The Great Ziegfeld Overview:

The Great Ziegfeld (1936) was a Biographical - Drama Film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg and Sidney Algier.

SYNOPSIS

The Best Picture of 1936 still sets a high standard for grand musicals. The larger-than-life career of stage genius Florenz Ziegfeld (Powell, in a winning performance) is aptly celebrated in this marvelous musical biography. The colorful story and all-star cast are bolstered by a catalog of nostalgic hit songs, including "If You Knew Susie," "Shine On, Harvest Moon," and "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody."

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Academy Awards 1936 --- Ceremony Number 9 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActressLuise RainerWon
Best Art DirectionCedric Gibbons, Eddie Imazu, Edwin B. WillisNominated
Best DirectorRobert Z. LeonardNominated
Best Film EditingWilliam S. GrayNominated
Best PictureMetro-Goldwyn-MayerWon
Best WritingWilliam Anthony McGuireNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

THE GREAT ZIEGFELD BLOGATHON: Flo, Irving, and the Follies

on May 14, 2020 From Caftan Woman

Zoe at Hollywood Genes is hosting The Great Ziegfeld Blogathon on May 15 - 17. Follies star Fanny Brice Legendary impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (1867-1932) was brought up with an appreciation of culture from his Belgium and German immigrant parents. Flo's American roots gave him the energet... Read full article


Musical Monday: The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

on Dec 2, 2019 From Comet Over Hollywood

It?s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week?s musical: The Great Ziegfeld (1936) ? ... Read full article


The Great Ziegfeld Telephone Scene with Luise Rainer

By Amanda Garrett on Jan 3, 2015 From Old Hollywood Films

The late Luise Rainer's most famous moment on screen is this brief scene from The Great Ziegfeld (1936). Rainer plays Anna Held, the common-law wife of Broadway showman Florenz Zeigfeld (William Powell). She literally smiles through her tears while telephoning Ziegfeld to congratulate him on his sec... Read full article


The Great Ziegfeld (1936) (2)

By Beatrice on Aug 27, 2013 From Flickers in Time

The Great Ziegfeld Directed by Robert Z. Leonard Written by William Anthony McGuire 1936/USA Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Repeat viewing This extravagant musical biopic won Oscars for Best Production, Best Actress (Louise Ranier), and Best Dance Direction (“A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody”) and ... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (1936)

By Jennifer Garlen on Aug 5, 2013 From Virtual Virago

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, The Great Ziegfeld (1936) is a lavish musical tribute to the legendary Broadway producer, with all the whistles, bells, and gorgeous girls that Ziegfeld himself could want, even if it does takes certain liberties with the facts of Ziegfeld’s life. Hollywood had a... Read full article


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Quotes from

Hotel doorman: Do you realize you gave me five pounds?
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: Yes, I'm trying to lose weight.


Sampson: This is about talent.
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: Something good and cheap no doubt?
Sampson: Exactly! It's a young girl named Brice... Fanny... Fanny Brice. She;s working in burlesque.
Gene Buck: Say, I've seen that girl, Flo!
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: Pretty?
Gene Buck: Well, yes and no. Shut your eyes and listen - yes! Open 'em and look - no, but a great performer!
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: We shall have a look at her at once - tonight!


Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: [after he has hired Jack Billings' valet away from him] Gentlemen never argue about gentlemen's gentlemen.


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Facts about

Eugen Sandow is portrayed as a typically "dumb strongman". In real life, however, Sandow was highly intelligent and a superb businessman. Because he was among the first men to display his muscular body as a "work of art", he was considered to be the "Father of Bodybuilding" and this is what his gravestone reads today. Among his friends were Sir 'Arthur Conan Doyle', Thomas A. Edison (who filmed him at the Black Maria Studios) and even King Edward VII. Sandow's career became bigger than ever after his association with Ziegfeld. He became very wealthy and famous because of his mail-order businesses, gyms, souvenir photographs, books and personal appearances. There is a mountain in Alaska, a railroad and a small town in Texas (near Austin) named after him.
Luise Rainer had never heard of Anna Held when she got the part.
The film's costs were proving too much for Universal, so MGM bought the rights for $300,000 from them. Ultimately the film cost MGM about $2 million to make, a huge amount in its day. It did however go on to earn over $40 million.
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Best Picture Oscar 1936











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Also directed by Robert Z. Leonard




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Also produced by Hunt Stromberg




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