizard of Oz"). Throw in some fine performances by Nat Pendleton as The Great Sandow and Virginia Bruce as the talented yet troublesome Audrey Dane, and you have what appears to be a fairly well-done biographical film about Florenz Ziegfeld, right? Ah, but this is a movie about Florenz Ziegfeld, and in movies about Florenz Ziegfeld, you need to showcase some musical numbers and how he would have staged them. Don't get me wrong, the musical numbers in this movie feature some of the best choreography and staging of the Depression Era, with stages that moved in and out (in sections and all at once), dogs that stayed at their marks for over two minutes as women danced around (and over!) them, and the costumes! Oh, the costumes! How those women paraded around in some of those things with smiles on their faces is beyond me! But over and above that is the infamous "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody", which everyone claims was done in a single shot. But if you look more closely, it was really done in two shots; the transition happens at the clown's close-up. Even with two shots (three, if you count the curtain reveal), we are talking about a single continuous production piece that stretches for seven minutes! It is perfectly clear that MGM spared no expense in making this movie. In fact, it cost about as much money to film "Pretty Girl" as it did for Ziegfeld himself to produce one of his Follies! MGM was notorious for their over-the-top productions during the 1930s, and "The Great Ziegfeld" was no exception. The mentality at the time was that America (and much of the world, for that matter) was caught in the Great Depression, and the public needed movie musicals with bright, cheerful, optimistic, and lavish set pieces to "forget" about their troubles for a couple of hours. And, even though it isn't technically a musical, this film fits that bill. But with a running time of nearly three hours, "The Great Ziegfeld" seems to stall during the lavish musical numbers, making it severely dated by today's standards. But I have saved the film's saving grace for last, and his name is William Powell! As Ziegfeld, he is both legitimate businessman and snake-oil vendor, devoted husband and father and lecherous womanizer, brilliant showman and luckiest man on Earth! But what makes Ziegfeld fascinating is the ease at which Powell moves from one end of the spectrum to the other in a flash, then back again, especially when playing with (or is it against?) Frank Morgan. As Ziegfeld's rival/nemesis/business partner Jack Billings, Frank Morgan gave us a man who was both flustered by and respectful to Ziegfeld's knack for showmanship. As a bonus to the film, two people who owed their careers in show business to Florenz Ziegfeld appear as themselves in "The Great Ziegfeld". First up is Fanny Brice, who re-enacts her discovery by and her audition for him. And the legendary Ray Bolger does a wonderful dance number that rivals, if not outdoes, anything he did three years later in "The Wizard of Oz". So there you have it. This review seems about as long as the movie itself, so I will sum it up like this: "The Great Ziegfeld" is too long and it stalls during the musical numbers, but William Powell and Ray Bolger make it worth watching. See more 09/20/2021 This movie is plodding at times. The musical numbers are very long and at times tedious and have nothing to do with the plot of the movie. It seemed like a way to get the runtime to 3 hours and to make sure the Best Picture award was all theirs. They were beautifully shot, wonderfully acted and the costumes were amazing. They were just long. My biggest gripe is the main character. At no time during this film did I ever feel sorry for him nor did I ever cheer for him. He was a con artist of the highest order and that kind of character is just too much for me to care about. I understand why he did these things but they were still under-handed and not becoming of a good protagonist. Great film for its time, definite recommend, especially for the lavish, although long, musical numbers. See more Read all reviews

The Great Ziegfeld

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