The Great Waltz (1938)

Directed by

Julien Duvivier, Victor Fleming, Josef von Sternberg

Genre

biographical film, musical film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 47m

Rated

NR

Rating

5.9 of 10 from 18 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film tells a loosely fictionalized story about composer Johann Strauss II, focusing on his creative drive and his relationships. It shows his revolutionary spirit and the making of his famous operetta Die Fledermaus.

romanticlivelysentimentalsweepingwhimsicalmusicaldramatic

What happens

The Great Waltz is a 1938 American biographical film based very loosely on the life of Johann Strauss II. It starred Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravet (Gravey), and Miliza Korjus. Rainer received top billing at the producer's insistence, but her role is comparatively minor as Strauss' wife, Poldi Vogelhuber. It was the only starring role for Korjus, who was a famous opera soprano and played one in the film. Joseph Ruttenberg won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Korjus was nominated for Supporting Actress, and Tom Held for Film Editing. The film was popular in Australia, and was distributed largely throughout Sydney and Melbourne for two years after its initial release. The film has no connection with the 1934 Broadway play The Great Waltz. Hitchcock's Waltzes from Vienna set the stage for this Julien Duvivier’s Strauss biopic, which maintains the character of the baker's daughter from the original stage musical while focusing on Johann Strauss II's revolutionary inclinations and the creation of his popular operetta, Die Fledermaus. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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