What a Widow!

Last updated

What a Widow!
What a Widow poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Allan Dwan
Dudley Murphy (uncredited)
James Seymour (uncredited)
Screenplay by James Gleason
James Seymour
Story by Josephine Lovett
Produced by Gloria Swanson
Joseph P. Kennedy
Allan Dwan
StarringGloria Swanson
Owen Moore
Lew Cody
Cinematography George Barnes
Edited by Viola Lawrence
Music by Hugo Felix
Josiah Zuro
Production
company
Gloria Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • August 13, 1930 (1930-08-13)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

What a Widow! is a 1930 American pre-Code musical romantic comedy film directed by Allan Dwan and produced by and starring Gloria Swanson. The music was written by Vincent Youmans. It was distributed through United Artists. [1] Although rumored to have been lost for decades, the film is extant in two complete 35mm copies at the George Eastman Museum.

Contents

The film was produced by Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. It received generally positive reviews and was noted for its animated title sequence created by William Dietz, but was met with lukewarm returns at the box office mainly due to the backlash against musical films late in 1930. [2] Due to the public's backlash against musicals, United Artists downplayed the fact that the film was a musical, removed references to Vincent Youmans and his songs and advertised the film as a romantic comedy.

Lobby card What a Widow lobby card.jpg
Lobby card

Cast

Music

The film features three songs with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by J. Russel Robinson and George Waggner. The songs are titled "Love Is Like a Song," "Say 'Oui' Cheri" and "You're the One" and were all sung by Gloria Swanson in the film. Gloria Swansons also recorded the songs for Victor Records. Due to the public's backlash against musicals the recordings were not released however.

Preservation status

Two 35mm negatives of the film are housed at the George Eastman Museum. [3] The soundtrack is preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the trailer is preserved at the Library of Congress. [4] [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Dwan</span> American film director & screenwriter (1885–1981)

Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Swanson</span> American actress (1899–1983)

Gloria Josephine Mae Swanson was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 turn in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, which also earned her a Golden Globe Award.

Sadie Thompson is a 1928 American silent drama film that tells the story of a "fallen woman" who comes to Pago Pago to start a new life, but encounters a zealous missionary who wants to force her back to her former life in San Francisco. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore, and Raoul Walsh, and it is one of Swanson's more successful films. Due to the public's apathy towards silent films, a sound version was prepared in the latter half of 1928. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it features a synchronized musical score with sound effects along with a theme song.

<i>The Trespasser</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

The Trespasser is a 1929 American pre-Code film written and directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Gloria Swanson, Robert Ames, Purnell Pratt, Henry B. Walthall, and Wally Albright. The film was released by United Artists in both silent and sound versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent Youmans</span> American composer (1898–1946)

Vincent Millie Youmans was an American Broadway composer and producer.

<i>Hollywood</i> (British TV series) 1980 documentary series

Hollywood is a British television documentary miniseries produced by Thames Television and originally broadcast on ITV in 1980. Written and directed by film historians Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, it explored the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and their cultural impact during the silent film era of the 1910s and 1920s. At the 1981 BAFTA TV Awards, the series won for Best Original Television Music and was nominated for Best Factual Series, Best Film Editing and Best Graphics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norma Talmadge</span> American actress (1894–1957)

Norma Marie Talmadge was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most popular idols of the American screen.

Painted Smiles is the name of a small record label run by Ben Bagley (1933-1998) and based in New York City, USA. The first of this set of stereo albums were of the songs of his often satirical Shoestring Revues which were performed off-Broadway starting in the late 1950s. The main series of albums were anthologies of the songs of the top Broadway musical lyricists and composers from the 1920s through the 1940s, though the albums were produced during the 1960s and 1970s. Many of them are now available on CD.

<i>Song of the West</i> 1930 film

Song of the West is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical Western film produced by Warner Bros., and photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was based on the 1928 Broadway musical Rainbow by Vincent Youmans (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) and Laurence Stallings (book). It starred John Boles, Joe E. Brown and Vivienne Segal, and was the first all-color all-talking feature to be filmed entirely outdoors.

<i>No, No, Nanette</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

No, No, Nanette is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film with Technicolor sequences that was directed by Clarence G. Badger and released by First National Pictures. It was adapted from the play of the same title by Otto A. Harbach and Frank Mandel. No, No, Nanette was a popular show on Broadway, running for 321 performances, and was produced and directed by Harry Frazee.

Shifting Sands is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Albert Parker and starring Gloria Swanson. Prints of the film are held by the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection and in private collections, and Shifting Sands has been released on DVD.

<i>No, No, Nanette</i> (1940 film) 1940 film by Herbert Wilcox

No, No, Nanette is a 1940 American film directed by Herbert Wilcox and based on both the 1919 stage play No, No, Nanette and the 1930 film No, No, Nanette. It was one of several films the British producer/director made with Anna Neagle for RKO studios in the U.S.

<i>Stage Struck</i> (1925 film) 1925 film by Allan Dwan

Stage Struck is a 1925 American silent comedy film starring Gloria Swanson, Lawrence Gray, Gertrude Astor, and Ford Sterling. The film was directed by Allan Dwan, and released by Paramount Pictures with the opening and ending sequences filmed in the early two-color Technicolor.

<i>Fine Manners</i> 1926 film

Fine Manners is a 1926 American black-and-white silent comedy film directed initially by Lewis Milestone and completed by Richard Rosson for Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures. After an argument with actress Gloria Swanson, director Milestone walked off the project, causing the film to be completed by Rosson, who had picked up directorial tricks while working as an assistant director to Allan Dwan. The success of the film, being Rosson's first directorial effort since he co-directed Her Father's Keeper in 1917 with his brother Arthur Rosson, won him a long-term contract with Famous Players–Lasky.

<i>Manhandled</i> (1924 film) 1924 film by Allan Dwan

Manhandled is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky at their East Coast Astoria Studios facility and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The supporting cast includes Frank Morgan. A young woman goes out partying when her hard-working boyfriend neglects her.

<i>The Lamb</i> (1915 film) 1915 film

The Lamb is a 1915 American silent comedy/Western film featuring Douglas Fairbanks in his first starring role. Directed by W. Christy Cabanne, the film is based on the popular 1913 Broadway play The New Henrietta, in which Fairbanks co-starred with William H. Crane, Amelia Bingham and a very young Patricia Collinge.

<i>Zaza</i> (1923 film) 1923 film by Allan Dwan

Zaza is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed and produced by Allan Dwan, and starring Gloria Swanson. This film is based on the 1899 French play of the same name produced on Broadway by David Belasco and starring Mrs. Leslie Carter. The film was shot at Paramount's Astoria Studios in New York City.

<i>The Widow from Chicago</i> 1930 film

The Widow from Chicago is a 1930 American pre-Code crime drama film directed by Edward F. Cline and starring Alice White, Edward G. Robinson, Neil Hamilton, and Frank McHugh. It was released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Planned as a full-scale musical, the songs were cut from the film before release due to the public's aversion for musicals.

<i>Her Love Story</i> 1924 film by Allan Dwan

Her Love Story is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Gloria Swanson. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and based on the short story "Her Majesty, the Queen" by Mary Roberts Rinehart.

Wages of Virtue is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Forrest Halsey and Percival Christopher Wren. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Ben Lyon, Norman Trevor, Ivan Linow, Armand Cortes, Adrienne D'Ambricourt, and Paul Panzer. The film was released on November 10, 1924, by Paramount Pictures. It was shot at the Astoria Studios in New York.

References

  1. Shearer, Stephen Michael; Basinger, Jeanine (2013). Gloria Swanson: The Ultimate Star. Macmillan. p. 445. ISBN   978-1-250-01366-8.
  2. ( Shearer & Basinger 2013 , pp. 1673–1674)
  3. https://collections.eastman.org/objects/314889/what-a-widow?ctx=4a105de9-9809-4526-a5fe-14802478e02d&idx=389  ; https://collections.eastman.org/objects/314890/what-a-widow?ctx=4a105de9-9809-4526-a5fe-14802478e02d&idx=390
  4. Lombardi, Frederic (2013). Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios. McFarland. p. 180. ISBN   978-0-786-43485-5.
  5. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collections and The United Artist Collections at The Library of Congress [trailer only]. p. 206. c.1978 by the American Film Institute