The Great Waltz (1938)
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The Great Waltz was the first of two films bearing the same title which told the life story of Austrian "Waltz King" Johann Strauss. European singing sensation Fernard Gravet stars as Strauss, while MGM's two-time Oscar winner Luise Rainer is top-billed as Poldi Vogelhuber. Poldi is… More The Great Waltz was the first of two films bearing the same title which told the life story of Austrian "Waltz King" Johann Strauss. European singing sensation Fernard Gravet stars as Strauss, while MGM's two-time Oscar winner Luise Rainer is top-billed as Poldi Vogelhuber. Poldi is the wife of Strauss, but she is forced to sit and sulk as her husband carries on a lengthy affair with opera singer Milza Korjus (in her only American film). Husband and wife mend their differences shortly before being introduced to the court of Emperor Franz Josef. The scene everyone remembers is the one in which Gravet and Korjus improvise "The Tales of the Vienna Woods" while taking a buggy ride in the country. It's as corny as all get out, but never fails to earn applause when seen today. Dmitri Tiomkin was given the unenviable task of adapting the original Strauss tunes to conform with the concept of the film, while an uncredited Josef Von Sternberg assisted official director Julien Duvuvier in several crucial scenes. The 1972 The Great Waltz, which starred Horst Buchholtz, is generally conceded to be a disaster. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Julien Duvivier
- Written By
- Samuel Hoffenstein, Walter Reisch
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1938 Wide
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Cast
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Luise Rainer
as Poldi Vogelhuber
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Fernand Gravey
as Johann Strauss
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Milza Korjus
as Carla Donner
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Hugh Herbert
as Hofbauer
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Lionel Atwill
as Count Hohenfried
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Leonid Kinskey
as Dudelman
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Curt Bois
as Kienzl
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Al Shean
as Cellist
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Minna Gombell
as Mrs. Hofbauer
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George Houston
as Schiller
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Bert Roach
as Vogelhuber
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Greta Meyer
as Mrs. Vogelhuber
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Herman Bing
as Dommayer
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Alma Kruger
as Mrs. Strauss
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Henry Hull
as Emperor Franz Joseph
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Sig Rumann
as Wertheimer
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Christian Rub
as Coachman