
1926 · 137 min · US
Directed by Erich von Stroheim
Lehár's operetta with the waltz kept and the perversity added: a prince, a dancer, a baron with a foot fetish, and a kingdom kept afloat by a lecher. The wedding night with the baron is the scene the studio did not expect. Stroheim and Mae Murray fought through the shoot and the film is the survivor; John Gilbert is the prince. MGM released it in 1926 and it made money, which surprised everyone. One hundred and thirty-seven minutes.
Public domain presentation
Wikimedia Commons · FM-54; File:The Merry Widow (1925).webm; 640x480
No subtitle tracks are currently listed.