The Great Waltz (1938)
Directed by Julien Duvivier, Victor Fleming

Biography / Drama / Music

Film Synopsis

Having lost his job with the Commercial Bank of Vienna, the young Johann Strauss forms an orchestra and is hired by the café Dommeyer.  One evening, he attracts the attention of Carla Donner, a singer with the Imperial Opera company.  Strauss composes a waltz for her but she pokes fun at him.  Humiliated, he returns to his modest milieu and marries his fiancée Poldi Vogelhuber.   He commits himself to composing music for the masses.  As the people of Vienna take to the streets to demand a democratic constitution, Strauss renews his acquaintance with Carla and soon discovers he is in love with her.  With her help, he wins the patronage of the Emperor Frantz Joseph and is able to compose an opera for her.  Realising that her husband's future happiness lies with the singer, Poldi decides to withdraw from his life.  Moved by this gesture of self-sacrifice, Strauss returns to her...
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Film Credits

  • Director: Julien Duvivier, Victor Fleming, Josef von Sternberg
  • Script: Gottfried Reinhardt (story), Samuel Hoffenstein, Walter Reisch, Vicki Baum (story)
  • Cinematographer: Joseph Ruttenberg
  • Cast: Luise Rainer (Poldi Vogelhuber), Fernand Gravey (Johann 'Schani' Strauss II), Miliza Korjus (Carla Donner), Hugh Herbert (Julius Hofbauer), Lionel Atwill (Count Anton 'Tony' Hohenfried), Curt Bois (Kienzl), Leonid Kinskey (Dudelman), Al Shean (Cellist), Minna Gombell (Mrs. Hofbauer), George Houston (Fritz Schiller), Bert Roach (Vogelhuber), Greta Meyer (Mrs. Vogelhuber), Herman Bing (Otto Dommayer), Alma Kruger (Mrs. Strauss), Henry Hull (Emperor Franz Josef), Sig Ruman (Wertheimer the Banker), Christian Rub (Coachman), Ernie Alexander (Revolutionary), Zita Baca (Dancer), Eddie Conrad (Musician)
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 104 min

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