Ad campaigns of its day prematurely proclaimed The Great Ziegfeld (1936) “the sensation of the century.” Perhaps not, but this mind-boggling pseudo-biographical film is at once sumptuous and elephantine; a super-production by any measure that quite easily puts most other screen spectacles of its vintage to shame. Such was the supremacy of MGM in the 1930s, presided over by the near mythological figure of L.B. Mayer and granted peerless production values along with a roster of star talent more comprehensive than virtually all the other studios combined. To say that The Great Ziegfeld had the best of all worlds is putting it mildly. Ziegfeld's widow, Billie Burke was a contract player at the studio whose diligence and persuasion launched this film based on her late husband's Broadway career. Although Mayer was enthusiastic about the prestige such a movie would bring MGM, he was not particularly excited by the amount of money producer Hunt Stromberg eventually ended up spending to make it as fine and as lavish as anything seen before it on the big screen.
And the project itself was not without drawbacks, chiefly that Billie Burke had final edit over William Anthony McGuire's screenplay that played fast and loose with the specifics of their lives - most notably in the many affairs Florenz Ziegfeld (William Powell) had throughout his life with various chorines. In the final film, Ziegfeld only has one indiscretion and that occurs long before he even meets Billie (Myrna Loy).
As scripted with a lush embellishment slanted toward the man's benevolence, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., the man who ‘glorified the American girl’ begins his career as a not terribly successful carnival barker at the World's Fair. His main attraction is Sandow the Strongman (Nate Pendleton). But audiences are not lining up. All the better for Ziegfeld's rival showman, Jack Billings (Frank Morgan) whose 'Little Egypt' is a writhing belly dancer creating quite a stir on the midway.
Ziegfeld gets an idea, allowing female patrons to squeeze Sandow's biceps, thereby generating audience thrills through titillation. The rouse works until Ziegfeld plans a wrestling match between Sandow and a lion to illustrate man's supremacy over beast. One problem, the lion has been drugged and falls asleep in the ring. Ziegfeld is branded a charlatan and looses all his money.
Returning to his father's music conservatory, Flo confides that he has no interest in teaching music. Instead, he travels to Europe where Anna Held (Luise Rainer) is currently the toast of the British stage. Learning that Billings has also crossed the Atlantic in hopes of signing Anna to an American engagement, Flo intercedes and convinces Anna to sign with him instead, even though he has no money to produce a show around her. Flo further exacerbates Billings' patience when he convinces his valet, Sidney (Ernest Cossart) to quit Billings employ and become his personal groom.
The temperamental Anna initially finds Flo’ an utter nuisance. In one of the most comically satisfying bits in the film, she repeatedly orders Flo from her dressing room with haughty dispatch before recalling him to her side simply because his bouquet of flowers is more to her liking than Billings.
Flo engages an English tutor and music instructor to assist in Anna's transformation, but it is his charm that wins her over. Before long, the two are married and Flo - true to his promise - makes Anna a great Americanized star. Regrettably, the king of Broadway, with his world famous follies packing them in nightly at his theatre, is also prone to dalliances with his bevy of beauties.
He settles too long on Audrey Dane (Virginia Bruce) an impatient social climbing chorus girl, determined to destroy his marriage. After appearing to great success in his rooftop follies a drunken Audrey makes her affections toward Ziegfeld known to a packed house. True to Audrey's prophecy, their affair leads to Flo’s breakup with Anna, and although Anna believes that their separation will ultimately result in a mutual reconciliation, her heart is broken when Flo’ marries again, only this time to already established stage lovely, Billie Burke (Myrna Loy).
Another of Billings protégées, Burke first meets Flo at a costume ball where he deliberately has rigged a round robin dance to repeatedly pause so that he and Billie may share a few intimate moments together. Well aware of Flo's charm and flair for chorus girls, Burke thwarts his romantic advances, much to Billings delight. But then Flo confesses his undying love for her with a genuineness Billie finds utterly beguiling. Flo tells Billie that he knows she can manage without him as she has already proven by her Broadway success independent of his own. "...and that's grand," he concludes. The only question remains can he survive without her.
Flo's second marriage to Burke is a success, threatened not by flirtations this time, but by the insidious bad timing and 1929's stock market crash that jeopardizes Flo's ability to maintain Billie and his family in a manner to which they have become accustom. While at the local barber, Flo overhears several men speak loosely about his imminent demise; his days as an impresario numbered. Instead, Flo is rallied to produce four hits on Broadway simultaneously.
The workload, however, wears him out and Flo collapses from the strain. Recuperating under Sidney's watchful eye while Billie is at work, Flo plots one final follies in his mind - his head filled with an ever rising set of stairs that his shows have always been justly famous for, and, populated by a parade of elegant ladies. Sidney observes as the rose Ziegfeld has been clutching in his hand drops to the floor, signifying that his life has come to a sudden end.
What sets The Great Ziegfeld apart from other soppy melodramas of its vintage are the performances given by William Powell and Myrna Loy. Even if the biographical material in William Anthony McGuire's script is less than sincere, neither performer ever is. By this time in their respective careers, Powell and Loy had been teamed in several films at the studio - most notably in The Thin Man (1933) - a movie that ultimately spawned a very lucrative series for the two at MGM.
In any of their many films together, the on screen chemistry between Powell and Loy is genuine - though perhaps never more so than in this movie. When Billie tells Flo that as his wife she expects half his hardship and all of his respect, we believe Loy implicitly. When Powell as Ziegfeld explains that there is nothing he can offer Billie but himself, his words throb with a sad passion that suggests love without reprisals. In real life, each actor was happily married to somebody else but, like the teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, fans of Powell and Loy always suspected that there was a mutual love - even if it was platonic - that transcended their working relationship.
The other impressive aspect of the film is undoubtedly its enormous production numbers; the most lavish; ‘A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody’ built on a gargantuan revolving art deco platform with its sachet of glittering cat girls and dapper tuxedoed men whirling to a great Irving Berlin melody. Clearly with the genius of Busby Berkeley's tenure at Warner Brothers in mind, the kaleidoscopic dance routines staged by Karl Freund, Ray June and George Folsey may not be as geometrically creative, but they certainly sparkle with all the vintage kitsch that a showman like Ziegfeld would have appreciated and been very pleased to experience.
Director Robert Z. Leonard was one of MGM's in house directors and his execution of the material is rather pedestrian - relying on lush cinematography to grab the viewer's attention. As such the pacing and editing style lags - especially during the first half of the film. Nevertheless, as produced with every last cent abundantly displayed on the screen The Great Ziegfeld is ambitiously star-studded film making at its best. It’s more an experience than a movie and great good fun to watch.
Warner Home Video’s DVD is a mixed blessing. Please note that despite the repackaged cover art, this is the identical transfer of the movie first released in 1999. The film’s lengthy run time is compressed onto one side of a single disc. While compression artefacts in the mastering process have been well concealed, the overall image is inconsistently rendered. The gray scale is nicely balanced, but age related damage is present throughout and on more than one occasion quite distracting.
The audio is mono and presented at an adequate listening level. Hiss and pop is noticeably present during quiescent moments. For the first time, the film’s original overture, intermission and exit music are included. We also get a very brief featurette: Ziegfeld on Film that glosses over the importance of the man and his memory, as well as theatrical trailers for this film and the two subsequent follow-ups MGM made that bear his name; Ziegfeld Girl (1941) and Ziegfeld Follies (1946).
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
4
VIDEO/AUDIO
3
EXTRAS
1
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