In MGM's three-hour-plus The Great Ziegfeld, William Powell stars as the titular theatrical impresario, whose show business empire begins when he stage-manages a tour for legendary strongman Sandow (Nat Pendleton). With nary a penny in the bank, he charms European stage star Anna Held (Luise Rainer) to headline his "Follies", and later marries the luscious Ms. Held. From 1907 onward, Ziegfeld stages annual editions of Broadway's most fabulous revue, dedicated to "Glorifying the American Girl"
but also giving ample time to develop the comic talents of Fanny Brice (played by herself), Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor and many others. Eventually, Ziegfeld abandons Ms. Held in favor of other beauties, setting the stage for the "telephone scene" which won Luise Rainer the first of her Oscars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Considering the recent screen standards in book musicals with five numbers for 100 to 110 minutes of running time this Metro Santaclausing of numbers becomes virtually a double-feature filmusical.
If the picture overcrowds its screen, at least we must admit it is an impressive kaleidoscope; and probably nothing short of that could reflect the gaudy career of America's foremost showman.
It's amazingly dull, even with William Powell in the lead and guest appearances by the likes of Ray Bolger and Fanny Brice, so of course it won the Best Picture Oscar for 1936.
Although some of the production's technical aspects remain impressive, the dramatic elements come across as trite and many of the musical numbers are dated.
Drags in places and deosn't even try for a true-to-life portrait of the great theatre entrepeneur but it's shiny and big spectacle with impressive choreography.
The Great Ziegfeld wasn't bad but it could've been about an hour shorter. The musical numbers went on way too long for not really adding much to the story. Admittedly, some of the numbers were truly fantastic from a spectacle and filmmaking standpoint--namely the one before the intermission. William Powell was his
usual likable self but not introducing Myrna Loy until the last 45 minutes was pretty goddamned unforgivable. Of the 13 collaborations that Powell and Loy did together I'd have to say The Great Ziegfeld was the weakest (and before you ask, yes, I did see Song of the Thin Man), which is pretty damned ironic considering this won Best Picture of 1936. Moments of fun are to be found, but The Great Ziegfeld is just kind of a big mess.
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