THE GREAT ZIEGFELD

'''The Great Ziegfeld''' (1936) is a musical film produced by MGM. Although Florenz Ziegfeld provides a plot thread for this movie, it's really meant to showcase a series of spectacular musical productions. It takes many key liberties with Ziegfeld's life. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin. Berlin's work was featured in the '' Ziegfeld Follies'' of 1918, 1919, and 1920.

The film makes another historical goof: ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is heard as part of the 1907 ''Follies'' (so dated by fictional cameos of Will Rogers and Eddie Cantor, who first appeared in the 1917 Follies). ''Rhapsody in Blue'' was written in 1924, and was never featured in the ''Follies''.
Featured in the film are William Powell (as Ziegfeld), Myrna Loy (as Billie Burke), Luise Rainer (as Anna Held), Nat Pendleton (as Eugen Sandow), Frank Morgan and Virginia Bruce. Ziegfeld performers Fanny Brice and Ray Bolger play themselves. Dennis Morgan, in an uncredited role, performed "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" (dubbed by Allan Jones). Yet another goof appears in the famed production number. "Pretty Girl" was written for the 1919 Follies, yet the picture depicts the number being in the first edition of the revue.
The movie won three Oscars:

★ Academy Award for Best Picture - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Hunt Stromberg, producer)

★ Academy Award for Best Actress - Luise Rainer

★ Academy Award for Best Dance Direction - Seymour Felix - For "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody".
It was nominated for an additional four:

★ Academy Award for Best Art Direction - Cedric Gibbons, Eddie Imazu and Edwin B. Willis

★ Academy Award for Directing - Robert Z. Leonard

★ Academy Award for Film Editing - William S. Gray

★ Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - William Anthony McGuire

Contents

Cast

Trivia

External links

Cast

★ William Powell as Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.

★ Myrna Loy as Billie Burke

★ Luise Rainer as Anna Held

★ Frank Morgan as Jack Billings

★ Fanny Brice as Herself

★ Virginia Bruce as Audrey Dane

★ Ray Bolger as Himself

★ Nat Pendleton as Eugen Sandow

Trivia

★ Also appearing uncredited is future First Lady Pat Nixon (as a Ziegfeld Girl).

External links

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