Watch The Great Ziegfeld For Free

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Copyright 19 April 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. A Robert Z. Leonard production. New York opening at the Astor, 8 April 1936. Australian release: 7 October 1936. 20 reels. 180 minutes.COMMENT: Come late! — that's my advice. In fact, come an hour late. The story surrounding the musical numbers is the most dreary sludge ever churned out by a Hollywood hack, while the dialogue is easily the most tedious, banal, repetitious chatter we have ever been forced to sit through in a major studio production. When the musical numbers do come on — a whole hour in — and we see no less than six all at once — our spirits start to lift. True, the music is poorly arranged, and the first number, "If You Knew Susie", disappointingly pedestrian in both singing and staging; but then the eye-popping spectacular "Melody" is unveiled — quite dwarfing the next four items, though they are pleasing enough in themselves. The rest of the movie is naturally an anti-climax, though a darn sight more entertaining than that first dreary hour!As usual, Luise Rainer is a positive pain in the duodenum, but the rest of the players do an excellent job — especially considering they are likewise handicapped by the banal dialogue. They don't revel in it like Miss Rainer whose mouth slobbers into clichés with an abandonment that borders on indecent. Perhaps her knowledge of English is poor and she doesn't realize what utter garbage she is chewing into with such relish, but the director should have stopped her, or at least put her wise. But then she wouldn't have won that Academy Award, would she? Interesting that a performance so highly prized in its day is now regarded by almost everyone as utterly worthless and ridiculous. It's the sort of eye-rolling, voice-choked histrionics that give "old" movies their wholly undeserved bad name.Another problem which dates the film for modern audiences is that photographer Oliver Marsh chose to lens it in very soft focus, — a fashion that was already going out of style when The Great Ziegfeld was originally released.Fortunately, Leonard's direction has some effective moments, while the set designers and costumer have really excelled themselves.As already mentioned, the high point of the movie is the "Pretty Girl" number in which Gerstad pulls off one of the greatest camera tricks in all cinema history. The mind just boggles, your eyes stare out of your head in utter disbelief. When Dennis Morgan finishes the song and the camera cranes back and you realize the camera hasn't been standing still all the time but climbing up and up this fantastic pyramidal column, it's totally overwhelming. One of the most dazzling moments in movies! Sad that the rest of the picture isn't a tenth as colossal.

I first saw this 3-hour movie on the big screen in the late 70s, and was happy to see it on a large screen. It won three impressive Oscars in 1936: Best Picture, Best Actress (Luise Rainer), and Best Dance Direction. It was also nominated for three more Oscars: Best Director (Robert Z Leonard), Best Writing (Original Story), Best Art Direction, and Best Film Editing. Luise Rainer won her first of two consecutive Oscars here and was the first performer ever to do this: her second Oscar was for The Good Earth (1937).Here, MGM paired William Powell with Myrna Loy in part of the 13 movies they made together in the 30s and 40s: Manhattan Melodrama (1934); The Thin Man (1934); Evelyn Prenice (1934); The Great Ziegfeld (1936); Libeled Lady (1936); After the Thin Man (1936); Double Wedding (1937); Another Thin Man (1939); I Love You Again (1940); Love Crazy (1941); Shadow of the Thin Man (1941); The Thin Man Goes Home (1945); and Song of the Thin Man (1947). Although The Great Ziegfeld is only a fairly routine biopic of Flo Ziegfeld from the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 until his death in 1932, the movie is spectacular for his sets, decoration and starring cast, including appearances by some of his own stars: Fanny Brice, Harriet Hoctor, and Ray Bolger. One wonders why Eddie Cantor (played by Buddy Doyle) did not appear as himself in this movie. Will Rodgers (played by A.A. Trimble) had died in that small plane crash in 1935 before this movie was made. To our great fortune, this movie was made fairly soon after Ziegfeld's death when there were people who could still remember the Ziegfeld Follies with their lavish stairs, songs, and above all, his beautiful girls!! This movie is in black and white, but one can get an idea of what it might have been like in color from watching Funny Girl (1968).The movie opens with Flo Ziegfeld (William Powell) and his friend/rival Jack Billings (Frank Morgan) competing with each for attention to their respective attractions at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Ziegie's big attraction is Sandow the Strongman (Nat Pendleton) while Billings was a belly dancer, Little Egypt. Later, while in Europe, Ziegfeld bests Billings out of signing the French singer Anna Held (Luise Rainer) to a contract and then marries her. Later, after starting the Follies and having trouble with one of its stars, Audrey Dane (Virginia Bruce), Anna oversees the troublesome Audry kissing Flo while drunk and mistakes her drunken kiss for a real kiss. Anna then files for divorce. Flo's second wife is Billie Burke (played by Myrna Loy) to whom he is married for the rest of his life. Zeigfeld goes on to produce and promote several shows and reviews on Broadway, often with other people's money. Near the end of the movie, while overhearing four men in a barbershop saying that "Zeigfeld is all washed up," he promises to make four Broadway successes within a year and have them all playing at the same time. After making good on his bet, he hires private investigators to find the four original men and gives them all box ticket seats to all of his four plays. The four musical successes all played on Broadway at the same time—The Three Musketeers, Showboat, Rio Rita, and Whopee!

This movie follows the career of the famous showman/ swindler Florenz Ziegfield. Ziegfield is a very likable swindler, however, and William Powell plays him magnificently. The Ziegfield character could easily be detestable in the hands of another actor (as I suspect the real Ziegfield was).The movie may be a "valentine" to an extremely powerful producer, but it is still entertaining fare today, provided the viewer: a) is a fan of old movies (unlike me); b) is a fan of movie musicals (unlike me); and c) is a fan of big production numbers, even those shot in "glorious black & white" (unlike me).

AS WE CHOSE to make this our next, lucky victim to be vetted before America and the World, we first did our homework. Consulting such esoteric sources of knowledge as the World Book Encyclopaedia and our own personal favourite, Wikipedia, we stockpiled a treasure trove of background information about the famous Mr. Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.BORN IN CHICAGO (coincidently our home town!), he was the product of a German Lutheran Immigrant and a Belgian Roman Catholic Mother. Father ran the CHICAGO MUSICAL COLLEGE and opened a nightclub, the Trocadero, in time to ca$h in on the glut of business in the Windy City during the WORLD'S COMUMBIAN EXPOSITION of 1893.IT WAS AT this point when Ziegfeld the Younger contracted with European Stage Strongman, Eugen Sandow and proceeded to employ his act at the Trocadero, as well as at the Midway* of the Fair; which was being held at the Jackson Park Lakefront sight.HERE IS WHERE our story begins in the film, THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (MGM, 1936).THE STORY OPENS with Sandow's feats of strength bringing only modest receipts at the gate. Ziegfeld (William Powell) suggests that Sandow** (Nat Pendelton) should put the Barbell lifting and Horse Shoe bending on the back burner in favor of physique display. Striking various poses, from all angles, Sandow would animate the presentation with routines employing "muscle control"; which is the contraction and relaxation of the various muscular groups, without actually moving anything.ZIEGFELD QUICKLY MOVES on to the vaudeville stages and to Broadway, producing musicals, discovering lovely female performers and culminating with his greatest triumph, the ZIEGFELD FOLLIES.TAKING THE NAME from the famous Parisian FOLLIES BERGERE, they were the most widely popular musical extravaganzas in America or even the World. The story traces their development and chronicles their year by whomever kit is that Flo is featuring as his headliner. Will Rogers, Fanny Brice, W.C. Fields and Eddy Cantor were among his finds.A VERY HUGE AND outstanding cast was assembled in order to give the film the importance that such a biography deserves. In addition to William Powell, we have: Myrna Loy (Billie Burke-wife # 2)), Louise Rainer-Wife # 1), Frank Morgan, Fanny Brice (playing herself), Virginia Bruce, Reginald Owen, Ray Bolger (as Eddie Cantor) and a cast of hundreds (at least).THE NEARLY THREE hour film traces a career that was built on manic energy and confidence. It has highs and lows with romance and heart break, family and solitude, reverence and vulgarity. It covers his life respectfully, right up to his death bed in 1932.WE HAVE TO address on point before waving bye-bye. As to the notion that Ziggy launched the career of Sandow, many feel that it was really the other way around; for, without Sandow, we'd have never known Mr. Ziegfeld.THIS MARATHON OF a movie gets a highest mark from us, just be in the mood to invest the time.***NOTE * The term "Midway" originated at the 1893 Fair; being the roadway leading to the Fair Grounds, which was lines with all of those "Side Show Attractions." In this case, Sandow and Fan Dancer, Sally Rand were among them.NOTE ** Nat Pendelton's characterization of Sandow makes him sound more like a Hollywood Indian, rather than the German, which he was. He was born in Prussia, April 2, 18967 as Frederick Mueller. He is considered to be the Father of Modern Bodybuilding, Physical Culture and Physique Display (Those "Mr." Contests). The Trophy for the Mr. Olympia contest is called the 'Sandow' Trophy.NOTE *** The popularity of the movie spawned a sort of Musical/Fantasy follow-up with ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (MGM, 1945); again featuring William Powell as a now resident of Heaven, scanning how things are on Planet Earth through telescope and making commentary directly to the audience!