The Merry Widow

1925

1h 53m

Drama

List

100%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

When dashing Prince Danilo (John Gilbert) meets lovely follies dancer Sally O'Hara (Mae Murray), he falls madly in love. Unfortunately, so does his cousin, Crown Prince Mirko (Roy D'Arcy). While both vie for her affections, O'Hara chooses Danilo, and the enraptured prince announces their engagement. Unfortunately, due to O'Hara's lowly station in life, the king prevents the union and O'Hara, feeling rejected, takes comfort in the arms of the wealthy Baron Sadoja (Tully Marshall).

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william d

They spent some dough on this one, The sets are impressive for this standard melodrama. I suppose Von Stroheim's direction is the standout, but he did allow Roy D'Arcy to give a way-over-the-top performance as the evil Crown Prince.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The best comedy movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Stroheim revels in the mind-blowing decadence of the playground of royal existence...

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Erich von Stroheim was a genius ...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

My favorite silent film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

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Erich von Stroheim

Director

Mae Murray

Sally O'Hara

John Gilbert

Prince Danilo Petrovich

Roy D'Arcy

Crown Prince Mirko

Josephine Crowell

Queen Milena

George Fawcett

King Nikita I

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Edmund Wilson

The New Republic

The Merry Widow, especially, is, in some ways, the best American film that the present writer has ever seen.

Jul 14, 2021

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

It’s a lush, stylish, witty divertissement that’s often very funny, and manages to reign in the usual diva histrionics.

Jul 18, 2023

Full Review

Idwal Jones

San Francisco Examiner

This picture proves that Von Stroheim can direct also to the taste of the general public. The discriminating will find portions of it as gratifying to the palate as caviare and crusty old wine. The pee-pul will like it for a good show.

Jun 27, 2022

Full Review

Robert E. Sherwood

LIFE

It is at best a silly, artificial story, but that is of no importance. The main things are Von Stroheim's direction, Von Stroheim's profound knowledge of composition and scenic effect, and John Gilbert's magnificent performance.

Oct 6, 2021

Full Review

Craig Mathieson

The Sunday Age

Franz Lehar's opera is transformed by von Stroheim into a work of comic rivalry punctuated by a reductive male gaze, bursts of skittering violence, and eventual redemption

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 27, 2017

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Though seemingly a typical Hollywood escapist film it still evokes something more poetical.

Rated: B

Feb 11, 2014

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Synopsis

When dashing Prince Danilo (John Gilbert) meets lovely follies dancer Sally O'Hara (Mae Murray), he falls madly in love. Unfortunately, so does his cousin, Crown Prince Mirko (Roy D'Arcy). While both vie for her affections, O'Hara chooses Danilo, and the enraptured prince announces their engagement. Unfortunately, due to O'Hara's lowly station in life, the king prevents the union and O'Hara, feeling rejected, takes comfort in the arms of the wealthy Baron Sadoja (Tully Marshall).

Director: Erich von Stroheim
Screenwriter: Erich von Stroheim, Benjamin Glazer
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Drama
Release Date (DVD): Mar 8, 2011
Runtime: 1h 53m