Plot
In romantic old Vienna, a gentle poet (Alfred Abel) stumbles upon a charming scene in the park: a young woman fiercely protecting a stray dog from a cruel street boy. This girl is Komtesse Fritzi Zirsky (Lya Mara), the orphaned daughter of the noble Count Oscar Zirsky and Mizzi, a once-celebrated cabaret singer. Their marriage had scandalized Viennese society and was never accepted by Oscar’s stern and tradition-bound parents, Count Zirsky (Julius Falkenstein) and Gräfin Zirsky (Olga Engl), with whom Fritzi now lives in a once-grand house fallen into genteel poverty.
Treated coldly by her grandparents and constantly reminded of her mother’s cabaret past, Fritzi threatens to leave the suffocating household. When the mansion next door, belonging to their estranged cousins—the Konzaga family—is put up for sale, the Countess rejoices, having long despised that side of the family. Decades earlier, she had orchestrated the disgrace and exile of the youngest Konzaga son, Carl Konzaga (Arnold Korff).
Far away in New York, Carl has rebuilt his life and become a wealthy newspaper magnate. His son, Johnny Konzaga (Ben Lyon), is a modern jazz-loving young man whose musical tastes and brash American ways irritate his father. Carl sends Johnny back to Vienna with orders to repurchase the family home—but strictly forbids him from having anything to do with the Zirskys, whom he still bitterly resents.
But fate intervenes. In Vienna, Johnny meets and promptly falls in love with the beautiful Fritzi, unaware at first of her identity. When he learns the truth, he chooses love over loyalty, and—encouraged by the friendly poet—takes Fritzi to visit a cabaret where her mother once starred. Moved by the faded glory of the venue and its aging proprietor, the trio hatches a plan to host a gala benefit performance to revive the old place and its fortunes.
Hearing of Johnny’s involvement with Fritzi, Carl Konzaga rushes to Vienna to put an end to the romance. In a cruel attempt to humiliate Fritzi, who is to dance in the gala, he secretly buys every seat in the theater but uses only two—ensuring a sea of empty chairs. Undeterred, Fritzi dances anyway, encouraged by Johnny and the poet. Against all odds, the performance is a triumph. Critics rave, and Fritzi wins not only applause but the public’s heart.
Old Count Zirsky, reading the glowing reviews, finally sees value in his granddaughter’s talent and independence. But tension erupts when Carl demands Johnny return to America immediately, and Fritzi—devastated—parts from him after a quarrel.
Fritzi is cast as the star of the poet’s new revue, "Dancing Vienna." Before opening night, Carl Konzaga offers her a check to renounce Johnny forever. She refuses, proud and resolute. Meanwhile, Johnny, boarding the ship for New York, discovers the scheme his father played. In a breathless climax, he rushes back to shore just as the boat departs.
Fritzi’s performance is a sensation. The revue is a massive personal success, crowned by Johnny’s surprise appearance on stage, where he joins her for a classic Viennese waltz—a symbolic victory of tradition and love over modern cynicism and jazz. The old Count and Countess Zirsky and Carl Konzaga, softened by the romance and success of the young couple, lay aside their decades-old feud.
The curtain falls on a picture of reconciliation and happiness, with Vienna dancing once again.
