The Great Ziegfeld (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'The Great Ziegfeld' (directed by Robert Z. Leonard) won Best Picture of 1936 at the Academy Awards. What's it about? Well, it chronicles the rise to fame/fortune of flamboyant showman Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (William Powell) from 1893 to his death in 1932. What happens in-between? We get to see a smattering of his famous "Follies" shows which showcase beautiful women. We see how his roving eye causes tension in his 1st marriage with singer Anna Held (Luise Rainer). And we see how his 2nd marriage with Billie Burke (Myrna Loy) is affected by financial woes. Is this movie any good? Oh yes, though mostly in parts rather than a whole. Did it deserve Best Picture of 1936? Not for me, that would be Dodsworth. Though this film won critical raves upon release, most contemporary critics will cite how bloated & sanitized this lavish biopic actually is. I think they're a bunch of crabby pants, but I digress.
The film opens during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, where a 26 yr. old Ziegfeld is running a carnival-style sideshow featuring strongman Eugen Sandow (Nat Pendleton). Attendance is down, however, because a rival promoter, Jack Billings (Frank Morgan), is luring crowds into his venue with the promise of an all-girl revue. Ziegfeld turns the tide with one act of marketing genius - letting women feel Sandow's muscles. Suddenly, the masses arrived. Years later, these 2 rivals find themselves over in Europe trying to sign French stage sensation Anna Held to a contract. Ziegfeld wins her trust {very funny scene} but her NY debut bombs. However, some savvy promotion {another great sequence involving milk} saves the enterprise. Anna becomes a big star ... and Ziegfeld marries her. They stay together for many yrs. (with her being the main motivating force behind his "The Ziegfeld Follies" stage show. But by 1913, she has grown sick & tired of his infidelities & files for divorce. After a few sad months, he moves on with actress Billie Burke, who would marry him, love him, bear him a daughter, & stay with him ‘til his death in 1932 at the age of 65.
The most memorable component of 'The Great Ziegfeld' is its recreation of the Follies. One in particular, the enormous single-take production number "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" caused my jaw to drop; not because I haven't seen more impressive displays, but because - for 1936 - seeing this massive set rotate with hundreds of females decked out in the most glossy, ornate & bizarre costumes I've ever seen - us just something to behold. Out of the 3(!) hour running time, probably 45 minutes or more are devoted to the smattering of "Follies" excerpts and, for as impressive as most of them are, they halt the progression of plot (from time to time) & create an uneven dramatic experience. Dramatically, the last hour offers some needed gravitas. The relationship btwn. Ziegfeld & Billie Burke provides a dose of pathos as his finances go down the tubes in the stock market crash of '29.
'The Great Ziegfeld' benefits from Powell & Loy's onscreen interaction, even though Loy 1st appears at the 130 minute mark (this duo appeared together in many films btwn. 1934-1947, i.e. the Thin Man films). Powell is a great choice for Ziegfeld, convincingly playing the flirty, if talented impresario from age 26-65. Although Powell & Loy received top billing here, the only acting Oscar went to Austrian actress Luise Rainer for her humorous & touching portrayal of Anna Held. Rainer's tear-inducing farewell phone call in which she - while still in love with him - congratulates Ziegfeld on his 2nd marriage probably sealed her Best Actress victory (I, too, was transfixed by Rainer's strange magnetism, but would have had her winning in the supporting category). 'TGZ' features a plethora of nice turns by character actors, as well. Frank Morgan is enjoyable & genuinely funny as rival Jack Billings. Morgan's Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger blew me away in a versatile tap dance sequence. And the real Fanny Brice (a frequent participant in the real Follies) shows-up as a younger version of herself, lending a version of "My Man" in the process.
Everything about 'The Great Ziegfeld' was BIG. The running time (3 hours)! The magnificent sets! The incredible costumes! The musical sequences! The production budget!! {luckily, this film was a smash-hit & they recovered the $$). All BIG. But as we know, bigger does not always = better. As biopics go, 'TGZ' provides a reasonably competent - if not altogether accurate - depiction of the showman's life. With Billie Burke overseeing the script, incidents that would present her late husband in an unflattering light were suspiciously omitted. Because our main character is too appealing to be credible and, because those 45 min. worth of "Follies" sequences chopped up the story, it made this film 'feel' more dramatically inert than it should have been. So yes, 'The Great Ziegfeld' shouldn't have won Best picture. It should have had tighter editing. The script could have been better. And the 'true story' aspect is too whitewashed to be taken seriously. But I still enjoyed the nostalgic trip back to the 110 yr. old Ziegfeld Follies. I liked the glitz/glamour/spectacle it afforded me. And the wonderful cast got me through the lengthy, drier stretches of the proceedings.
The film opens during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, where a 26 yr. old Ziegfeld is running a carnival-style sideshow featuring strongman Eugen Sandow (Nat Pendleton). Attendance is down, however, because a rival promoter, Jack Billings (Frank Morgan), is luring crowds into his venue with the promise of an all-girl revue. Ziegfeld turns the tide with one act of marketing genius - letting women feel Sandow's muscles. Suddenly, the masses arrived. Years later, these 2 rivals find themselves over in Europe trying to sign French stage sensation Anna Held to a contract. Ziegfeld wins her trust {very funny scene} but her NY debut bombs. However, some savvy promotion {another great sequence involving milk} saves the enterprise. Anna becomes a big star ... and Ziegfeld marries her. They stay together for many yrs. (with her being the main motivating force behind his "The Ziegfeld Follies" stage show. But by 1913, she has grown sick & tired of his infidelities & files for divorce. After a few sad months, he moves on with actress Billie Burke, who would marry him, love him, bear him a daughter, & stay with him ‘til his death in 1932 at the age of 65.
The most memorable component of 'The Great Ziegfeld' is its recreation of the Follies. One in particular, the enormous single-take production number "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" caused my jaw to drop; not because I haven't seen more impressive displays, but because - for 1936 - seeing this massive set rotate with hundreds of females decked out in the most glossy, ornate & bizarre costumes I've ever seen - us just something to behold. Out of the 3(!) hour running time, probably 45 minutes or more are devoted to the smattering of "Follies" excerpts and, for as impressive as most of them are, they halt the progression of plot (from time to time) & create an uneven dramatic experience. Dramatically, the last hour offers some needed gravitas. The relationship btwn. Ziegfeld & Billie Burke provides a dose of pathos as his finances go down the tubes in the stock market crash of '29.
'The Great Ziegfeld' benefits from Powell & Loy's onscreen interaction, even though Loy 1st appears at the 130 minute mark (this duo appeared together in many films btwn. 1934-1947, i.e. the Thin Man films). Powell is a great choice for Ziegfeld, convincingly playing the flirty, if talented impresario from age 26-65. Although Powell & Loy received top billing here, the only acting Oscar went to Austrian actress Luise Rainer for her humorous & touching portrayal of Anna Held. Rainer's tear-inducing farewell phone call in which she - while still in love with him - congratulates Ziegfeld on his 2nd marriage probably sealed her Best Actress victory (I, too, was transfixed by Rainer's strange magnetism, but would have had her winning in the supporting category). 'TGZ' features a plethora of nice turns by character actors, as well. Frank Morgan is enjoyable & genuinely funny as rival Jack Billings. Morgan's Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger blew me away in a versatile tap dance sequence. And the real Fanny Brice (a frequent participant in the real Follies) shows-up as a younger version of herself, lending a version of "My Man" in the process.
Everything about 'The Great Ziegfeld' was BIG. The running time (3 hours)! The magnificent sets! The incredible costumes! The musical sequences! The production budget!! {luckily, this film was a smash-hit & they recovered the $$). All BIG. But as we know, bigger does not always = better. As biopics go, 'TGZ' provides a reasonably competent - if not altogether accurate - depiction of the showman's life. With Billie Burke overseeing the script, incidents that would present her late husband in an unflattering light were suspiciously omitted. Because our main character is too appealing to be credible and, because those 45 min. worth of "Follies" sequences chopped up the story, it made this film 'feel' more dramatically inert than it should have been. So yes, 'The Great Ziegfeld' shouldn't have won Best picture. It should have had tighter editing. The script could have been better. And the 'true story' aspect is too whitewashed to be taken seriously. But I still enjoyed the nostalgic trip back to the 110 yr. old Ziegfeld Follies. I liked the glitz/glamour/spectacle it afforded me. And the wonderful cast got me through the lengthy, drier stretches of the proceedings.