The Merry Widow (1952 film)

The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
Directed by	Curtis Bernhardt
Written by	Victor Léon (libretto); Leo Stein (libretto); Sonya Levien; William Ludwig
Based on	Die lustige Witwe; 1905 operetta; by Franz Lehár
Produced by	Joe Pasternak
Starring	Lana Turner; Fernando Lamas
Cinematography	Robert Surtees
Edited by	Conrad A. Nervig
Music by	Jay Blackton (uncredited)
Color process	Technicolor
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	September 5, 1952
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2,417,000
Box office	$4,500,000

The Merry Widow is a 1952 film adaptation of the 1905 operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It starred Lana Turner (whose singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Erwin) and Fernando Lamas.

The film received two Oscar nominations: for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color (Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis, Arthur Krams) and Best Costume Design, Color.^[3] Paul Francis Webster provided revised lyrics for a greatly abridged score of the operetta conducted by Jay Blackton.

Plot[]

The young widow Crystal Radek is invited to Marshovia, a small European kingdom, to attend the unveiling of a statue in honour of her deceased husband. The royal coffers are seriously in need of her money so the king sends out count Danilo to seduce her.

Cast[]

Lana Turner as Crystal Radek
Fernando Lamas as Count Danilo
Una Merkel as Kitty Riley. Merkel played Queen Dolores in the 1934 film version.
Richard Haydn as Baron Popoff
Thomas Gomez as the King of Marshovia
John Abbott as the Marshovian ambassador
Marcel Dalio as the police sergeant
King Donovan as Nitki
Robert Coote as Marquis de Crillon
Lisa Ferraday as Marcella
Joi Lansing as a Maxim's girl (uncredited)

Gwen Verdon and Matt Mattox performed specialty dances choreographed by Jack Cole.

Reception[]

According to MGM records, the film made $2,232,000 in the US and Canada and $2,268,000 overseas resulting in a profit of $27,000.^[1]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
^ See also 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', Variety, January 13, 1954 and 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953
^ "NY Times: The Merry Widow". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2008-12-21.

External links[]

The Merry Widow at IMDb
The Merry Widow at AllMovie
The Merry Widow at the TCM Movie Database
The Merry Widow at the American Film Institute Catalog

This article about a romantic musical film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[Mannix-1] The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

[2] See also 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', Variety, January 13, 1954 and 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953

[NY_Times-3] "NY Times: The Merry Widow". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2008-12-21.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow (1905)
Films	The Merry Widow (1918 silent Hungarian) The Merry Widow (1925 silent) The Merry Widow (1934) The Merry Widow (1952) The Merry Widow (1962 German)
Other	The Merry Widow (ballet) The Merry Widow discography