The Merry Widow ** (1952, Fernando Lamas, Lana Turner, Richard Haydn, Una Merkel, Thomas Gomez, John Abbott, Marcel Dalio, King Donovan, Robert Coote) – Classic Movie Review 5810

Sadly, it is third time unlucky for MGM with this campy second remake of the Franz Lehár operetta The Merry Widow (following the 1925 silent The Merry Widow with Mae Murray and John Gilbert and The Merry Widow by Ernst Lubitsch in 1934 with Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald).

This time The Merry Widow simply doesn’t really spark and catch fire and it should, despite pleasant stars with Fernando Lamas  as the seducer Count Danilo and Lana Turner as the young widow Crystal Radek, and fine co-stars in Richard Haydn  as Baron Popoff, Una Merkel  as Kitty Riley, Thomas Gomez as the King of Marshovia, John Abbott as the Marshovian ambassador, Marcel Dalio  as the police sergeant, King Donovan, and Robert Coote.

The rich widow Crystal is invited to the European kingdom of Marshovia to attend the unveiling of a statue in honour of her late husband and the broke king uses the chance to send Danilo to seduce her.

However, the movie still provides plenty to divert the ear and eye in Franz Lehar’s marvellous music, the lavish production by Joe Pasternak with handsome sets by Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse, Technicolor glitz in cinematographer Robert Surtees’s bright images and a sophisticated screenplay by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig. Una Merkel supports delightfully as she did in the 1934 version, this time playing Kitty Riley, originally playing the Queen Dolores.

There were two Academy Award nominations: for Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Color (Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse [Art Direction], Edwin B Willis and Arthur Krams [Set Decoration]) and Best Costume Design, Color (Helen Rose, Gile Steele).

Unfortunately, the public didn’t come in sufficiently huge droves to cinemas, perhaps because Lamas and Turner didn’t cut enough of the required spirit and dash as Crystal Radek and Prince Danilo, but also because it was an expensive movie to make at $2,417,000. It made $2,232,000 in North America and $2,268,000 overseas for a total box office of $4,500,000. However, MGM managed to make a profit of $27,000. It was these high costs against low profits that were going to put film musicals out of business.

Trudy Erwin dubbed Turner’s singing voice.

The MGM stock players are out in force. Also in the cast are Sujata, Lisa Ferraday, Shepard Menken, Ludwig Stossel, Patricia Joiner, Erville Alderson, Bette Arlen, Frank Arnold, Geneviève Aumont, Toni Carroll, Sue Casey, Pardita Chandler, George Davis, George Dee, Zina d’Harcourt, Edward Earle, Roger Etienne, Everett Glass, Lisa Golm, Dolores Haas, Dorothy Haas, Patsy Henry, Anne Kimbell, Judy Landon, Joi Lansing, Norman Leavitt, Meredith Leeds, Mitchell Lewis, James Logan, Marilyn Malloy, Joseph Marievsky, Michael Mark, Matt Mattox, Edwin Max, Wanda McKay, Louis Mercier, Torben Meyer, Nolie Miller, Kathleen O’Malley, Albert Pollet, Ann Roberts, Sally Seaver, Gale Sherwood, Gregg Sherwood, Bob Stebbins, Gene Summers, Beverly Thompson, Carlo Tricoli, Dorothy Vaughn, Gwen Verdon, Erno Verebes, Patricia Walker and Dave Willock.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5810

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