The Emperor Waltz (1948)

Synopsis: A rare musical comedy for Wilder, it stars Bing Crosby as Virgil H. Smith, a phonograph salesman, plying his wares in turn-of-the-20th-century Vienna. Believing that if he's able to sell a phonograph to Emperor Franz Joseph I, the rest of Austria will soon follow his example, Virgil attempts... A rare musical comedy for Wilder, it stars Bing Crosby as Virgil H. Smith, a phonograph salesman, plying his wares in turn-of-the-20th-century Vienna. Believing that if he's able to sell a phonograph to Emperor Franz Joseph I, the rest of Austria will soon follow his example, Virgil attempts to gain access to the man. After he's refused admission to the palace by guards who believe the phonograph to be a bomb, he meets Countess Johanna Augusta Franziska (Joan Fontaine), when his mutt gets into a fight with her pedigreed poodle, which has just been chosen to mate with that of the emperor, and the owners part on bad terms. When Virgil again tries to approach the emperor, while he's hunting in the Australian Tyrol, the vindictive Johanna happens to be present, and sees to it that Virgil is deported. However, the Countess' dog, Scheherazade, soon suffers a nervous breakdown and the attending veterinarian, a strict Freudian, insists that Virgil's dog must return to re-enact their conflict. Except for the witty script by Bracket and Wilder, this light confection, shot on location in Canada's Jasper National park, bears few signs of the director's style. [More]