I haven't seen this movie for many years, but I do know that it has possibly one of the most memorable, expensive to produce musical scenes ever entitled, "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody", an old 1919 song that eventually became Ziegfeld's theme song. When you watch this jaw-dropping scene, you wonder, aside from what it must have cost, how they could even devise and execute such a perfectly opulent number. Don't forget, "The Great Ziegfeld" won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1937 for this 1936 picture. It's about three hours long (185 min.), a bit long for a musical, especially in that age. At least it's long enough for fans to select their favourite numbers and leave out the uneven moments.

One of the first Hollywood biopics and while it has great performances it's length is way too long and didn't deserve to win Best Picture

If the viewer was to judge Ziegfeld's on his character; financial expertise; friendship to his peers and coworkers; and relationships, he wasn't so great. Ziegfeld's treatment of his friend and financial backer Jack Billings is absolutely reprehensible. The Great Ziegfeld has a bland story and the musical numbers are forgettable. It's 3 hours I'll never get back.

I first heard about William Powell not in the "Thin Man" films, but as the curmudgeonly Doc in the World War II classic "Mister Roberts", also starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and Jack Lemmon (in his first Oscar-winning role). By the time that movie came out, Powell was a veteran actor in the final stages of his career ("Mister Roberts" was his final motion picture appearance, followed by a role in a 1969 short film). So, upon the discovery that it was he who starred in the 1936 Best Picture winner, I had to take a look. And now that I have seen "The Great Ziegfeld", I must say that Powell's performance saved this film from what could very easily have been pure Depression-era escapist hoo-ha. Sure, Luise Rainer took home Best Actress for her melodramatic portrayal of Ziegfeld's melodramatic first wife, Anna Held (To echo a sentiment of a fellow IMDb reviewer of this film, she originated the now-familiar "smiling through the tears" performance that we have seen many times). And Myrna Loy did a fine job as his second wife Billie Burke (you know, Glinda the Good Witch from "The Wizard of Oz"). Throw in some fine performances by Nat Pendleton as The Great Sandow and Virginia Bruce as the talented yet troublesome Audrey Dane, and you have what appears to be a fairly well-done biographical film about Florenz Ziegfeld, right? Ah, but this is a movie about Florenz Ziegfeld, and in movies about Florenz Ziegfeld, you need to showcase some musical numbers and how he would have staged them. Don't get me wrong, the musical numbers in this movie feature some of the best choreography and staging of the Depression Era, with stages that moved in and out (in sections and all at once), dogs that stayed at their marks for over two minutes as women danced around (and over!) them, and the costumes! Oh, the costumes! How those women paraded around in some of those things with smiles on their faces is beyond me! But over and above that is the infamous "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody", which everyone claims was done in a single shot. But if you look more closely, it was really done in two shots; the transition happens at the clown's close-up. Even with two shots (three, if you count the curtain reveal), we are talking about a single continuous production piece that stretches for seven minutes! It is perfectly clear that MGM spared no expense in making this movie. In fact, it cost about as much money to film "Pretty Girl" as it did for Ziegfeld himself to produce one of his Follies! MGM was notorious for their over-the-top productions during the 1930s, and "The Great Ziegfeld" was no exception. The mentality at the time was that America (and much of the world, for that matter) was caught in the Great Depression, and the public needed movie musicals with bright, cheerful, optimistic, and lavish set pieces to "forget" about their troubles for a couple of hours. And, even though it isn't technically a musical, this film fits that bill. But with a running time of nearly three hours, "The Great Ziegfeld" seems to stall during the lavish musical numbers, making it severely dated by today's standards. But I have saved the film's saving grace for last, and his name is William Powell! As Ziegfeld, he is both legitimate businessman and snake-oil vendor, devoted husband and father and lecherous womanizer, brilliant showman and luckiest man on Earth! But what makes Ziegfeld fascinating is the ease at which Powell moves from one end of the spectrum to the other in a flash, then back again, especially when playing with (or is it against?) Frank Morgan. As Ziegfeld's rival/nemesis/business partner Jack Billings, Frank Morgan gave us a man who was both flustered by and respectful to Ziegfeld's knack for showmanship. As a bonus to the film, two people who owed their careers in show business to Florenz Ziegfeld appear as themselves in "The Great Ziegfeld". First up is Fanny Brice, who re-enacts her discovery by and her audition for him. And the legendary Ray Bolger does a wonderful dance number that rivals, if not outdoes, anything he did three years later in "The Wizard of Oz". So there you have it. This review seems about as long as the movie itself, so I will sum it up like this: "The Great Ziegfeld" is too long and it stalls during the musical numbers, but William Powell and Ray Bolger make it worth watching.

This movie is plodding at times. The musical numbers are very long and at times tedious and have nothing to do with the plot of the movie. It seemed like a way to get the runtime to 3 hours and to make sure the Best Picture award was all theirs. They were beautifully shot, wonderfully acted and the costumes were amazing. They were just long. My biggest gripe is the main character. At no time during this film did I ever feel sorry for him nor did I ever cheer for him. He was a con artist of the highest order and that kind of character is just too much for me to care about. I understand why he did these things but they were still under-handed and not becoming of a good protagonist. Great film for its time, definite recommend, especially for the lavish, although long, musical numbers.

Overblown, but fun to watch. Oscar for Best Picture!

Only an hour too long. It's like a less compelling version of Yankee Doodle Dandy though admittedly this came first. There is one spectacular musical scene which cost an absolute fortune to make but was worth it as it was the only standout moment in the film. Back in the day this was a high water mark for musicals but more recent appraisals are closer to the mark. This is bloated beyond excuse and is one of the more disappointing best picture academy award winners.

William Powell and Myrna Loy......what else is there to say???? Just a tad drawn out to get an even better rating.

The main set piece of this film is an amazing feat of set design and choreography. But it can't mask what is at times an overly long and aimless script.

Here's a title you've probably never heard of, The Great Ziegfeld, an elaborately big yet slightly underwhelming take on the Ziegfeld Follies. Actually, it's about Florenz Ziegfeld's (William Powell) discovery of the beautiful show girls and his theatrical revue as well as his rise and fall from grace. During which he hires gorgeous talents like Anna Held (Luise Rainer), Fanny Brice, and Billie Burke (Myrna Loy). It's impressive to see actors play themselves such as Fanny Brice and Ray Bolger, two real vaudevillian personalities who worked with the Ziegfeld in real life, creating a metaphysical construct for the picture. As for the production value, it is lavishly epic, with over 250 tailors making the costumes, 16 reels of film, and gigantic set designs, complimenting the glamorous actresses in the early quarter of the 20th Century. However, as elaborate as the mise en scene and musical numbers were, it's also a problem, as they pad the film's runtime as well as override its plot. The story itself is about as simple and weak as anything, riddled with formulaic "rising star" cliches and a tired misunderstanding scene. I especially found it weird, considering his age, to have Ziegfeld standing up to himself at the barbershop to a bunch of old onlookers. I felt this scenario could be handled better during his childhood, not toward the edge of death. The Great Ziegfeld is a short stack with more toppings and little pancake: weak story + pretty visuals = pretty weak. (2 ½ Bathtubs of Milk out of 5)

It wasn't the least bit interesting.

Long before Hollywood decided to reserve top critical honors for narratives that romanticized themselves, the depicition of Broadway was considered the easy means of securing a solid reception; look no further than the magnificently undeserved contemporary reception of The Broadway Melody for that. The Great Ziegfeld is in many ways the apotheosis of this phenomenon, featuring altogether too many ambitious stage production scenes (like too much sugar spoiling a cup of coffee) around a crowd-pleasing narrative masquerading as a serious piece of biography. Rainer's performance is laughably terrible, full of soap opera emotion topped with a terrible accent, though it doesn't help that her character is fundamentally poorly conceived as well, ludicrously indecisive and often simply dumb; the fact that she was awarded Best Actress for the role is a testament to the exceptional disconnect between modern and contemporary critics. Powell is often brilliant in short bursts, but is often constrained by the film itself. The entire film is simply too long, but the production value of the theatre sequnces is undeniably great; the first Folly (the 'Wedding Cake' scene) is perhaps the single greatest shot in musical cinema. It's ambitious and completely enthralling, but it just so happens to be drowned out by the rest of the film's mediocrity, like pasting an original Monet in the middle of the 'House Painting' section of the white pages. (3/5)

Robert Z. Leonard's 1936 biopic The Great Ziegfeld is a fictionalised account of the life and career of Florenz Ziegfeld, a theatre impresario who was famous for his extravagant "Ziegfeld Follies", a series of spectacular musical shows performed on Broadway from 1907 to 1931. The resulting film is as lavish as the Follies themselves, but at nearly three hours in length and with a sprawling, uneven plot, at times it looks very much like the greatest folly of all. The story follows Ziegfeld from small-time showman to Broadway producer and charts his ups and downs along the way, as he runs out of money and has to be bailed out (three times) by friend and sometime rival Billings, gets married twice and divorced once, and eventually meets financial ruin and a premature death. William Anthony McGuire's screenplay boasts impressive characterisation and a script that sparkles with wit, for example when Ziegfeld tricks a costume designer into leaving him a full set of costumes without pay. It juggles light-heartedness and tragedy remarkably adeptly, and often lets the latter speak for itself without belabouring the point, for example when Audrey Dane succumbs to career-ending alcoholism. The cast is excellent. William Powell gives a superb, entirely believable performance as Ziegfeld, who is eminently likeable, full of ideas and enthusiasm and often misunderstood. Powell effortlessly conveys Ziegfeld's humour, charisma and quick-thinking, as he constantly finds solutions to his problems; one suspects that had he not died from his illness at the end of the film, he would have found a way to bounce back from the Wall Street crash. Powell's scenes with Frank Morgan's Billings are delightful, as Ziegfeld poaches his butler and then signs Anna Held from right under his nose. Anna is played by Luise Rainer and her performance rightly won her an Academy Award for Best Actress: she brings the winningly eccentric but emotional and highly-strung to vivid life, for example when she has a meltdown about rumours that she bathes in milk. Indeed, Leonard has to be credited with assembling a superb cast, from real-life stage performer and Olympic wrestler Nat Pendleton as Sandow, to Myrna Loy as Billie Burke; she and Powell quickly develop on-screen chemistry, and one wonders how much the on-set presence of the real Burke helped with this (the film's very last scene is of Ziegfeld's death, and it was this – and the debt he left behind due to the crash – that forced his widow Burke to sell the rights to this very biopic). Joseph Cawthorn gives a brief but wonderful performance as Florenz' father Dr. Ziegfeld. Fannie Brice appears as herself and is one of four Ziegfeld Follies performers to do so; unsurprisingly given her later career, she displays perfect comic timing. But for all of this, The Great Ziegfeld wants to be more than just a biography. The production aims for true Hollywood Golden Age spectacle and mostly achieves it, with costumes and sets that cost a fortune and look deeply impressive, especially the 100 tonne "Wedding Cake" set. The sheer extravagance of the sets built for the Ziegfeld Follies is shown off to its full effect by Oliver T. Marsh's cinematography. The film is often described as a musical, and although this is technically true, it isn't one of the in which characters burst spontaneously into song: the diagetic music is limited to the recreations of the Follies, and it is as splendidly recreated as the sets and costumes. The problem is, that Leonard – or perhaps the studio – wanted to have his cake and eat it and the second half of the film, after the intermission, features lengthy musical numbers that are visual, aurally and technically impressive but make the plot grind to a halt. By the time the film has limped to the end of its almost three-hour running time, even the most ardent enthusiast of musicals must surely be flagging. The Great Ziegfeld is mostly a good film. It's got a great script, great acting, great characters and great direction. But it would have been so much better if it had stuck to being a character piece and trimmed a lot of the musical sequences, which simply make the film too long and ruin its pacing. In short, it suffers from the very extravagance it seeks to recreate and whilst it probably deserved to win its Academy Award for Best Picture for sheer effort, it would be so much better if it were leaner and less bloated.

Its a lavishly produced film about the lives of the great Ziegfeld. The film has many great musical numbers with a couple stretching over the top and far too long. Not sure we learn enough about the real Ziegfeld about ambition to put on the best show with the best girls. The film is far too long and elements of the film can easily be shorter without changing the film. Its a big spectacle with great camera and cinematography work. In the 1930s these types of films would have interested the audience as well as Oscar. Luise Rainer is fine in the movie but winning best actress seems a bit much considering that she is not in the movie that much. Supporting actress would make more sense. William Powell is very good at Ziegfeld and the end of the movie is well done as he understands his powers and ambition have come to an end. Frank Morgan who plays Mr Billings is a great character and his relationship with Ziegfeld is the highlight. They play off each other really well. Fanny Brice is underused as are so many other actors. It is a snapshot of Ziegfeld but ultimately not covering everything a cinema goer would want. For the musical numbers and the production the film has it all but its length and a lack of an emotional punch hinders,

The classic musical numbers have never been beaten. A spectacular presentation, despite the uneven editing. Acting by Powell, Loy, and Morgan is superb as always. This one is a treasure. Deservedly won the best picture of the year oscar.

The Great Ziegfeld, a.k.a. Fancy Dresses: The Movie, or Get Me Some More Girls, perfectly epitomises Hollywood's early Golden age, both its excesses, and its excessiveness. Painfully overextended at 3+ hours, it reaches this length by insisting that we sit through long scenes of largely inconsequential dialogue, and through the entirety of many of its musical numbers. The production values are the main reason to watch it, since it is incredible to see, for the time at least, so much money on the screen. Luise Rainer's performance, one of 2 reasons that people remember the film at all, swings between earnesty and histrionics, and she doesn't have much screen time for a person who won best leading actress. Supporting actress perhaps, but even then her acting style has dated as much the film around her. The giant step scene is one of the most remarkable one-take shots I may have ever seen, but that's only a small part of a film that, even without the lavish stage sequences, would still feel slow, bloated and unnecessarily grandiose.

I think it is a remarkably accurate film on the life Florence Ziegfeld. This film shows life back in the day of Vaudeville and great Broadway shows of that time period. People today expect films of The Golden Age of Hollywood to be completely accurate. But the films today aren't completely accurate. I give this film 6 stars because I think it deserves it!!

I enjoy William Powell as much as any actor but there is one reason to watch this and that is Luise Rainer. The joy and charm she brings to the role of Anna Held is captivating. The movie is long and it tries to be a biopic and a 30's era musical at the same time which I can understand as this is during the depression and it gives people a chance to see a Ziegfeld Follies production which most people could not do back then.

Oh no! A musical winning Best Picture yet again but it's not just a musical it also gives them the opportunity to indulge their love of the biopic. This was a huge hit at the time but it has aged poorly as it's 2 hours and 57 minutes long, features forgettable songs and overacting. I struggled to get through this film even as, much like An American in Paris (1951), I marveled at one sequence in the film that is technically stunning. You have to take most winners from this time period with a grain of salt, other than the perfect It Happened One Night (1934), but this was one of the hardest films to swallow as it doddered along for large periods of time and didn't have the appeal of musicals like The Sound of Music (1965) and Gigi (1958). Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., William Powell, establishes a business based on showmanship and pretty women in the early 20th century as he mixes business and pleasure by marrying performer Anna Held, Luise Rainer. "The Ziegfeld Follies" are organized by the increasingly ambitious businessman as his romantic attentions shift from Anna to the troubled Audrey Dunne, Virginia Bruce, as the shows are a resounding success. As times and tastes change the public grow disinterested in the Follies and want something grander and more exciting. He makes a comeback and marries the future Glinda the Good Witch, Billie Burke, Myrna Loy, who is supportive and loving but the 1929 stock market crash looms. The sequence in the film that is worth watching is the ‘wedding cake' scene in which hundreds of dancers assemble in elaborate costumes to frolic around on an expensive set. I could just sit back and marvel at the sight of incredible costumes, from giant feathery wings to a glittery ball gown, and beautiful women lounging around on top of a constructed cake. This was a spectacle on the level of the final eighteen minute dance at the end of An American in Paris. This sight would have been unbelievable to audiences at the time who were still going to the theatre regularly and didn't just pop down to the cinema now and then, it deserves to be commended because it was impressive then but still manages to amaze today's audiences. Beyond the costumes, the looks of the stars and that small sliver of the film's running time this film isn't worth watching because it doesn't appear to know what it is. It flirts with being The Greatest Showman (2017), an awful movie, for 1936 audiences but this storyline stops for long periods of time to allow for songs and scenes of women looking beautiful. It never fully commits to being a musical either as we spend so much time with people just talking and Rainer tearfully lamenting her situation. I needed something to grab onto so that I could see the film attempt completing some sort of arc or committing to a certain tone but no, the film is completely uninterested in consistency. This film won Luise Rainer her first Best Actress Academy Award, even though she's most definitely playing a supporting part, of two as she would become the first actor or actress to win an Academy Award for acting back to back. I wouldn't say she earned it as she mostly just screws up her faces and cries and babbles like a baby but clearly the voters appreciated this style of performing at the time. I might check out Norma Shearer in Romeo and Juliet (1936) just for interest's sake because I understand that she was in her thirties playing a teenager. I can't evaluate the 1936 Best Picture race because I haven't seen most of the nominated films but I have watched Dodsworth (1936) which features a great Walter Huston performance and is an accurate portrayal of a marriage crumbling. This is not one of the 1930s Best Picture winners that I would recommend people watch but of those I have seen I would say that Cavalcade (1933), It Happened One Night (1934) and Gone with the Wind (1939) are worthy of their iconic status and can be appreciated by a highly discerning modern viewer.

Without question, the best Hollywood musical ever brought to fruition. Yes, it is too long and needs editing. Like the Godfather, it needs three parts. But this is in the first years of the talkies, give them a break. Nothing so wonderful could be conceived today, and look at all that was saved for posterity. This is the first movie deserving six stars on a five star system. People should view this in three parts and judge it on its incredible opulence, while at the same time still giving us an interesting and compelling plot (unlike today's attempts at musical comedies). This one has it all -- except for slick production value that comes first in today's world. How could you give all this any less than five stars? So much delight, so much talent. The movie was advertised as a spectacular -- as you can see from the trailers -- and they charged a double admission to see it. The musical scenes -- particularly the birthday cake musical number -- had never before been seen by regular audiences, and people stood to their feet and applauded at the end of the scene -- even though this was a movie and it was still running. The music from this film -- particularly the four featured stand outs -- puts it on par to best any other movie score, although these songs were written by different people over many years -- all to be part of the real Ziegfeld follies. It's been almost a hundred years, and the power and ecstasy of this music has not been equalled. If you add in the other Broadway success theme songs (which were not prominently featured in this over-long tale) you'd have the start of a Beatles' catalog. This is truly a movie for all times. It should be edited, it should be colorized (wouldn't Ziegfeld himself want this?) and it should be redistributed. Now that Billie Burke is gone, maybe a more accurate portrayal of the legend could be undertaken, using these same songs that are so tied in with the Ziegfeld Follies. Although this film is an unedited mess, it is one of the greatest three hours ever put on film. It is thrilling in places and does make you stand to your feet and clap with exuberance. It just needs an editor with a vision.