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Lana Turner, Fernando Lamas, Una Merkel, Richard Haydn, Thomas Gomez ... see more see more... , John Abbott , King Donovan , Robert Coote , Sujata , Lisa Ferraday , Shepard Menken , Ludwig Stossel , Marcel Dalio , Edward Earle , Trudy Erwin , Anne Kimbell , Joi Lansing , Wanda McKay , Gwen Verdon , Dave Willock , Greg Sherwood

Based on an operetta by Franz Lehar, this remake of the 1934 original finds a wealthy widow (Lana Turner) returning to her husband's native land to dedicate a memorial to him. The king (Thomas Gomez) ... read more read more...of the country, deep in debt, tries to convince her to stay by offering a young count (Fernando Lamas) for her to marry. The film earned Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration and Best Costumes. ~ John Bush, Rovi

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75% liked it

105 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Curtis Bernhardt

Release Date: September 5, 1952

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DVD Release Date: May 26, 1993

Stats: 14 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (14)

  • mwilliams078
    August 1, 2008
    mwilliams078
    A good remake from the original. Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas both are very good in this movie and look great!!!
  • binky013
    May 15, 2008
    binky013
    That man, the one who was singing. What's his name?

    All righty, friends, I think almost all of us would agree that musicals are a bit removed from the "real" world. Because lots of us understand this, we venture wisely in to the experience of a musical ready to deploy a hea

    ... read morelthy dose of the good old willing suspension of disbelief. And if we play our part this way, we manage, with a good musical, to get caught up in the possibility that we are watching a "real" event, despite the fact that the cast may break into song and even into dance.

    So when we're playing our part, the last thing we need are what I will call "meta" musical lines of dialog, such as the lines I've quoted above. The conscious pointing out of the fact that people are singing and/or dancing tends to break the illusion in which we're participating. Agreed? I mean, would it have changed much to have Lana Turner simply say: "That man. What's his name?"

    Anywho, this is not what I would call a top drawer favorite musical of mine, but it is a musical nonetheless, and for that alone: plus one star. The music is mostly beautiful music: plus one star. We get Lana Turner, and lots of her, if you know what I mean : ) Plus one star. Una Merkel always makes me smile, and Richard Haydn is his usual idiosyncratically brilliant self: plus 1/2 star each.

    So that's four stars so far.

    Ah, hmmmmm, I wonder who decided to cast Fernando Lamas in this one. Yikes! Minus one star for that brilliant idea. He is not so good normally, but singing? Auwe . . . .

    Total: three stars. For me that means average, and this is definitely a wee cut above average. So because of all that great Lana Turner exposure, plus 1/2 star more : )

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Critic Reviews

Adrian Danks
July 30, 2010
Adrian Danks, Senses of Cinema

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The Merry Widow Trivia

  • Which of the following actors played the Merry Widow Murderer in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt?  Answer »
  • Una Merkel was in the 1934 and the 1952 versions of "The Merry Widow". She played the same character in both films.  Answer »
  • Una Merkel was in the 1934 and the 1952 versions of "The Merry Widow".  Answer »
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