The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Starring William Powell, Luise Rainer, Myrna Loy, Frank Morgan, Virginia Bruce, Reginald Owen, Fannie Brice, Ernest Cossart, Nat Pendleton, Mae Questel.

The makers of this Oscar-winning tribute/biography of famed showman and theatrical impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (Powell) spared no expense—or foot of celluloid—in bringing this inexcusably bloated production to the big screen (at just shy of three hours, it was the longest talkie ever seen at the time of its release). The squishy script lacks insight, and the protagonist’s relationships with the two main ladies in his life (Anna Held, played by Rainer; Billie Burke, played by Loy) hold little spark or emotional stake. Powell’s silky ambition works for the role, but the audience is kept at arm’s length, observing but never understanding his hollow ambition of putting on the biggest show imaginable. Extravagant music numbers favor grandiosity over excitement; the money and effort is up there on screen, but enough is enough after a while (the famed “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody” piece goes on for twenty-five minutes!). A handful of performers appear as themselves, including Brice and Ray Bolger.

53/100