1934·Comedy·1h 39m
7.1
★
A prince from a small kingdom courts a wealthy widow to keep her money in the country.
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
widow
musical
pre-code
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Maurice Chevalier
Count Danilo
Jeanette MacDonald
Madame Sonia / Fifi
Edward Everett Horton
Ambassador Popoff
Una Merkel
Queen Dolores
George Barbier
King Achmet
Minna Gombell
Marcelle
Ruth Channing
Lulu
Sterling Holloway
Orderly
Donald Meek
Valet
Herman Bing
Zizipoff
Lona Andre
Maid to Sonia (uncredited)
Henry Armetta
Turk (uncredited)
Crew
Ernst Lubitsch
Director
Samson Raphaelson
Screenplay
Ernst Lubitsch
Producer
Irving Thalberg
Producer
Cedric Gibbons
Art Direction
Joseph M. Newman
Assistant Director
Franz Lehár
Songs
Lorenz Hart
Lyricist
Popular Reviews
13 reviews
Luz
10.0★ · 06/10/26
"Men are not what they seem, and this beautiful dance only taught me to regret, but this night will teach me to forget"
They bleached the dog
Boy, was this fun
"Men are not what they seem, and this beautiful dance only taught me to regret, but this night will teach me to forget"
They bleached the dog
Boy, was this fun
Erik Olsson
8.0★ · 03/29/25
Certainly the most extravagant of the Lubitsch musicals, but not inclined to say it's my favorite.
Certainly the most extravagant of the Lubitsch musicals, but not inclined to say it's my favorite.
Petru Buzea
8.0★ · 03/23/25
probably enjoyed this more than most have. I had a lot of fun especially for watching it in the cinema. The musical part was great.
probably enjoyed this more than most have. I had a lot of fun especially for watching it in the cinema. The musical part was great.
Cami
8.0★ · 07/02/21
Just full of laughs and overall an extremely good time.
Just full of laughs and overall an extremely good time.
Alex
8.7★ · 04/21/21
“Have you ever had diplomatic relations with a woman?”
At this point if Lubitsch doesn’t become one of my 5 favorite directors I’ll be shocked. I knew I would love this as it’s an adaptation of one of my favorite operettas by Franz Lehar, but I didn’t think I’d adore it this much. Some of it is the beautifully lavish MGM production, but it’s really all in the incredible visual humor and sexual innuendo that Lubitsch plays with throughout. The salami, the belt, the suggestive use of doors, and so many more little moments throughout had me constantly laughing — all without a single word. That’s the Lubitsch touch creating movie magic. That’s not to say the script isn’t also great. There were loads of lines I found absolutely hilarious like the ones I quoted above. This is one of the rare musical pictures that doesn’t let up when the music stops. That mostly made up for the arias and ensembles being rather sparse and not memorably choreographed.
This scene which Billy Wilder raved about is in Merry Widow, which I was super happy to find out as I didn’t know that going in.
Musicals Ranked
At this point if Lubitsch doesn’t become one of my 5 favorite directors I’ll be shocked. I knew I would love this as it’s an adaptation of one of my favorite operettas by Franz Lehar, but I didn’t think I’d adore it this much. Some of it is the beautifully lavish MGM production, but it’s really all in the incredible visual humor and sexual innuendo that Lubitsch plays with throughout. The salami, the belt, the suggestive use of doors, and so many more little moments throughout had me constantly laughing — all without a single word. That’s the Lubitsch touch creating movie magic. That’s not to say the script isn’t also great. There were loads of lines I found absolutely hilarious like the ones I quoted above. This is one of the rare musical pictures that doesn’t let up when the music stops. That mostly made up for the arias and ensembles being rather sparse and not memorably choreographed.
This scene which Billy Wilder raved about is in Merry Widow, which I was super happy to find out as I didn’t know that going in.
Musicals Ranked
“Have you ever had diplomatic relations with a woman?”
At this point if Lubitsch doesn’t become one of my 5 favorite directors I’ll be shocked. I knew I would love this as it’s an adaptation of one of my favorite operettas by Franz Lehar, but I didn’t think I’d adore it this much. Some of it is the beautifully lavish MGM production, but it’s really all in the incredible visual humor and sexual innuendo that Lubitsch plays with throughout. The salami, the belt, the suggestive use of doors, and so many more little moments throughout had me constantly laughing — all without a single word. That’s the Lubitsch touch creating movie magic. That’s not to say the script isn’t also great. There were loads of lines I found absolutely hilarious like the ones I quoted above. This is one of the rare musical pictures that doesn’t let up when the music stops. That mostly made up for the arias and ensembles being rather sparse and not memorably choreographed.
This scene which Billy Wilder raved about is in Merry Widow, which I was super happy to find out as I didn’t know that going in.
Musicals Ranked
At this point if Lubitsch doesn’t become one of my 5 favorite directors I’ll be shocked. I knew I would love this as it’s an adaptation of one of my favorite operettas by Franz Lehar, but I didn’t think I’d adore it this much. Some of it is the beautifully lavish MGM production, but it’s really all in the incredible visual humor and sexual innuendo that Lubitsch plays with throughout. The salami, the belt, the suggestive use of doors, and so many more little moments throughout had me constantly laughing — all without a single word. That’s the Lubitsch touch creating movie magic. That’s not to say the script isn’t also great. There were loads of lines I found absolutely hilarious like the ones I quoted above. This is one of the rare musical pictures that doesn’t let up when the music stops. That mostly made up for the arias and ensembles being rather sparse and not memorably choreographed.
This scene which Billy Wilder raved about is in Merry Widow, which I was super happy to find out as I didn’t know that going in.
Musicals Ranked