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The Emperor Waltz Photos

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Movie Info

Salesman Virgil Smith (Bing Crosby) is making his next big move in Austria, pushing the gramophone. He believes that if he can persuade Emperor Franz Joseph (Richard Haydn) to purchase the record player, he'll strike it rich as the nation follows suit. However, in the meantime, Smith falls for a countess (Joan Fontaine), a woman in a class above his own. Now in addition to convincing the emperor to buy his wares, Smith must also find a way to receive the emperor's blessing to marry his love.

Genre:

musical, comedy
Original Language:

English
Director:

Billy Wilder
Producer:

Charles Brackett
Release Date (Theaters):

Jul 2, 1948 wide
Release Date (Streaming):

May 6, 2003
Runtime:

1h 46m
Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Cast & Crew

Bing Crosby
Virgil Smith

Joan Fontaine
Johanna Augusta Franziska

Roland Culver
Baron Holenia

Richard Haydn
Emperor Franz-Josef

Lucile Watson
Princess Bitotska

Sig Ruman
Dr. Zwieback

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for The Emperor Waltz

All Critics (10) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (3)

Multiple functions of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder on Waltz have given film an infectious quality that surmounts the gorgeously apt trappings against which is projected the fable of an American travelling phonograph salesman.

August 14, 2007 | Full Review…

Variety Staff
Variety
Brackett and Wilder have made up with casualness and charm -- and with a great deal of clever sight-humor -- for the meagerness of the idea.

March 25, 2006 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Generally reckoned to be Wilder's worst movie.

January 26, 2006 | Full Review…

Time Out
A pastel comedy that presents two dangers disguised as virtue: that of conservatism and that of progress. [Full Review in Spanish]

August 14, 2019 | Full Review…

Jorge (JJ) Negrete
Butaca Ancha
Brackett and Wilder get their effect by combining a free-for-all farcical story with formal magnificence in setting, and costume.

March 15, 2019 | Full Review…

Josephine O'Neill
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Not one of Billy Wilder's strong films, this bizarre period musical teams the director with crooner Bing Crosby, who's pleasant enough and some of the tunes are medlodic.

January 11, 2011 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Definitely colorful, but otherwise mediocre Bing Crosby musical with few memorable tunes.

January 10, 2009 | Rating: 3/5

Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com
This is a charming musical from Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, two of the best screenwriters ever.

August 14, 2007 | Full Review…

TV Guide
Lackluster and hardly interesting.

March 15, 2007 | Rating: C | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
There are so few bad Wilder films that one this awful and irredeemable is heart-breaking.

May 24, 2003 | Full Review…

Film4 Staff
Film4

View All Critic Reviews (10)

Audience Reviews for The Emperor Waltz

Feb 24, 2018

A work so slight so as to nearly anger one with the gall of it's presumptions and yet the charisma of its main participants do manage to engage and, indeed, to charm. Crosby is a Yank abroad who runs into a bankrupt royale and sparks fly despite position. Joan Fontaine is especially surprising, even though you'll wonder if the featured animals aren't doing the main heavy lifting.

Kevin M. W Super Reviewer