Starring Horst Buchholtz, Mary Costa, Nigel Patrick, and Yvonne Mitchell
Directed by Andrew L. Stone
Music by Johann Strauss Jr; Lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest
Despite Song of Norway's critical drubbing, Stone still had epic operettas on the brain. This time, he raided MGM's vault to come up with one of their more notorious flops. Despite being sumptuous and romantic, The Great Waltz was one of the studio's biggest failures of 1938. Apparently, Stone had learned nothing from his difficulties with Norway. Does this biography of "The Waltz King" Johann Strauss II soar to the heights of his greatest compositions, or should it be dumped in the blue Danube? Let's begin with shots of lavish Vienna and a singing narrator (Kenneth McKellar) introducing us to Vienna in the 1850's as everyone waltzes across a polished floor and find out...
The Story: Johann Strauss Sr. (Patrick) wishes his son would get a more respectable life and not go into music, especially after a spat with his wife Anna (Mitchell) and mistress Emeilie (Susan Robinson) over Emilie naming her son for Johann. He even sends friends to heckle him during his violin performances. Johann's determination to play and his dedicating one of his songs to his father changes the elder Strauss' mind about his son's abilities.
After his father's death, Strauss takes over his orchestra position and becomes an enormous success. He has numerous affairs until he meets singer Jetty Treffz (Costa) one night at a concert. They fall in love, despite her being the mistress of Baron Moritz Tedesco (Rossano Brazzi). She's resistant at first, but eventually returns to sing in his concert. Strauss is smitten and marries her over his mother's objections. She inspires him to write some of his best-known music, including "The Blue Danube." His original lyrics for this are not well-received, but the song was a smash anyway. He's invited to sing at the Paris Exhibition in 1867, but then he learns that his beloved Jetty is being forced by her grown son into blackmail...
The Song and Dance: I will say, at the very least, this was slightly better - and less cutesy - than Song of Norway. The gorgeous Austrian scenery was at the service of a relatively adult plot, the editing was more fluid, and the historically accurate costumes were simply stunning. Women glide around in enormous cream-puff ruffled ball gowns, while men sport tight early Victorian suits with lavish ascots. Costa does the best as the woman who falls for charming Strauss despite his reputation with women. The music, at least, is gorgeous, and Costa and others more than do it justice, their voices soaring like those gowns swirling through the waltz in the opening.
The Numbers: We literally put our best foot forward with that swirling waltz in the opening as narrator Kenneth McKellar describes a world of "Crystal and Gold." Emilie dances with a partner in the second chorus routine, her red dress standing out like a ruby among that crystal. Strauss Sr. tries to make it faster, only for a more romantic finish than I'm sure he would have preferred. His son's first concert is disrupted by friends of his father's booing his small combo, but they eventually win everyone over - including Jetty and his father. McKellar sings of "Nightfall," as rain chases all but one ardent admirer away from Strauss Jr's outdoor concert.
"Warm" is Strauss' duet with his most recent admirer as they drive a sleigh through a snowy Austrian winter wonderland. The chorus sings "Merry Christmas" to their new waltz hero, even as Strauss spends the holidays down with a fever. We then move to a boat in the summer, with another new lady and a spirited dance among young couples, "Wine, Women, and Song." Mary Costa's first number is "Love Is Music" as she sings at one of Strauss' concerts, flirting playfully with him. The first half ends with "Louder and Faster," as Jetty plays the piano at an outdoor dance, inspiring the dancers in traditional garb to move with the music. McKellar describes how the Baron feels about losing Jetty, "With You Gone."
"Through Jetty's Eyes" gets oddly psychedelic for this old-fashioned movie as Jetty and Strauss waltz and the film suddenly goes negative as we see Jetty dream of waltzing with her new husband. Jetty starts singing "The Blue Danube" as she and Strauss work on the song, which becomes a brief number for the chorus with odd, dark lyrics. Jetty's delighted to see that the song does much better as an instrumental waltz for the chorus. Strauss dallies with a girl at a cafe (Joan Baxter) who wants to "Say Yes." "Six Drinks" becomes a spirited romp in a pub for the chorus. We end with the chorus at Strauss' operetta. The film ends with McKellar explaining how the Boston Exposition was a success, with the chorus reprising "The Blue Danube."
Trivia: Shown internationally in Cinerama, the last film to play in that format.
Andrew L. Stone's last film.
What I Don't Like: This is a very pretty movie totally out of its time. They didn't take to this in 1938, let alone the gritty early 70's. The story is beyond dull. You really don't care what most of these abrasive and uninteresting people are doing. Butchholtz has no personality and certainly doesn't suggest a driven musician. Problems are settled much too quickly, destroying any conflict or momentum the film had. It's a 2-hour slog wrapped in stale pastry and bitter cream. It also shares the same problem as Song of Norway - most of the musical numbers are badly edited, feature stilted dancing, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the plot.
The Big Finale: The lavish production and lovely melodies make this a small improvement over Song of Norway...but that doesn't mean this should have happened in the first place. No wonder Stone gave up and retired after this. Only for the most ardent Strauss enthusiasts.
Home Media: It's probably just as well that the only place I found this online was copied onto a website.
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