Goodnight, Vienna

Last updated

Goodnight, Vienna
Goodnight, Vienna film Opening titles (1932).jpg
Opening titles
Directed by Herbert Wilcox
Written by
Produced byHerbert Wilcox
Starring Jack Buchanan
Anna Neagle
Gina Malo
Cinematography Freddie Young
Edited by Michael Hankinson
Music byTony Lowry
Harry Perritt
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • 28 March 1932 (1932-03-28)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£23,000 [1]

Goodnight, Vienna (also known as Magic Night [2] ) is a 1932 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Anna Neagle and Gina Malo. [2] It was written by George Posford, Eric Maschwitz (as Holt Marvell) and Miles Malleson based on a BBC radio operetta by Maschwitz. it features the song "Good-night, Vienna".

Contents

Two lovers in Vienna are separated by the First World War, but are later reunited.

Plot

Max is an Austrian officer in the army and son of a highly placed general. His father wants him to marry a Countess but he has fallen in love with Vicki. Attending a party given in his honour, they are informed that war has broken out. Max writes a note to Vicki and goes off to war. Unfortunately the note is lost. Some time after the war, Max is just a shoe shop assistant while Vicki is now a famous singer. They meet and at first she snubs him but then falls in love with him again.

Cast

Production

Herbert Wilcox was played the score by Eric Maschwitz and George Posford. He liked it and bought the rights. Within a week Wilcox persuaded Jack Buchanan to play the lead. He wanted Lea Seidl or Evelyn Lane to play the female lead but neither was available. He went to tell Buchanan that the film was going to be postponed; Buchanan was playing in a show Stand Up and Sing with Anna Neagle. Wilcox was impressed by Neagle and cast her at a fee of £150. The film was shot in three weeks before Buchanan had to leave to appear in Stand Up and Sing at Liverpool. Wilcox reportedly cast Neagle, whom he would later marry and direct in many films, after discovering her by chance in a stage show. [3] During the making of the film, Wilcox and Neagle fell in love. [1]

Reception

According to Wilcox, it was his most commercially successful until that time. [1]

Kine Weekly wrote: "British studios have achieved with this gay, delightful and wholly romantic comedy, with music a picture which – while not on so vast a scale – is certainly comparable with Congress Dances . The production shows imagination, and there is wit in the dialogue and real harmony in the music. Acting is excellent and the general polished technique of the film makes it an outstanding offering." [4]

Picture Show wrote: "Should be a great success, as it has all the ingredients – lilting music, romance, pathos, comedy – and Jack Buchanan. The slender story deals with the love affair of a littel flower-shop girl, charmingly played by Anna Neagle, and a dashing young officer." [5]

Cultural references

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wilcox, Herbert (1967). Twenty Five Thousand Sunsets. South Brunswick. pp. 90–91.
  2. 1 2 "Goodnight, Vienna". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  3. ↑ Street, Sarah (2009). British National Cinema. Routledge. p. 165. ISBN   9780415384223.
  4. ↑ "Goodnight, Vienna". Kine Weekly . 181 (1302): 41. 31 March 1932. ProQuest   2322679146.
  5. ↑ "Goodnight, Vienna". Picture Show . 27 (698): 9. 17 September 1932. ProQuest   1880293991.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.