The Great Waltz

The Great Waltz is easy to write a synopsis for.  The movie is a biography of Johann Strauss II, albeit a very liberal biography.  Everything that I read about this movie before I watched it warned that the movie was not historically accurate.  So don't expect to learn a lot about Strauss' life from this film.  You will do better to click on my link to his bio below.

The film stars Luise Rainer as Poldi Vogelhuber, Fernand Gravey as Johann Strauss II, Miliza Korjus as Carla Donner, Hugh Herbert as Julius Hofbauer, and Lionel Atwill as Count Anton Hohenfried.

The movie begins with Johann, who is known as Schoni by his friends working in a bank.  His true love is writing music and he is ultimately fired from his job because he spends more time writing music than performing the duties of his bank job.  He turns his firing into a positive situation by using it as an opportunity to write music full time.  Writing music is not exactly an easy way to make a living and it is that much harder when you prefer to write waltzes, which are not fashionable at this time.

Despite this he continues to write and when people he knows are playing a piece he has written, the piece is overheard by Carla Donner a famous opera singer and her significant other Count Anton Hohenfried.  This turns out to be his big break, but his biggest break is when she sings one of his waltzes.  She introduces him to Julius Hofbauer who is a music publisher and his career takes off.

The other sub plot in the movie revolves around the love he has for his wife Poldi Vogelhuber and Carla Donner.  He is torn between the love of the woman who was their before his fame and the love of artist that inspires much of what he writes.  There is an interesting scene where during a revolution Johann must flee the city and he does so with Donner.  During their coach ride through the wood, he comes up with one of his more famous pieces, Tales from the Vienna Woods. 

He eventually plans to leave his wife for Donner and after a rather big evening he plans on telling her.  He is beat to the punch as she confronts the two, but despite her love for Strauss moves aside so he can leave with Donner.  When push comes to shove, he can't leave her and just before he is to set forth on a ship with Donner, he decides to go back to his wife. 

As mentioned before, this movie may be based on a true story, but from my research I'd say it is 85% fictional.  All you need to do is read a bit of Strauss bio to see that.  Miliza Korjus as Donner earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress and it certainly deserved, but the true star of this movie is the music.  Now if you don't appreciate classical music, you may disagree with me, but the music is what made this movie tolerable to me. 

Korjus certainly has her moments, not only singing, but playing the temptress.  Count Anton warns Johann at their first meeting to beware of her charms, but predictably he does not listen.  While I don't have an issue with her being nominated, I felt her character was a bit confusing.  I could never figure out if she felt she needed Strauss more than Strauss felt he needed her as inspiration.  She was already famous prior to meeting him, yet at times it seemed to me that she might think she could not be as successful without him.

She did not win the Oscar for her performance.  She was nominated along with

• Fay Bainter as Aunt Belle Massey in Jezebel
• Beulah Bondi as Mary Wilkins in Of Human Hearts
• Billie Burke as Mrs Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live
• Spring Byington as Penny Sycamore in You Can't Take it With You.

Fay Bainter won the Oscar for her performance.  It is interesting to note this was Korjus only nomination in her career, Bainter was nominated three times.  While three nominations may not be of interest to some, she was nominated twice for an Oscar in 1938.  She was nominated for her role in Jezebel as mentioned above and she was also received a nomination for Best Actress for her role in the movie White Banners.  She also played the role of Ruth Dodsworth in the stage production of Dodsworth.

I need to get back on subject and that is The Great Waltz.  I give the movie 3 out of 5 stars.  While the story may not be factual, the music makes it worth it.  So give it a chance, you will enjoy it.