The Merry Widow

1925
Passed
2h 17m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A prince must woo the now-wealthy dancer he once abandoned, to keep her money in the country in order to keep it from crashing economically.A prince must woo the now-wealthy dancer he once abandoned, to keep her money in the country in order to keep it from crashing economically.A prince must woo the now-wealthy dancer he once abandoned, to keep her money in the country in order to keep it from crashing economically.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

2.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins total

Photos58

+ 51

Top cast45

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Mae Murray

Sally - The Merry Widow

John Gilbert

Prince Danilo

Roy D'Arcy

Crown Prince Mirko

Josephine Crowell

Queen Milena

George Fawcett

King Nikita

Tully Marshall

Baron Sadoja

Edward Connelly

Ambassador

Gertrude Bennett

Hard-Boiled Virginia
(uncredited)

Bernard Berger

Boy
(uncredited)

Sidney Bracey

Danilo's Footman
(uncredited)

Estelle Clark

French Barber
(uncredited)

Albert Conti

Danilo's Adjutant
(uncredited)

D'Arcy Corrigan

Horatio
(uncredited)

Joan Crawford

Ballroom Dancer
(uncredited)

Xavier Cugat

Orchestra Leader
(uncredited)

Anielka Elter

Blindfolded Musician
(uncredited)

Dale Fuller

Sadoja's Chambermaid
(uncredited)

Clark Gable

Ballroom Dancer
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
While filming the climactic ballroom scene, Erich von Stroheim noticed an extra whose costume was not adjusted to his liking. He stepped off the high camera platform on which he was standing, fell, and broke his leg. He directed the rest of the film from a reclining chair while his leg healed.

Goofs
A title card reads "a prince has a duty to his country higher then [sic] his duty to himself" - a grammatical error unusual for such a prestigious studio as MGM.

Quotes
Prince Danilo Petrovich: Where the devil did you get these pictures?
Danilo's Adjutant: From my barber--he said he got them in Paris.

Crazy credits
The credits state that the film is "personally directed by" Erich von Stroheim.

Alternate versions
The version shown on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel has the musical score arranged by Dennis James and performed by him on a Möller pipe organ. It is shown at a proper silent movie speed and runs 137 minutes.

Connections
Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1994)

User reviews23

Review

Featured review

6/10

The Merry Widow review

Stroheim's take on the familiar story is filled with his customary pomp and spectacle while never losing sight of the love story at its core. It's something of a slog at over two hours long though, and Gilbert's royal prince comes across as something of a sleaze at times. However, Roy D'Arcy makes a wonderfully hissable villain as the scheming Crown Prince Mirko (a role von Stroheim originally ear-marked for himself).